Catfish and Mandala

Characters;
       -Andrew: Narrator, goes on journey through Vietnam on his bike to discover who he is and where he belongs, feels he always lets the ones he loves down
      -Chi (Minh): Sister of Andrew, abused by her father, miserable, lost, helpless, confused, had a sex change, killed herself
      -Wong: One of Andrew's close friends in the camp, was very gentle and kind, committed suicide in the camp and made Andrew very sad because he had no one to talk to
      -Father: Abused Chi and made her who she was
      -No Named Boy: traveled with An on some travels and was a good friend to him, he impacted An because he was nameless An felt bad

Setting;
      In the late 20th century, after Vietnam War
      Bike ride through Vietnam (Saigon), with Andrew 
      California (San Jose) where the family immigrated to

Symbols, Metaphors, Motifs;
      Motif of guilt because Andrew feels he has become too American- also feels he has left his family and cannot please them
      Fruitless Tree symbolizes the absence of new memories that could have been created
      When Andrew pushes through sickness he claims he feels better which is like him pushing through hard times and when he gets through it he will feel rewarded
      After the cities fell, everyone was so desperate to find light so An told a woman that he saw angels so she would be hopeful

Themes;
      Physical journeys can lead to emotional changes
      One must explore the past in order to fix the present
      No person is pure good or evil
      Before you can move forward, you need to know where you came from
      Great change (and travel) can either strengthen or destroy a person
      The experiences in your life shape who you will become

Summary;
      Later in his life, Andrew ventures off back to his home in Vietnam with only a bike and his memories. He was trying to discover where he is "from" meaning where he should say he is from and his nationality. An goes back to revisit the places from his childhood, and see how things have changed. His controversial viewpoints not only within himself but also within his family give him many problems that he has to figure out himself on an emotional level and what his purpose in life is. 

Quotes, Significant Moments;
        “Too many things have changed. Too much time has passed. I'm different now, a man with a pocketful of unconnected but terribly vivid memories. I was looking to dredge up what I'd long forgotten. Most of all, I am wishing for something to fasten all these gems, maybe something to hold them in a continuity that I can comprehend.” 
        “When it's all over, you'll realize that the answer is already within you.” 
        "It seemed, then, that we could simply walk out of Vietnam and right into America, beautiful free America, somewhere at the end of this wondrous road."
        "A man once revealed something which disturbed me too much to be discounted. He said, 'Your sister died because she became too American.'"


CSPAN Interview with Pham

Gelo