By Lorraine S.
As I was coming to a close reading the final chapters of Stealing Buddha's Dinner, I came up with something other's might find interesting regarding the unfinished deck which Bich repeatedly draws attention to. My insight is that the deck represents Bich's household as the empty space encompasses the empty dreams Bich's family cannot fill. Having it permanently frozen in a state of construction parallels the lives of Bich's family as they never seem to reach a point where they feel complete and their hard work paid off. As an immigrant family still learning American culture, they must continuously reconstruct themselves as they learn to accommodate to the new lifestyle they find themselves immersed in. This leaves the family in constant movement being pulled between the Vietnamese culture, Rosa's culture, and the American culture surrounding them, adjusting themselves as needed so as not to lose themselves amidst the culture clash. The risk to be met upon constructing a permanent identity is that they lose all the options available to them when not claiming an identity. It therefore becomes possible that neglecting to build the deck is done purposefully in order to abstain from filling the empty deck of endless possibilities with a permanent design. By leaving the deck unfinished, they leave room for dreaming.
The deck can also be looked at as a parallel between the unfulfilled promises of the anticipated deck and the unfulfilled promises of the United States. As Bich's family dreams up various uses of the deck that would contribute to their happiness living in the house, they are met with the realization that such dreams may never happen. Although it is completely under their control to build the deck as it is under their control to obtain happiness within the United States, there are too many obstacles beyond their control that prevent them from doing so. In the end, both dreams become nothing but expectations fallen short, only to be experienced in the characters' minds and never manifested into reality.
This is just my opinion on the symbolism of the unfinished deck. Feel free to speak up if there are any readers out there with alternate interpretations! I'd love to hear them!
I love this interpretation of the unfinished deck. My reading was a little less analytical. I thought the unfinished deck was not only a sign of their lower economic class but also as the inability to move forward. I thought that the reason they did not finish the deck and keep the door leading to the deck locked was because the idea of their inability to push forward (financially and as a family) was too painful and turned into an out of sight, out of mind type of situation. I can absolutely see your interpretation, though, and it is much more positive than mine!
ReplyDeleteI love this. I agree with Caitlin, in that I also though that the deck was only a sign of their economic class, with their inability to finish the product. I enjoyed the interpretation you presented here, with relating the deck to their dreams, and how leaving it unfinished allows for them to continue dreaming. I hadn't thought of it this way, and I'm so glad you did! It sheds a different, positive light on the family and their home, rather than thinking they just could not afford to finish it.
ReplyDelete-Ashley P.
I actually saw the deck being unfinished for another reason as well. The promise of the deck was supposed to unite the family, but we see Bich's father so tired from work. Also with his uncontrollable gambling he is never home to actually work on the deck. He is capable of finishing huge tasks, as we see him able to help renovate the old church to become a Buddhist temple. I felt that the deck symbolized the lack of drive. He cared more about the community and at times made his family suffer. I feel that this deck symbolizes his lack of drive to make his family happy. Although, this might be the darkest reading of the incomplete deck I found your reading a lot more inspirational.
ReplyDeleteBy: Jonny D.