While reading
this memoir, I continually imagined the same visual representation of what it
must feel like to be Kien – an Amerasian individual in communist Vietnam. I
compared the idea of being an Amerasian in communist Vietnam to the idea of
being in Purgatory – neither here nor there, living in a constant state of
cultural Limbo. I chose to depict my mental image, with a few minor changes.
Purgatory is normally depicted in between Heaven and Hell, so I thought
to parallel those two with a representation of the Untied States of
America and one of Communist Vietnam. In the three sections, I depict a
variation of the American flag as the top third, Purgatory as the center third,
and a representation of the communist Vietnamese flag as the bottom third. In
the grey Purgatory “river,” I chose to draw small boats floating along, each
one has a sail with a key word or name written on it, as these are the
individuals I believe to be living in this state of cultural Purgatory.
By Erica R.
·
Erica,
ReplyDeleteYour image is really powerful and you explanation behind it. Just like Kien there are many other mixed races that face the same problems, we even get a few other narratives from the book, for instance the Afro-Asians. We know that Kien has a hard time with the term "half-breed" that he hears from everyone around him, but what do you think about the others? We know that Kien has a hard time with the term and even gets beatings because of his mixed race, but there are others, like the Afro- Asians, who literally get abandoned and left for dead. I find that even though mixed races are their own subdivision of unwanted individuals there are still those who get treated better by what they are "mixed" with. What is your take on that aspect?
-Tori R.
I liked your image as well. I think that the symbolism of a middle purgatory is reminiscent of Dante's inferno, and though of course Vietnam and America are neither heaven or hell, it is certainly true that from the perspective of the story the new regime of Vietnam could be seen as a sort of capitalist hell, where former capitalists are judged and punished based on their "past sins". Meanwhile America, with all of its seeming wealth and abundance, may seem to be a sort of heaven to Kien--though anyplace where he could possibly survive easier may seem to be heaven to Kien.
ReplyDeleteAlexis L.
The picture that you drew was interesting and I wasn't sure what to expect before I read your explanation. At first I thought it might just be a variation of flags to represent Kien's travels or his nationality, so once I read your thoughts behind the picture I was impressed. Your thoughts regarding purgatory and relating them to Kien's sense of nowhere to belong is very insightful and translates well within this image. Is there a particular reason you drew the red so boldly on the Vietnamese flag, and dulled on the American flag? In fact, all the colors seem to be dulled. Interesting to consider why you may have done that!
ReplyDeleteBy Hannah G.
Erica,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting representation of the in-between state that Kien resides in because of his Amerasian heritage. On first view, it almost reminded me of the river Styx from classical Greek mythology where the river can only be traversed by boat. In this particular case, Kien would be Herculean figure traversing back from Hades (Vietnam) to the mortal realm (America). Upon reading your entry, I really enjoyed the river idea being purgatory where life tumultuous as Kien is pushed and pulled to either bank repeatedly but never reaching it.
Patrick T.
It interesting to see the Amerasians floating between both communist and capitalist systems upon the colorless river in your art depiction Erica –the boat passengers participate in their society yet are not fully part of it is what I see overall. Although the boat people are not part of both ideals, I think they construct their own distinct identities in which they can relate with one another by being influence from both culture systems. I love the keyword entries written on the boats flags as well, it makes me ponder how they encounter experiences that ended up with the words like "burnt-rices" and "half-blood". But I do wonder why they are flowing on the river on separate boats. Why not be together in one single boat?
ReplyDeleteNelson M.
It interesting to see the Amerasians floating between both communist and capitalist systems upon the colorless river in your art depiction Erica –the boat passengers participate in their society yet are not fully part of it is what I see overall. Although the boat people are not part of both ideals, I think they construct their own distinct identities in which they can relate with one another by being influence from both culture systems. I love the keyword entries written on the boats flags as well, it makes me ponder how they encounter experiences that ended up with the words like "burnt-rices" and "half-blood". But I do wonder why they are flowing on the river on separate boats. Why not be together in one single boat?
ReplyDeleteNelson M.