Monkey Bridge and Vietnamerica Themes Analysis - Essay Example

Number] Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao & Viet rica by GB Tran “Monkey Bridge” by Lan Cao and “Viet rica” by GB Tran entails generational and cultural gap, traumatic memories of the past and heritage, blood relationships and past bonding, anxiety and vulnerability in foreign land, and fundamentally bicultural identity issues. Both of the novels explore the significance of family life in native lands with strong family bonds along with traumatic and abrupt departure from loved ones in critical times. The choices have been taken by individuals according to their understanding, but none of them could relinquish their relation from ancestral heritage and blood relations. Two immigrant families settling down in America as refuges or survivors of the war have tried to perish their Vietnam association and adapted American lifestyle, but could not escape or abscond their past association, relations, guilt and regrets. In “Monkey Bridge” Lan Cao contemplates with the ideas of post-war trauma, life in exile, anxieties in new land, identity confusion, identity adaption, defencelessness, past haunting, bicultural and generational-gap along with significance of blood relations. The efforts of a young American girl Mai Nguyen with Vietnamese heritage to explore the deep-rooted family secret led her to acknowledge the pain her mother suffered for lifetime. In the beginning of the novel, readers could ascertain that the Vietnam immigrants like Thanah and Mai had Anti American sentiments and perspectives. They rejected the idea that America had any rational reason to invade and participate in the Vietnam War and are just heartless traitors. To readers it’s evident that the novel depicts transnational view of Vietnam War and its consequences. Mai and Thanah in the critical times of war fled from their country leaving every aspect and relation of their life in a chaotic mess. The regret of leaving family behind was inflated by the political disturbance of the home country in which USA was the culprit as it participated too. Likewise, in Vietnamerica by GB Tran the pictorial/graphical illustration shows the reader how conflicts between two nations impact the lives of people in weaker ones. Furthermore, the novel explores how fleeing immigrants of Vietnam adjusting to the foreign land of the oppressor (USA). Tran’s graphic memoir is not easy to read or understand in a single glance. The author has integrated many themes in a single picture, which requires the spectator to view it thoroughly. His work entails diverse perspectives on lives, war, imprisonment, exclusion, misery, adaption of new values, regrets, stereotyping, love for family, war-spaces, cross-identities, citizenships and many more. Hence, Tran’s work sheds light on how Asian Americans could be affected by their historical, cultural, religious, political, socio-economical and extended family ties and affairs. Vietnam War brought tremendous changes in the lives of both regions, but the occupants of Vietnam could experience the trauma of war and even after a long time could not relinquish from its aftermaths. However, the protagonist in “Vietnamerica” does not feel the need of knowing his own cultural and ancestral history until he reaches a certain age and decides to learn to do so (Tran, 207). In Tran’s work one can observe that he coins the idea of cultural identity, the idea of knowing one’s roots is repeatedly signified. Simultaneously, his work evidently shows that the emphasis is on family history of a Vietnam family and not on the war or individuals itself. The book is not in chronological or thematic order and the author withholds many peculiar details just to surprise the readers in the end. Some scenes happen in the present and their remaining parts are shown years apart. Like, fleeing from Siagon and horrors of war are put in the end instead of beginning so one gets to know the details of disturbed, detached and confused characters in the end. Similarly, another example can be of the mystery of water colours of Tri Huu from 1972, which Tran’s father chose not to explain. The twist in the 279 pages is that the story revolves more around Tran’s dad relationship with his father Huu Nghiep, who emerges as a hero of Vietnam War, but abandons his family, fights for French, spends time in imprisonment and later dies. In Monkey Bridge, seventeen year old had too much to handle in her adolescent age. Three years in USA and her mother would not let her adapt to the foreign culture, as she was not supposed to behave in an American customary manner, so she left her tantrums, explorative allures and besieged her temper (35, Cao). On the other hand, Thanah in the foreign land was not able to trust her own daughter. She assumed her as impulsive and changeable and the impact of American culture was threatening her to lose her only blood relation left with her (41, Cao). One thing is notice worthy in this novel, that Thanah was significantly dominated by the haphazard family affairs throughout the story as the influence of her past was so strong that she manipulated the thought pattern of Mai as well. Later in the story one tends to learn how Thanah was fighting with the theory of bad Karma and its return in the form of her dismembering relationship with her daughter. Secondly, Mai develops an understating about her heritage and past mainly through media as her beliefs were ideological and her stance was carved by dominant class (media) (38-37/98, Cao). Her perspective about US involvement in Vietnam War is more smothered by Uncle Michael, who was an ex-veteran. Likewise, Second generation Vietnamese protagonist Tran, is the youngest among four siblings and has spent his childhood in South Carolina and Arizona. Like, all youngsters he is least concerned about his association to Vietnam and his heritage until his grandparents death. The last existing old grandparents and relatives die few months apart and Tran’s parents visit Vietnam and here he realizes that it’s necessary to learn about ones roots or history (Tran, 8). Yet, Tran has not established his main character to depict the novel, but his focus is more on the identity of individuals and family affairs, which makes them belong to a specific ethnicity or culture (62). Similarly, unlike “Monkey Bridge” Tran shows how Tran’s parents relinquish their attachment and association to Vietnam and their past. One can observe there are no prejudiced stances about France or American instead Tran’s parents considered Paris and New York best places for advance studies and mingled in the same social circle as well. However, most certainly there are ambivalences implicated through the perplexed notion of self-identification of generations. These generations which are mixed breed struggles to find their place in family history and with blood relations. Tri Huu struggles to keep his loyalty intact with Vietnam as he had a soft corner for French Colonial (he married a French woman and had two children from her) and was not as dedicated as a revolutionary communist in Vietnam War unlike his father Huu Nghiep. Similarly, Tran also shows how no one was under any dominated authority to change their perspective on War or who takes which side in the War. The adopted brother of Tran was pro-French and that did not make his odd one out, but he was considered close irrespective of his views, as according to Tran families do not pick sides they value relations more than perspectives (35, ibid). Acceptance is a controversial idea in “Moneky Bridge” Mai could not accept to see her mother suffering from paralysis and her calling of BaBa Quan. Yet, Thanah could not let go of the ill deeds committed by Baba Quan and she feared bad Karma will avenge Mai for it. Hence, she could not accept new land and its culture and in turn developed contentious relationship with Mia through her uncontrollable fears and disregard of new culture. On the other hand, Mia tries to find her grandfather BaBa Quan in order to give closure to her continuous struggling mother with disturbing past. Baba Quan was lost minutes before the evacuation and Saigon collapsed later on (10, ibid). Since then she looks for her grandfather who was supposed to migrate with Thanah from Saigon to America and finds out the secret letters, which reveal the disturbing history of Quan’s family. The graphic novel takes many flash back angles to shed light on family history, two generations experience of post-war, Thi Mot’s funeral and Tran’s visit to Vietnam. There are no controversies or un-accepting notions in the novel, but haphazard acknowledgement of family history and sentimental attachments. However, there are moments of disconnectedness when one observes that the protagonist of the play and the author of the novel both feel detached from their family. Yet, there are instances when Tran observes how association to native culture and bllod relations brings unexpected sentimental and psychological changes in individuals. For instance, when he observed his mother visiting Vietnam after 15 years he could sense her transformation from past to present, she was both a young Vietnamese girl and an older American immigrant. The influence and ambivalence was significantly evident through graphical narration when the author tried to infuse both past and present to show the inner continuous struggle of the characters to endure trauma and looses, which are evident from the characters of Tran’s parents. Nevertheless, in “Monkey bridge” the author has given both perspectives of war she has used Thanah and Baba Quan to depict the first hand experience of Vietnam war and simultaneously, she represents Michael’s and her mother’s views to show the American version of war. Through Michael’s character Cao depicted an esteem version of American soldier, who performs his duties in the war to aid Vietnam and its citizens. Michael is a sympathetic American Warrior, who instead of ruthlessly managing and killing Vietnam masses provides aid to this third world county (78). Chiefly, he is depicted as a sincere, Nobel and committed Veteran and is both proactive and inspirational, which gives a positive upbeat of American values. Cao has merely contradicted in the ideology or rationality of Vietnam War, but her main focus is more on individuals and their experiences of war. For instance, Baba Quan had association and ties with Communist Viet-Cong and despised the South Vietnam government, which was considered a puppet state of US. Ironically, Mia has the limited version of truth, she only knows about her grandfather’s heroic aspects. When he saved Michael’s life and in return Michael helped Mia and her mother escape Saigon safely and settle in America. Nonetheless, her limited knowledge gets a boost when she finds secret letters of her mother, which contains the truth about Baba Quan’s actions and treatment of his family. Meanwhile, Tran explores about his relations in a mature age when he visits Vietnam to attend his grandmother’s memorial service. The truth was never hidden from him y his parents, but through the graphic and textual representations one can ascertain that they were neither expressive nor proud about their past either. Thus, they let him explore the fundamental facts of their ancestral truths in their native land. Tran finds his father fled away at the right time otherwise, his father would have been at labour camp like his uncle and mother would have been poverty stricken. However, one thing is explicit here, after knowing about his past and heritage Tran becomes more humble and optimistic about his parents and realized their struggle for family. In the end he appreciates his parents and is determined to protect them from pain. Cao weaved the web of collective memory and this notion of collective memory is influential and dominant that it submerges the secrets of the family’s past till the end. Readers find them self awed and appalled by the selfish act of Baba Quan, who let the rich Uncle Khan use his wife for sexual gratification and later on kills him on the day of their departure and funeral of his own wife. The novel does not sheds light on the negativity of any race or creed here, but sheds light on how individuals use each other for the sake of materialistic advantages and eventually get livid at their own chosen courses of life. Eventually, the author has tried to paint a humanistic perspective of nations and individuals involved in war. Simultaneously, Tran in the novel is a lead character between cultures and has not gathered any firsthand experience of war or its traumatic impact, but his father and mother had, who left their families in a split second to secure their young ones. Through, their experiences and depiction of sentiments while visiting Vietnam Tran develops a peculiar understanding of his roots/heritage and identity. There are weaknesses and downfall in the characters, but there is also personal and humanistic approach in the novel, which makes it more relatable. Work Cited: Top of Form Cao, Lan. Monkey Bridge. New York, N.Y: Viking, 1997. Print.Bottom of Form Top of Form Tran, G B. Vietnamerica: A Familys Journey. New York: Villard, 2011. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More