Le Ly Hayslip named the third chapter of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places "Open Wounds" rightfully because violence against her was a common Theme. A Theme is defined as a central idea of a work. Le Ly began to serve as a watchman and reported her findings back to the Viet Cong. She was imprisoned by the Republicans because they suspected her of aiding the Viet Cong; she was then sent to a high security prison where she was tortured numerous times for withholding information.
"Within an hour two guards came to my cell and pulled me into the corridor. They didn't even wait until I was in the interrogation room to brutalize me, but banged me against the walls and punched me with their fists, shouting threats and accusations as we went."
While I read this chapter, I remembered the book Night by Elie Wiesel, which we read as a class in the eighth grade at Nativity. In the book, Elie was dragged from his home and placed into Auschwitz. He was tortured, and most of his family members and acquaintances were hideously murdered by the followers of Hitler, the Nazis. Similarly, villagers of Ky La were undeservedly murdered by Republicans and Viet Cong alike because they were suspected of involvement with the opposing party.
I also thought of the popular song by the Black Eyed Peas called "Where is the Love?." Here is the chorus:
People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?
This song addresses issues of violence against innocent adults and even children, which was a very unfortunate occurence daily in Le Ly's home village of Ky La.
No comments:
Post a Comment