LIVED DOMESTICITIES
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Live-in Cook
The short story, Live-in Cook by Monique Truong, painted a vivd description of what the main character, Bin, was going thru. The author was very descriptive about how Bin was ashamed of his past, in lines such as: "I was forced to admit that I was, to them, nothing but a series of destinations with no meaningful expenses in between." There was nothing more to life for Bin except to serve others, he in fact said he found refuge and comfort in the kitchen. I felt extremely remorseful for Bin until later on in the reading, he mentioned how he enjoyed his summer lifestyle in Bilignin where he received sunday's off, he was able to drink a little and his employer's gave him money to "splurge" in town. Even then, Bin still seemed frugal. One line that stayed in my head was on the lines of, they gave me enough money for a 2nd class train, I bought a 3rd class. I think we can all relate with him how when the summer is over, life is less fun and more work. One dynamic I didn't understand, as mentioned by another fellow blogger, was the relationship between the Mesdames.
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The money exchanges between Binh and his employers, the two American women, are very interesting. How do the women travel to Bilignin, and why does Binh travel separately? Is the seasonal travel mentioned when Binh is first hired? Yes, I do think he is frugal, but what else does the episode of Binh buying a 3rd class ticket and using the rest of the money for other expenditures reveal about his compensation and amount of time spent at work? Bring up the question about the two women in class?
ReplyDeleteIt all makes sense now after discussing it in class. For whatever reason, I didn't pick up his nationality. I'll take your advice for the next piece we cover by reading the material more than once to get a deeper understanding
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