Most of the time there is no need to experience the whole culture of a place, but by experiencing one part of it, we can learn enough of a culture, as we can perceive in the essays “Vietnam’s Bowl of Secrets” by David Farley with a dish and “The Wild Dogs of Istanbul” by Bernd Brunner on how they treat the wild dogs. The essay “Vietnam’s Bowl of Secrets” focuses mainly on the tradition for generation of a dish called “cao lau”. Through the discovering of this mystical dish, we can see how Farley shows a fuller “sense of the entire place” of Hoi An and its culture in addition to the mysterious way a family in this place has managed to keep the secret of the recipe of “cao lau” for over 100 years. Moreover, this essay shows one of its essence, …show more content…
While the main focus of this essay is the wild dogs we can notice a cultural conflict in the town, because of religion or tradition. This essay describes the town of Istanbul as having “a hundred thousand” dogs throughout the city, and how that the city is filled with trash. In addition to the above description, Brunner tells us some people are more sensitive to dogs and they feed and care for them, but do not allow them in the houses because “Quran, strict Muslin consider dogs—especially their drool—to be unclean”(89). We can relate the above statement with the passage when Brunner says that “[i]t sounds like the dogs, not the authorities, set the tone. In popular shadow-puppet plays, dogs were compared to the poor” (91). Mostly this essay, by focusing on dogs, is addressing a big conflict that Istanbul is experiencing with poor people. They cannot eliminate the dogs as they cannot get rid of people because that would be an act of “barbarism”. The essence of this essay is to show that the culture of this city is trying to deal with the unclean, both dogs and poor people, in a way that does not seem cruel. This essay reflects the above with all the attempts they have made to eliminate the dogs, meaning that they would like to get rid of them but they cannot because they just cannot eliminate a living creature just because its nature. Therefore, they most find some alternative to live with them, as most rich people
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Raymond, Michael W. "Imagined Responses to Vietnam: Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato. Critique 24 (Winter 1983).
From the contrast of the slums of Hanoi and the breathtaking beauty of a natural vista, Huong has revealed the impact of this disparity on her protagonist. The author utilises the connection between the land and the villagers of Que’s birthplace to emphasise the steadiness and support the landscape gives, in times of upheaval, illuminating that it is possible to recover from disaster. Despite Huong’s criticism of Vietnam, she emphasises the resilience of the people of Vietnam and the ability for beauty and hope to flourish through oppression.
The story focuses on her great-grandfather, who was in disapproval of the French occupation of Vietnam, but still excelled at his job as a Mandarin under the puppet imperial court, fearing persecution of his family if he were to resign. In this section, the author also mentions more about the how the values of confusion had influenced the Vietnamese people in attempts to justify her great grandfather’s
In the novel Paradise of the Blind, Doung Thu Huong explores the effect the Communist regime has had upon Vietnamese cultural gender roles. During the rule of the Communist Viet Minh, a paradigm shift occurred within which many of the old Vietnamese traditions were dismantled or altered. Dounh Thu Huong uses the three prominent female characters – Hang, Que and Aunt Tam – to represent the changing responsibilities of women in Vietnamese culture. Que, Hang’s mother, represents a conservative, orthodox Vietnamese woman, who has a proverb-driven commitment to sustaining her manipulative brother, Chinh. Aunt Tam embodies a capitalistic
Duong’s novel depicts a Vietnam caught up from the 1950’s through the 1980’s in turmoil and chaos. Many of the ‘land owning class’ were forced to flee their homeland or were sentenced to forced labour camps, this is shown in the novel through the characters Aunt Tam and her brother Ton, both dispossessed of their property. Through Paradise of the Blind Duong is able to personalise the struggles of the working class during these times of political change and criticise the Vietnamese government, “Their fate hung from a thread; and just as an overripe fruit hangs from a branch, they could fall at any moment.” The comparison made between one’s fate and an overripe fruit that could fall at any moment depicts the power that the government had over the people and the many injustices that can occur. Despite doing no wrong, their social class is enough for them to be considered the enemy. This mirrors the lives of the Untouchables in The God of Small Things, namely Velutha whose future is determined by his social status. Duong adopts many differing literary techniques to criticise the actions of the Vietnamese government during the 1950s, “You say our dances are decadent. But haven’t you done some dancing yourself? Invisible dances, infinitely more decadent than ours.” Here Duong compares western style dance and music to the fraudulent actions of
Article #1 is a very effective piece of propaganda in that it captures the reader?s attention successfully by placing a picture of a dog in the focal point of the article. The dog plays a vital role in this piece of propaganda in that it represents a loved one, family and anything cherished. It shows what could be left behind, if a driver chose to ignore safe driving. The breed of dog is also very important. Choosing a sorrowful dogs face, further enhanced the emotions of the reader, as the article wouldn?t have the same effect if a dangerous dog was shown instead
The dog they rescued is a particularly prominent topic, a vestige of the past civilizations. In defiance of the treacherous environment, the dog managed to survive, a feat that even Lisa, the most cold-blooded of the three main characters, could not help but be “impressed by” (Bacigalupi 61). Therefore, the dog is a symbol of hope for the reader, an animal that is in the extreme, completely out of its element, and yet capable of surviving. As a result, nature’s idea of itself is astoundingly resilient, keeping certain species alive as an attempt to return to the normal state of the world. Even after horrendous trauma the natural world is still capable of a stalwart attempt at reclaiming itself. Accordingly, it is never too late to start fixing the damages and help nature’s cause, before allowing it to escalate to such a degree where the oceans are black with pollution and there is no room left for the humans of today. Chen could not help but notice that the dog is different than them in more than just a physiological nature; “there’s something there” and it’s not a characteristic that either them or the bio-jobs are capable of (64). Subsequently, the dog has something that the evolved humans are missing, compassion. In consequence, the author portrays the idea that the dog
The list of dogs with restrictions or bans continues to grow because media tends to point fingers away from the real reason behind why dogs do sometimes cause issues. By targeting dogs and ultimately their owners beloved family pets are lost and the human-animal bond is weakened. Since a law banning dogs that look like certain breeds went into effect, families have been forced to hide their dogs away or risk having them confiscated and destroyed. Regulating breeds puts the focus on the dog, without addressing owner behavior and the owner’s responsibility to the animal and the community. In an environment of breed discrimination, the breed identification of a dog can have serious consequences with municipal authorities, animal shelters, landlords, and insurers, all of which will compromise the bond between a family and their
Originally the narrator admired her father greatly, mirroring his every move: “I walked proudly, stretching my legs to match his steps. I was overjoyed when my feet kept time with his, right, then left, then right, and we walked like a single unit”(329). The narrator’s love for her father and admiration for him was described mainly through their experiences together in the kitchen. Food was a way that the father was able to maintain Malaysian culture that he loved so dearly, while also passing some of those traits on to his daughter. It is a major theme of the story. The afternoon cooking show, “Wok with Yan” (329) provided a showed the close relationship father and daughter had because of food. Her father doing tricks with orange peels was yet another example of the power that food had in keeping them so close, in a foreign country. Rice was the feature food that was given the most attention by the narrator. The narrator’s father washed and rinsed the rice thoroughly, dealing with any imperfection to create a pure authentic dish. He used time in the kitchen as a way to teach his daughter about the culture. Although the narrator paid close attention to her father’s tendencies, she was never able to prepare the rice with the patience and care that her father
Gordon accurately depicts the varied and vibrant Asian culture, by showing the reader this world instead of simply describing it. Each of the men whom Gordon uses to tell the story undertakes expeditions which are mixed with hardships and triumphs. The varied spectrum of Asian cultures is covered. Readers will find Gordon’s take on tackling this topic fresh and straightforward.
Following the horrific death of four-year old Ayen Chol, new laws regarding dangerous breeds of dogs have been introduced. However they are already failing their role in shielding the public. The editorial titled “Put owners on a leash” published on May 11 2012, in the Herald Sun, contends that owners are responsible for their dogs and that stricter laws are needed regarding viscous dogs and irresponsible dog owners so that society can be protected, and safe from harm. This editorial piece targets the general public, in particular, those who read the Herald Sun and/or are dog owners or are associated with dangerous dog breeds.
Cultures are infinitely complex. Culture, as Spradley (1979) defines it, is "the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experiences and generate social behavior" (p. 5). Spradley's emphasizes that culture involves the use of knowledge. While some aspects of culture can be neatly arranged into categories and quantified with numbers and statistics, much of culture is encoded in schema, or ways of thinking (Levinson & Ember, 1996, p. 418). In order to accurately understand a culture, one must apply the correct schema and make inferences which parallel those made my natives. Spradley suggests that culture is not merely a cognitive map of beliefs and behaviors that can be objectively charted; rather, it is a set of map-making skills through which cultural behaviors, customs, language, and artifacts must be plotted (p. 7). This definition of culture offers insight into ...
The writings of these four writers have provided Pamuk with the perspective of an Istanbul that he did not experience even though he has been staying there since his birth. These writers, who had witnessed the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the Turkish Republic, aimed to reinvent the identity of their city. Their aim was to create an image for Istanbul to which the people of the Turkish Republic could relate. In their attempt to create a national image for their city, these writers went into the poor back streets of Istanbul. The ruins, poverty and neglect dominating those parts of the city functioned like witnesses of the adversities that the city and its people had undergone. The ruins of the Ottoman Empire were consoling memo...
Istanbul is both an ancient and modern city that is full of culture dating back to the beginning of time. It’s a city that is unique, in that, it connects both Europe and Asia. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the most crowded one too. There are approximately more than fourteen million people living in Istanbul alone. That is more than its capital city of Ankara. Istanbul is not just a metropolitan, or one of the most crowded cities, and it’s also an ancient and historical city.