Nguyen takes her unique perspective of the world, being a Vietnamese born resident of 1980s Grand Rapids, and makes it relatable through a concept understood by all: food. Instead of blatantly stating the inferiority she feels to her white peers, she allows us to indulge ourselves in her exquisite imagery of a birthday cake: “It was oblong, covered in rosettes and pink and white frosting, a vision of wealth and excess,” (23). Nguyen’s simple phrases allow the reader a deeper understanding of the way she views the world, particularly when the reader is able to compare her descriptions with our own.
Stealing Buddha’s Dinner also depicts the author’s unique family dynamics compared to the average American household through the venue of food. So far, the progression of the way Nguyen views her family seems to be arching upward as she further analyses the food and customs of her family compared with her peers. She begins her life unaware of her differences until she begins to interact with other children in the area. When describing the frosting of cakes she says, “I became convinced that such talents lay only in the hands of white mothers in aprons,” (125). Compared with their home cooked meals preceded with a prayer, Nguyen allows the reader to understand her feeling very “other” in a household where her grandmother Noi feeds pho to the ancestors. But her envy of these other families changes once given the experience of eating as they typically did: “The food itself began to feel heavy, slicked with the artificial flavorings and colorings promised right on the package,” (128). Through the sensory tour of foods we are taken on, the reader begins to understand the difficulties of being different in a dominantly white culture and is able to sense the progression of Nguyen’s acceptance of where she fits in this society.
One element of this memoir that is not entirely clear to me is the author’s relationship with Rosa. Through her constant depictions of Rosa in a negative light the reader empathizes and does the same. But after really considering her as a character, I can’t help but want to hear more sympathy from Nguyen, a person who shares many of the same struggles. Rosa is also a minority but not just in society; she is a minority in her own household. There are many depictions of Rosa not fitting in at the Vietnamese parties they would attend. Rosa may not always be pleasant, but the text up to this point does not truly show much sympathy towards her and the difficulties she faces. Hopefully it is something that will be resolved as the text continues. Thus far, I find the depiction of their relationship a difficult one to navigate.
Emma, you definitely nailed in understanding Bich's emotion in her childhood. I absolutely agree with you about how well Bich sensory describes of her memories of Vietnamese home food and American food. I felt sorry for young Bich who felt like she was an outsider and alien from American kids because those American kids had more chances to eat American foods than she did, and she was envy about that although American foods are generally not healthier than Vietnamese foods. I think that Bich had this feeling because she had this fantasy of American foods based on her white friends and American TV commercials pursuing American foods are smarter, more delicious, and efficient than any other food. Duality of her identities as Vietnamese and also as American portrays deeply through duality of what she ate as a child.
ReplyDeleteI don't really agree with your statement about Bich's relationship with Rosa. Bich was so young and naive and did not fully understand even her identity, so I think it was hard for Bich to understand Rosa and felt sympathy on her who is part of the minority group like Bich is. Rosa also made a comment about how Bich and her sister should not dress any yellow clothes because they are yellow due to their "asianness'. I felt like Rosa did not approach to Bich in a gentle way. Rosa could have listened to Bich and tried to accommodate her desire as a child instead of forcing Bich to listen what Rosa told her to do.