Paul's Journal Entry

Community Ties


On pages 60 - 65 in the novel, Ninh talks about the community that Kien returns to.  In his hometown of Hanoi, everyone seems to know each other.  There is much gossip that goes around and seems to be that nothing can stay hidden among the townsfolk.  Growing up as a Vietnamese American, I was never privileged enough to experience that type of community in Vietnam.  Ironically I was able to grow up with that experience here with my family.  What I've learned is that when a Vietnamese person hangs out with another Vietnamese person, all we do is gossip about everyone else we know.  It may be rude to some and outrageous to others but it has been show that Vietnamese people accept that because we don't "trash talk" instead we use complete and utter brutal truth.  This is what I call "The Truth".  Kien's community clearly is a nosy lot, however it so shows that these people no matter how many bad things can be said, they care for one another's well being and future.  Not once in the passages did the neighbors really badmouth each other, in fact all they spoke about was "The Truth".  Kien's neighbors knew all about each other, they knew who was interested in whom or what was going on with her/him.  Kien returns disconnected with his community, he seems as though he can not relate to him because they did not experience what he did.  It can be assumed that had Kien opened up with the community he would not have resorted to writing and drinking as a means of escape.  The best example is that throughout the book Kien respected his fellow soldiers and even named things after them i.e. the pack of card. Kien was not driven away from the idea of community, but driven away of developing a community with people who knew would not understand his sorrow.