In the novel Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong, the changes in government, cultural and social factors in Vietnam during the implementation of communism are illustrated through the use of symbols, such as sticky rice. At the beginning of the novel, Vietnam is consumed with cultural values ​​and strong family structures, but these values ​​and families are soon destroyed when communism takes control of the country. This example is illustrated throughout the novel by the comparison of sticky rice to communism, cultural values, and family structure. Therefore, Huong uses the preparation of glutinous rice as an analogy for the workings of a communist government system. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The example of making sticky rice is used to illustrate the difficulties of implementing communism. In the novel, Aunt Tam was making sticky rice for a celebration and stated, “'It's not easy to make pink apple sticky rice'” (Huong 150). This excerpt explicitly demonstrates the idea that preparing glutinous rice is difficult, which is representative of the difficulties that come with implementing communism. Although preparing sticky rice can be a challenging undertaking, the taste of "'a sticky rice flavored with rose apple juice...is exquisite'" (150). This portion of text illustrates the idea that the idea of ​​apple rose sticky rice seems great, but the difficulty of preparing such a delicate dish is much greater, which refers to the idea of ​​instilling a communist government system. In theory, communism is an efficient and effective system, but to achieve success with this system, in reality, the implementation of communism must be executed perfectly. Implementing this system is difficult because, since the communist system advocates a sense of equality and collectivism, every person must be treated equally, which is difficult to achieve. This concept is further supported by the fact that “after the rice has been cleaned, it must be dried with a towel, grain by grain, if necessary” (150). The act of drying each grain of rice separately is a tedious task and exemplifies the complications that evolve in trying to create a society based on equality. Each grain of rice is a representation of an individual in Vietnam, while the pink apple sticky rice dish as a whole represents the country of Vietnam. In Vietnam, the population is too large for communist leaders and officials to ensure that each individual receives the same amount of a certain resource necessary for survival, which immediately undermines the idea of ​​collectivism, but reinforces the concept of individualism. The provision of resources, which were to be distributed equally throughout the country, was represented during the period of land reform. When the government took over, they wanted citizens to encourage the idea of ​​"breaking down the landowning classes" (25). By breaking down the landowning classes, essentially everyone would be equal. The redistribution of land allowed everyone to receive an equivalent amount of resources, but when the land was returned to the original owners, during the Rectification of Errors, "'it looked like a neglected grave'" because "land reform had torn the village apart like a storm, devastating fields and rice paddies, sowing only chaos and misery" (77 and 33). These landowners had to rework the land to restore it to its original state, an exceptionally challenging task. For this reason «every grain of rice was weighedlike a pearl" (196). Since pearls are a symbol of wealth and rarity, this excerpt exemplifies the idea that rice was not easily obtainable after land redistribution. This illustrates the idea that the inefficiencies accompanied by the ideologies of communism hindered society because the citizens who were given land to cultivate were not adequately educated on the process of growing rice. Therefore, during the process of creating a sense of equality, the communist system hindered society. Therefore, the preparation of sticky rice is used to represent the result of a flawed communist system. The steam created during the preparation of sticky rice is a symbol of information. When cooking rice, even if there is "'the slightest excess of steam, the rice loses all its flavor'" (150). This quote is a representation of a failed communist system. The fact that the rice has lost "all its flavor" illustrates the inefficiencies of the system, due to incorrect implementation and the inability to create a sense of perfect equality. The presence of excess steam, which ruins the rice, illustrates the result of the corruption that overwhelmed the communist system of government, causing it to fail. This corruption is shown as Hang visits Uncle Chinh, a Communist Party official who claims to be ill, he realizes that he only needs his help to "'pack his trunks of imported goods'", which will be sold to the black market (219 ). The fact that Chinh and other Communist Party members use official visits to Russia to make money by trading luxury goods on the black market illustrates the abuse of power, hidden within this government system. The hypocrisy of this becomes evident as Chinh attacks his colleagues, telling them that ""they must behave in an absolutely exemplary manner while [they] are in this brother country"" (171). This is a hypocritical statement because, although he reminds his colleagues of their mannerisms, he uses government funding to participate in the black market. This facade of nobility and trustworthiness deceives the public and further fuels his corrupt nature. Furthermore, the act of Chinh manipulating Hang by visiting him to work for him, leads to the idea that the steam also symbolizes the amount of information given to the public by the communist leaders. These leaders must disseminate the right amount of information to be able to control the public. If the public is given too much information, it may disagree and decide to overturn the system, which is illustrated by the idea that when "'you mix [rice] with apple juice, the grains don't have to clump together '" (150). This excerpt demonstrates the concept that when the communist system of government is introduced to the Vietnamese people, they must be cautious of rebellious individuals who might create a united front to overthrow the system. Therefore, excessive corruption and excessive dissemination of information would cause communism to lose its effectiveness and structure, just as excess steam would cause rice to lose its flavor and texture. The sticky rice symbol is used to represent Vietnamese culture and family structure during the implementation of communism. With the preparation of glutinous rice, even “'at the slightest excess of steam, the rice loses all its flavor'” (150). This excerpt can also be interpreted as a symbol of the loss of culture and family structure during the reign of communism. During this period, the Vietnamese people failed to maintain their culture and traditions due to concerns about surviving the harsh conditions that were now present due to the repercussions of land reform. Before the advent.