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Ho Chi Minh Quotes

Decent Essays

In the early nineteenth century the French established themselves as a colonial power; they controlled an area called French Indochina, but in the late 1940s France struggled to control its colonies in Indochina, which consisted of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Ho Chi Minh, a communist leader who led the Viet Minh, and his forces captured back much of Vietnam while the French were busy fighting WWII. The French were infuriated with the actions of Ho Chi Minh and his forces and decided to once again enter into Vietnam, where they fought a lengthy, hard battle with the Viet Minh forces. The fighting between the French and Vietnamese continued into the mid 1950s, but was put to an end when the French signed a peace document after suffering a major …show more content…

Phuong’s sister makes her decisions for her, disallowing Phuong from having much emotion or any free will. The transition from Phuong having free will to being controlled by her older sister is representative of the transition of her country, Vietnam, before and after the war. “And I saw Phuong for a moment as I had seen her first, dancing past my table at the Grand Monde in a white ball-dress, eighteen years old, watched by an elder sister who had been determined on a good European marriage. An American had bought a ticket and asked her for a dance: he was a little drunk- not harmfully, and I suppose he was new to the country and thought the hostesses of the Grand Monde were whores. He held her much too close as they went round the floor the first time, and then suddenly there she was, going back to sit with her sister, and he was left, stranded and lost among the dancers, not knowing what had happened or why. And the girl whose name I didn’t know sat quietly there, occasionally sipping her orange juice, owning herself completely,” (page 32) the narrator describes a scene in which Phuong appears to be dancing and having a good time, but is then forced to stop and go sit by her sister, who controls her. Phuong’s sister begins to inquire about Pyle by asking Fowler “who is he?” “what does he do?” “is he married” and then stating “he looks a nice reliable man,” (page 33). After talking to Fowler about Pyle, Pyle and Phuong’s sister meet each other and she begins to interrogate him by asking where he is from and other questions such as “is your father a business man?” with follow up questions about his profession (page 33-34). Phuong’s sister also states “she is the most beautiful girl in Saigon,” “she is delicate… she needs care. She deserves care. She is very, very loyal,” and “she loves children,” (page 34) she is trying to find a suitable

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