Little Saigon- the Power of the Vietnamese American
Eventually, the store had to close down. The Anticommunist movement is extreme to the point that anyone who even appeared to be sympathetic to the current government of Vietnam was branded a traitor. For instance, the community claimed that one of the Vietnamese American politicians, Tony Lam, did not support the community in forcing this video store to close down. In addition, Tony Lam took part in requesting the council of the city of Westminster to change the name Little Saigon into Asian town (Collet, & Furuya, 2010). His rationale was that “Little Saigon” negatively reminded of the pain in Vietnamese history, which needed to be forgotten. His political career soon ended, since his attitude and belief was viewed as an offense toward Vietnamese immigrants. Vietnamese immigrants believe that the term Saigon is sacred and beloved, therefore replacing the name Little Saigon is equivalent to neglecting the dramatic historical background and disconnecting their origin. In away, Anticommunist movement creates cohesion among Vietnamese immigrant.
Even though Little Saigon provided Vietnamese American with economic benefit, political power, this landmark also witnessed many difficulties that Vietnamese experienced. Vietnamese American experienced many traumatic events prior to migration such as war, journey on boats, therefore many of them suffered posttraumatic stress disorder, stress, and depression. Significantly, Vietnamese refugees who went to the re-education camps sustained torture, humiliation, deprivation, brainwashing and several other punishments from Vietnamese Communist. Those refugees have higher rates of having mental disorder. Language barrier is another obstacle that...
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China Men - The Brother in Vietnam & nbsp; In her tale, "The Brother in Vietnam," author Maxine Hong Kingston relates the drastic misinterpretation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" on the part of the "brother's" students. It is clear to the reader that their disillusioned thoughts and ideas of the world were instilled in their vulnerable minds by their own parents at young ages, an occurrence that still takes place in our society today. In his account of the situation, the brother first clearly makes a note that these confused and suspicious students comprise not one of his elementary classes, but rather his only non-remedial class. From this he is evidently implying that one would expect a heightened ability to understand and more accurately analyze the power and beauty of great literature on the part of the students. Thus from the beginning, the reader is alerted to the fact that their confusion the students perceive this Shakespearean tragedy as a horror story, the mere thought of it shadowed in their minds by fear. They see the Montagues and Capulets as families driven mad; Verona as a plague-infested country where killing and marriage take place in dark regions alike. They infer from it that young love is dangerous, and by reading of a suicide made possible by a potion that was initially intended to preserve tender love instead of stealing it, their notions that there is evil in everything seem The brother, frustrated and upset, is unable to "shift the emphasis" that the play has left on these youths, and he feels that he is to blame for "spoil[ing] the love story for a generation of students. " The reader looking on from the outside, however, is able to see that the brother could not have prevented this warped learning no matter how hard he tried. For it seems that the fault lies in the parents of these young people, who were continually planting seeds of suspicion and fear in their children's vulnerable minds. In fact, as we look back on the author's former accounts as a child, it seems that these Chinese parents told their children lies more often than the actual truth. told by her mother that their religion was Chinese. She further remembers her parents having claimed upon the birth of her younger brother, which she had secretly witnessed, that the infant had been miraculously discovered "naked under a pine tree" on Christmas Day. Still perhaps the most disturbing of all is the author's recollection of the war through the eyes of her younger self. Her memories are uncannily realistic and vivid; nevertheless, she was, on more than one occasion, told by her mother that what as a young girl. However, to any reader, it is evident that these are not, and can in no way be mere "scary movie flashbacks." As a result, we are left asking ourselves why any parent would teach their children what they know is untrue. In the case of a war, it is somewhat easier to comprehend the desperation of parents to hold their families together from the tearing claws of battle. And if it will prove to be the only glue that will preserve the family structure, such lying seems more acceptable.
The Eaves of Heaven was written by Andrew X. Pham and was first released in 2008. According to Steinnglass (2008) unlike his first book, Cat Fish and Mandala, which told Pham’s story from his childhood to his immigration into America, to his return to Vietnam in the 1990’s, the Eaves of Heaven focuses on telling the Vietnam story of Pham’s family from his father, Thong Van ham’s perspective. In essence, Pham tells of his father’s own experiences in a solid and balanced nature. Generally, the book focuses on what Pham calls “three wars”, referring to the French colonization of Indochina, Japan’s invasion during World War II, and the Vietnam War. In this regard, Pham, through his father’s own voice, manages to uniquely capture the entire progression of Vietnam throughout the 20h century. It is the story of one man’s heartbreaks, reversal of fortunes and resilience throughout the length of the three wars. To a great extent, the title of the book intrinsically captures the alternation of good and bad times and experiences for Thong Van Pham. This paper argues that the Eaves of Heaven reveals that war corrodes civil life and
How would it feel to flee from post-war Communist forces, only to face an ethnocentric population of people in a new country? In Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, a portrait of a disquieting, often times touching, ethnography (i.e. a book that details particular data of an extended period of time an anthropologist spent living closely with a community of individuals during his or her field work) of Fadiman's experience living in Merced, California, which was home to the largest population of Hmong refugees, such as the Lee family, from Laos who suffered mass confusion when trying to navigate the American health care system. Because the Hmong could not speak sufficient English until the children gained language skills native to the United States, residents of California were not accepting of the Hmong community. Fadiman aims to better understand how knowledge of illness among Hmong and Western medical practitioners differ, which pushes the reader to understand how the complicate medical treatment in the past as well as the present from a perspective of an American observing a Hmong family's struggle with the system. In America, it isn’t uncommon to be judged for your clothing, your house, or the amount of money your family makes, so it is easy to believe that the Hmong people were not easily accepted into American society. As a whole, ethnocentrism, or the tendency to believe that one's culture is superior to another, is one of America's weaknesses and this account proves ethnocentric behavior was prominent even in the 1970-80's when Fadiman was in the process of doing her fieldwork in post-Vietnam War Era California.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
It has been known that the Vietnam War affected many American soldiers who were involved in the war physically and psychologically. The Vietnam War was one of the most memorable wars in history. Many Americans’ lives lost for no objective at all. Chapter 10 informed us about how the Vietnam War started and what really happened during that time. It also gave us background information about Vietnam Veterans and nurses who were involved in the war and what they went through during the war. I had the opportunity to interview a Vietnam Veteran also.
A collection of essays by Andrew Lam called “Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora refers to the struggles of a Vietnamese national living abroad. “A good scent from a Strange Mountain: Stories by Robert Olen Butler is fifteen short stories that relate to the immigration from Vietnam in the 1970’s to the southeastern U.S. state of Louisiana. In these two novels there seems to be one major idea of community among Vietnamese immigrants. In Butler’s novel the women in the Mr. Green short story is Catholic and was from Hanoi. She lives in Versailles, Louisiana and she states that there is “the garden on the bank of the bayou that runs through this place they call Versailles; it is part of New Orleans, but is far from the center of town and it is full of Vietnamese who once came from the North” (Butler 24). This was a popular garden that the Vietnamese community shared. The Vietnamese community was showing their presence in Louisiana and creating awareness to the American born population. Andrew Lam’s novel states that he was “Old enough to remember Vietnam, I was also young enough to embrace America, and to be shaped by it.”( Lam, 121) In an article that discusses Hurricane Katrina’s affect on Vietnamese communities it was said “The Vietnamese were among the first to return to begin rebuilding their neighborhoods, giving momentum to rebuilding efforts in the East and the rest of the city. Many Vietnamese feel the experience has brought the community even closer together.” ("Vietnamese History in New Orleans") Although immersion to American culture is important to obtain financial, social and education needs, Vietnamese still gain great pride in their past history and
Most historians view the nature of the Vietnam War as rooted in the history of the French colonies in Vietnam and the growing ethnic, political, and economical division between Catholic and Buddhist Vietnamese. (Brigham, Robert, Hoffman, Kenneth)
Occasion: Andrew Lam is an immigrant from South Vietnam, from right before the country fell to North Vietnam. Lam writes the story to reflect on the experiences of being so near violence, and struggling for safety and freedom.
In the movie, Apocalypse Now, based on the Vietnam War, the director portrays the reality of war, a very traumatic place, and leads viewers through the painful reality that left many warriors with everlasting nightmares and disturbing memories. As is most great war-related films, the overarching message is pointed towards viewer understanding of the Vietnam War. The director did this by exemplifying the positives and negatives of the war, so that all viewers can learn from these historical events and prevent similar wars in the future. The director uses many literary elements in Apocalypse Now such as setting, characterization, and theme to further the understanding of the message.
Vietnamese refugee, Lan Nguyen, escaped in 1978 with her husband and six children following the capture of the capital, Saigon. In order to create the future they envisioned for their children, away from the limitations of living in a country in the aftermath of a war, Nguyen and her husband had to sacrifice their home and safety: “We left everything we knew behind to give our children a chance - to live to their fullest potential that we knew staying in Vietnam would not afford them” (Nguyen). A common theme of refugee stories is altruism, the selfless notion that their actions can better the lives of others. This is vital to preserving the belief that the adversity they face and sacrifices they make can have significant influence on the lives of their loved
“Wake up, wake up, son. We must leave now.” He opened his eyes and looked outside; it was still very dark and rainy. “Where are we going, Mom?” he asked while crawling out of bed sleepily. When they left the house for the train station, it was only four o’ clock in the morning, and the boy thought that his family was going to visit their grandparents whom he had not seen for ten years. The next morning, they arrived in Nha Trang, a coastal city in Central Vietnam, where his father told him that they would stay for a while before going to the next destination. They went to live in the house of an acquaintance near the fish market. Every day they would stay inside the house and would go out only when it was absolutely necessary, especially the kids who now had to learn how to be quiet. They learned how to walk tip-toe and to talk by finger pointing; few sounds were made. Every sound was kept to the minimum so the neighbors and the secret police would not be aware that there were new people in town.
Hayslip, Le Ly, and Jay Wurts. When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace. New York: Plume, 1990. Print.
Indochina, modernly known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located on the border of the eastern Indochinese peninsula and it occupies, according to the online encyclopedia (encyclopedia.com), about 331,000 kilometers squared, where in 1987, 25% of that land was under cultivation. Vietnam is bordered by the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and Gulf of Tonkin; and it is alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia. Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital since the nation’s reunification, is located in the northeast; and Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is located in the southeast of Vietnam. However, before becoming independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, Vietnam’s capital was “Đại La”, where it was located in present-day Hanoi. Additionally, the northern part of Vietnam is mainly composed of highlands and the Red River Delta; and the southern part of Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands, large forests, and mountains of the “Annamite Range”. Vietnam’s official language is Vietnamese, and their largest ethnic group in Vietnam is the Kinh people, which takes about 86% of the nation’s population.
As we got further and further into the Vietnam War, few lives were untouched by grief, anger and fear. The Vietnamese suffered the worst hardship; children lay dead in the street, villages remained nothing but charred ashes, and bombs destroyed thousands of innocent civilians. Soldiers were scarred emotionally as well as physically, as
I didn’t know to whom that villa and those houses belonged before the Japanese soldiers moved in. Later in life, I learned that many residents in the area had left the neighborhood to seek refuge in the countryside when Americans bombers started to drop their load over Japanese targets in Saigon. The armies of Japan occupied Vietnam in 1940 but allowed the French to continue to govern the country. Japan surrendered to the Allied in August 1945.