Vietnamese Food In Bao Ninh's The Sorrow Of War

“From then on it was called the Jungle of Screaming Souls. Just hearing the name whispered was enough to send chills down the spine” (Ninh 6). Boa Ninhs publication of the novel The Sorrow of War gave a Vietnamese perspective of the Vietnam War which was never heard before. Ninh shows the world the truths of the Vietnam culture that have been censored by the Vietnamese government. He gave the Vietnamese people a voice that they were desperately searching for. The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh tells the uncensored truths of Vietnamese culture through Vietnamese cuisine , afterlife of the dead, war ideology, and Vietnamese economy. Boa Ninh was born in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1952. Sent to war at the age of seventeen, he served in the Glorious 27th Youth

Food is very important to the people, and it is a vital when holding ceremonial rituals. From the beginning of Vietnam, villagers would hold feasts to honor their ancestors. Along with importance, vietnamese food comes in many different varieties. Vietnamese cuisine is considered some of the most healthiest food on the planet, mostly containing different species of fish. With many bodies of water and nutritious soil, Vietnams geographical landscape plays a major factor on what the people eat. As the Encyclopedia of Food and Cuisine states, “A typical Vietnamese meal requires rice, soup (with greens), a fried dish of fish, meat, or vegetables, and fish sauce on the side for additional flavoring. This meal would be prepared in sufficient quantity that it would be consumed for lunch and dinner” (Parvanta 320). In the mix of war Kien doesn 't get to enjoy fulfilling meals, rice being his primary source of food. He treasures moments when he gets to eat a full traditional course. In a farmhouse owned by civilians he describes a meal very similar to what you would expect to eat for a vietnamese dinner. “The kitchen table had been laid out neatly, as though a full dinner had been prepared but the family had been called away. Bowls of dried fish, eggplants, rice had been placed in the center of the table and covered with insect-proof netting. For each person there were chopsticks, bowls, salt, pepper, and

Being a communist country, the government controls all fascists of the economy. Civilians have no control of their economic state because free trade is illegal. The most common job for the vietnamese people is in the agricultural sector. They have many valuable exports that include: oil, rice, marine products, coffee, rubber, and tea. Many problems caused major setbacks on economic growth. Foreign domination had direct negative effects on progressive infrastructure, and spending capital on wars rather than economic development. The Encyclopedia of Modern Asia states “The economic development of Vietnam suffers from three serious impediments. During the time they controlled Vietnam, the French developed only those economic sectors that brought profit to the French themselves; long wars have marred recent history; and a decade of unfortunate postwar socialist experimentation with a centralized economy has left deep scars” (Lam 62). With the combination of foreign domination and communist ruling, Vietnams economic state has been poor throughout their history. In The Sorrow of War, Kien grew up with poor financial conditions. When he returns to his home, the condition of his stepfathers house explains his feeling towards living in poverty. “The house was old and greyish, surrounded by a sad, unkempt winter garden which itself was ringed by wispy eucalyptus that rustled in the light breeze. The