Birthdays mark the day that a person was born in this world. The annual celebration of it marks the age that an individual. It is the celebration of life and it usually celebrated with family and friends. In Stealing Buddha's Dinner, Bich mentions that she and her sister do not know their exact date of birth. There is a point where she says "all of my legal records from my original permanent residence card to my citizenship papers and drivers license- list a birthday I don't celebrate" (23). She proceeds to mention that in Vietnam, death is more celebrated than birthdays. It is because the Vietnamese believe that death is not the end, funerals to them are a celebration of life. They place a heavy influence on those celebrations, it is more of a ritual.
Bich has a desire to fit into the American culture, holiday celebrations like Christmas, were things that she celebrated but did not yet understand. Partly because holidays like Christmas and Easter are Christian holidays, and her and her family do not partake in those same beliefs. So for many Americans, death is a time of mourning, and is not celebrated, but it is observed and respected with a funeral. It is not considered a celebration of life for most Christians, it symbolizes the end of life. When Rosa introduced Bich and Anh to the birthday celebrations, they received an estimated day of their birth dates, and were able to start documenting their ages, and enjoy a piece of the American culture.
By: Stephanie B.
I just realized as I was reading your blog that Bich's identity "crisis" growing up as a young child is rooted also in the fact that she has no clear idea of her date of birth. A person's day of birth, though not as prevalent in the Vietnamese culture, is significant in having an idea of who a person is because it is the moment an individual's story begins. Bich chooses to include this detail, that she and her family have no real date to pin her birth to, to relay to readers that her state of being has always been unclear. Nguyen does not know where her story begins, the date nor the place it began in, Vietnam. This foundation makes it even more difficult for her to assimilate to American culture because she is unable to explain attributes that are important in understanding one's own identity, from her homeland to her date of birth.
ReplyDeleteBy Alyssa B.
Your blog has brought on a whole new level to Bich’s inability to fit in. It seems crazy that someone might not know their own birthday, but that is probably because of the culture in which I was raised. To Bich it might not seem so big a deal, if she had grown up in Vietnam, but growing up in a different culture definitely highlights these kinds of things that are different about a person. Not knowing her own birthday might not have just made Bich feel as if her identity is not as clear, it might also be the culture she is now surrounded by that makes her feel that way. So, by Rosa introducing the girls to their birthdays, for once it seems Rosa is trying to help the girls fit in to their new lives. Either way, the fact that Bich doesn’t know her real birthday, and just the one that is made up, this could lead to an internal feeling that she does not know her own self, purely because of the new culture she is trying to fit in with.
ReplyDeleteBy Raylene M
Wow, your blog is very thought provoking because I would have never caught that Bich does not know her true birthday and connected it to identity. As Americans, there are many things we do not take into consideration as identity because we grew up with certain holidays and rituals that we sometimes neglect the idea that someone from another culture may not be use to when coming in from another country. Even the concept of death varies depending on culture and personal beliefs; I think a celebration of one’s death certainly tells what one’s cultural values. It seems like Bich’s family will get a great taste of both worlds, a celebration of birth in American culture and a celebration of death from Vietnamese culture. That concept may seems a little odd to some people, but one should be able to celebrate the birth of a baby and celebrate the life that that person has lived. Bich certainly has the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteBy Angel D.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone on this thread! Your attention to the small details in this memoir help unpack the bigger themes like lack of identity and assimilation into American culture. It is very interesting that the two cultures celebrate different points in life with the same joyous attitude.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think I would feel similar to Bich if I celebrated a birthday that wasn't actually my own. I don't know if that is just because birthdays are a big deal in my family or because anyone would feel like a fraud for celebrating a day that is not theirs but either way, I can definitely see how this applies to the memoir and I'm so glad your close reading allowed me to think about this facet of her outsiderness.
By Caitlin M.
I really appreciate your explanation of how the two cultures celebrate life differently, something that I had not considered before. I do agree that the way that birthdays and Christmas is celebrated is a very American thing. For me the passage about the first birthday celebration was also a comment on the materialistic value that Americans but on things. Bich describes the fit her sister threw because she had to share the day and gifts as Anh's first real American experience commenting on the selfishness that comes with having materialistic values.
ReplyDeleteSasha B.
The explanation of how Christians celebrate death by mourning because it is the end of life was interesting take on the religious view. I do agree that the Christian religion does mourn the death of people, but I am having trouble understanding that death is the end of life. My understanding of death of life, is that the body is dead, but the spirit continues living onto the other world. I did notice that the statement was not for all Christian, but I did feel it needed to be address.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic that Bich is learning how to function in the society that she is being asked to assimilate into is interesting view. I do find it important that the grandmother Noi, settles the discussion of the birthday by telling the Father that the year is important because of the animal it is align with. Noi establishing the Vietnamese tradition, complicates Bich's already identity crisis. This assertion complicates the identity crisis, but as well to whom is the matriarch of the family. It is Rosa who wants to have Bich participate in the American traditions, but it is Noi who reaffirms the Vietnamese customs. This tug and pull of who establish rule complicates things for Bich to find asylum with.
Mark L.