The Color Green that Reflects upon Paradise of the Blind

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The novel Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong takes place in Vietnam during the revolution period. Hang, the narrator of the story, is the daughter of Que and Ton. Within the novel, Hang often reviews short flashbacks of her childhood memories as an effect to help reflect upon the relationships between she and her family. Since Hang’s father past away when she was at an fairly early age, she has never been able to experience the feeling of having a father. Thus, the author occasionally creates a sad and depressing mood when Hang discovers more about his father and Uncle Chinh through her mother and Aunt Tam. Hence, the author often uses the color green, within the novel, as a symbol to illustrate the pleasurable feeling that Hang desires to obtain.

The diction in the novel emphasizes the ambiguous feeling that is aroused in Hang is conveyed through the surrounding environment.

For example, the negative feeling is shown when Hang pulled her mother along behind her towards the gate of the pagoda, she sits down at the foot of the banyan tree describes the roots of the banyan to be “tearing [her] from the arms of [her] mother.”(Duong 55) Before Hang’s mother took her to the village, Mother Que had just been out of a quarrel with Uncle Chinh. Thus, the word “tearing” emphasizes how Hang longs to segregate from her mother’s complicated past, which is very much related to Uncle Chinh. While on the other hand, the positive feelings that Hang conveys are shown when “a breeze caressed [her] as [she] floated, drifted up into the gateway to the sky.” (Duong 55) Abruptly, she feels delighted, to “float” and “drift”, while swinging on the “cradle of moss-green leaves” (Duong 55) and is even “caressed” (Duong 55) by the breeze. This is unusual and shows Hang’s mixed feelings about the complicating relationships within her family. In addition, the continuation of negative feelings has been displayed near the end of the book – after Aunt Tam’s death – where animals around Hang were creating disturbing noises. “A screech owl cried” (Duong 256), “croaking of the bullfrogs” (Duong 256), “shrill hum of toads” (Duong 256) and the “cry of birds at dawn” (Duong 256) helps emphasizing the gloomy atmosphere that the author’s trying to create. Next, an example that serves the emphasis of a positive feeling also happened after Aunt Tam’s death, and where Hang again “dream[s] of these fields of their greenness warming to gold at dusk, shivering under a caress of wind.” As we can see, Hang dreams once again, but instead she dreams about the fields, which she describes as “green” and “warming”. The word green is a connotation for nature, fresh, and the beginning to something. Ultimately, we see that Hang dreams of pure freedom, and a fresh start towards her new life. Which later on foreshadows her departure, and to leave and pursue her dreams.

Imageries of the moon and stars have been used to draw attention towards Hang’s ability to see through the heavy clouds and to enter a “green space”. For instance, Hang was dreaming about the “heavy clouds streaked with silver barred [her] way” from entering the sacred door. “Behind these doors, a green space spread out mysterious, incandescent, as if it masked thousands and thousands of stars.” (Duong 55) This symbolizes how Hang is “masked” from entering a world with freedom – the “green space – and most importantly, a problem-free area where she doesn’t have to follow any sort rules. Soon later, an imagery of the moon and stars appeared again near the end of the book and shows the development and it’s break through towards this situation. By then , she was capable of seeing the “full moon [shining] through the dark crown of the trees.” Even when “a few stars shimmered.” (Duong 257-258) Which shows how she is now fully capable of looking through the “heavy clouds” and can even see the green space that used to be covered up by the “thousand stars”. Now that she can see the “green space”, it again foreshadows her departure.

Moreover, if one looks more closely, one can see that dictions of negative feelings are used near the beginning of the novel to contrast the unattainable contentment that Hang has always been longing for. For example, after Mother Que wakes Hang up from her dream, she “[left] behind the banyan tree with its suffocating foliage and its mythical door to heaven.” (Duong 55) This shows how she has attempted to experience the sensation, but has to understand that she is not capable of obtaining that sort of sensation behind the “mythical door” at that moment.

The repetition of shadows is a symbolism of hope about Hang’s departure of her past, trying to fulfill her dreams. It was soon after Aunt Tam’s unfortunate death, a mysterious man came across her house in hand of buying Aunt Tam’s jewelry in exchange of money that was more than enough for Aunt Tam’s memorial ceremony. After the man left the house, “[Hang] could still see him, standing there in the shadow of the door. Fear rose in [her]: This man was like a shade the color of night, a specter born of this same greenness.” (Duong 257) Previously, Hang was not allowed to sell the jewelries, which Aunt Tam has offered to Hang. The act of selling the jewelries shows how she is finally capable of letting go the fear of being in control of her Aunt. Also, the shadows that was casted by the man caused fear to rise in Hang. The “specter” of this man’s sudden appearance has yet helped Hang to realize the “greenness”, and that she actually had the ability to break through and disobey the strict regulations set by her Aunt – to flee to a brand new and fresh place to strive for her own dreams.

In conclusion, it is visible to readers about the foreshadowing of Hang’s departure through the dreams she has had and the greenness that is conveyed through those dreams. Hence, with the use of the color green, freedom and the feeling of having a new start is once again being displayed through the use of Hang’s dreams. Thus, the color green does have a big impact on the character development of Hang because it shows the ultimate alter of her, which shows that she is a dynamic character.

Bibliography:Colors: Their Connotations and Perceived Meanings." EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. .

"Paradise of the Blind: Information from Answers.com." Answers.com: Wiki Q&A combined with free online dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedias. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. .

HÆ°Æ¡ng., DÆ°Æ¡ng, Thu. Paradise of the blind. New York: Perennial, 2002. Print.