By Richard R.
There is a scene in Stealing Buddha's Dinner in which Bich receives a Buddha-shaped mooncake from her biological mother. Bich can't bring herself to eat the mooncake, and after it wassmudged against the paper, she decides to throw the mooncake away. This action signifies much more than Bich's dislike of the mooncake's flavor. It signifies the rejection or inability to keep a familial bond with her mother who offered it.
Bich is constantly at struggle with her solitude in society and within her own family as well. It seems that Bich can't make or keep strong connections with anyone. When her biological mother comes along, Bich is mildly excited to see her and wants to ask her many questions. She soon realizes that she can't talk to her mother. Her mother gave Bich a Buddha-shaped mooncake that Bich does not eat and throws away. In Chinese and Vietnamese culture a moon cake represent completeness and unity. Since Bich has always felt empty and alienated, she can't accept this mooncake from her long-separated mother. Bich first "stuffs" the mooncake into her suitcase, trying to hold on to the connection with her mother, but eventually, Bich can't even carry the mooncake and throws it into the trash where it will be forever lost.
This post is an insightful contrast between symbolic cultural tokens and Bich's relateable, real-life reaction to them. As I was reading it, I thought about how Bich did not even explain how she felt when she realized her mother did not speak English well. In fact, in her classic style of showing rather than telling led her to depict her mother's broken English dialogue to reveal how little Bich could communicate with her. It seems to be an ironic and sad situation considering how long Bich had desired to ask her mother questions and throughout her childhood had wanted to know what it was like to have a real connection to her. While Bich does not express heartbreak, she seems to imply it through this Buddha mooncake which she cannot seem to throw away until she is no longer facing her mother.
ReplyDeleteBy Brianna C.
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ReplyDeleteThe scene described in your analysis is particularly telling of Bich's character and her relationship with her mother. I agree with you that her inability to consume the mooncake is representative of her inability to connect with her mother. I liked how you incorporated the cultural meaning of the mooncake to explain the intricacies of the disconnect between Bich and her mother. In previous scenes where Bich is eating mooncakes, it is the ritual of unwrapping the treat that she enjoys. When she stores the mooncake, saving it to be opened when she is ready to open it, she has crushed it and therefore ruined the element that gave her pleasure. I think the irony of this scene encapsulates the awkwardness Bich feels towards her heritage and her uncertainty towards her relationship with her mother.
ReplyDeleteBy Jenna C.