Choose a novel and write a term paper about it Essay

Choose a novel and write a term paper about it - Essay Example However, in discussing the changes occurring in developing countries, the character often has a much more difficult struggle to face as they must attempt to behave in keeping with family expectations while still attempting to secure their own personal welfare and live in accordance with the internal moral code each person develops as they age. This internal code is a unique combination of thoughts and beliefs that are the result of environment, family and individual understandings. For these characters, the struggle between the traditional way of life and the need to consider the modern or developed way of life is profound. In the novel Paradise of the Blind, author Duong Thu Huong explores the development of a Vietnamese girl’s formation of identity and self-realization as she grows up in the traditional countryside and social progression as she moves into the future and embraces modern ideals. Paradise of the Blind traces the story of Hang, a young Vietnamese girl who must make a choice between honoring the expectations of her complicated family or giving that family the only chance at escape it will have even though it would mean turning her back on these same expectations. The story begins with Hang receiving a telegram from her uncle telling her that he’s very sick and needs her to come to him immediately. He is staying at a place in Moscow, Russia while she works at a textile factory somewhere else in Russia. The name of this place is never given, but the description of the train journey indicates it is a long way away as it takes Hang at least a day and a half to travel the distance. As she rides the train, she remembers her life story from the time she was very small up to the incident that forced her to quit college and take the job in Russia. The flashback story she tells is a tragedy as she remembers the poor home she and her