Persuasive Analysis of Catfish and Mandela - Essay Example

This shame of Chi and her search for her own identity directs his journey. It is reflected in his subconscious when he visits Phan Theit, his birthplace (p. 89). To his grief, he found that he was not accepted by the local people who did not regard him as their own. This rejection is seen in his remarks "In this Vietnamese much, I am too American. Too refined, too removed from my que, my birth village. The sight of my roots repulses me. And this shames me deeply." (p. 185) Throughout the book, the pain of his lost identity and that of his sister Chi are evident.

For the Americans, Pham is the hated Vietcong or‘Viet-kieu" (p. 126) and they always regard him as a Viet cong, the people who killed many Americans. On the other hand, the Vietnamese do not regard him as one of their own and he is always a ‘mat goch’ or lost soul who are neither Vietnamese nor Americans. This is seen from one of the sentences in his book when he goes to Saigon and is speaking with an old man “He pauses, eyeing me again, probably thinking I am one of those lost souls he’s heard about.

America is full of young-old Vietnamese, un-centered, uncertain of their identity. The older generation calls them mat goch or lost roots." This clash of identity is traumatic for Pham who begins to wonder who he really is. This anguish and identity crises can be related to the anguish at what his sister Chi felt when trying to come to terms and understanding her sexuality. Pham is not sure of what to expect and he has cast images of Vietnam as an old worldly place filled with quaint old hospitality.

The reality of modern Hanoi is one of bitter shock. "The bitter bile of finding a world I don’t remember colors my disconsolate reconciliation between my Saigon of Old and their. Throughout the book, the pain of his lost identity and that of his sister Chi are evident. For the Americans, Pham is the hated Vietcong or‘Viet-kieu" and they always regard him as a Viet cong, the people who killed many Americans. On the other hand, the Vietnamese do not regard him as one of their own and he is always a ‘mat goch’ or lost soul who are neither Vietnamese nor Americans.

This is seen from one of the sentences in his book when he goes to Saigon and is speaking with an old man “He pauses, eyeing me again, probably thinking I am one of those lost souls he’s heard about. America is full of young-old Vietnamese, un-centered, uncertain of their identity. The older generation calls them mat goch or lost roots." This clash of identity is traumatic for Pham who begins to wonder who he really is. This anguish and identity crises can be related to the anguish at what his sister Chi felt when trying to come to terms and understanding her sexuality.

Pham is not sure of what to expect and he has cast images of Vietnam as an old worldly place filled with quaint old hospitality. The reality of modern Hanoi is one of bitter shock. "The bitter bile of finding a world I don’t remember colors my disconsolate reconciliation between my Saigon of Old and their muddy-grubby Saigon of Now."