Discrimination

In Vietnam, different cultural and groups of people have faced discrimination, which can seen through the conflict between Chinese and French, the traditional gender habit between men and women, and the class consciousness between rich people and the poor people. In the novel, "The Lover", which wrote by Duras, Marguerite, Chinese has treated unfairly compared to French in Vietnam. Instead of racism, sexism is also current in Vietnam; women have treated unfairly compared to men. Moreover, there is a classicism as well, that the poor people have treated unfairly ,and have looked as lower class than the rich people in Vietnam.

In Vietnam, Chinese has discriminated by the French; and they have treated unfairly compared to French. Since Vietnam is a colony to France, French think they are the best in the Vietnam society, and they are superiority than any Chinese. Since French pride of their culture, they never make any connect with Chinese because they think Chinese is inferiority and weak. In the passage,

"My brothers never will say a world to him, it's as if he were invisible to them, as if for them he weren't solid enough to be perceived, seen or heard. This is because he adores me, but it's taken for granted I don't love him, that I'm with him for the money, that I can't love him, it's impossible, that he could take any sort of treatment from me and still go on loving me. This is because he's a Chinese, because he's not a white man. The way my elder brother treats my lover, not speaking to him, ignoring him, stems from such absolute conviction it acts as a model. We all treat my lover as he does. I myself never speak to him in their presence. When my family's here I'm never supposed to give him a message." (Marguerite Pg.51)

the girl's lover, who is a Chinese man, is discriminated by her family. Her family reject to talk with the Chinese man because they think it will lower themselves; even thought that the Chinese man is richer than they are.

Also, in the passage,

"She weeps for the disaster of he life, of her. I lie. I swear by my own life that nothing has happened to me, nothing, not even a kiss. How could i. I say, with a Chinese, how could I do that with a Chinese, ugly , such a weakling?" (Marguerite pg. 59)

 

the white girl tries to hide the true relationship that between she and her lover. She knows that if her mother finding out that she sleeps with the Chinese man, her mother will kill her; because it is a shame that a white girl have sex with a Chinese man. Indeed, French always look the Chinese as lower because they think Chinese is cheap and inferiority.

Also, Chinese has treated unfairly compare to the white people in Vietnam society. The transportation in Vietnam are classified for white people section and the native section, which can seen through the line,

"As usual the driver had me sit near him in the front, in the section reserved for white passengers." (Marguerite Pg. 9)

It meant that the native people can sit on the seat which reserved for the white people, even thought there is a empty seat on that section. Not even in the transportation, in the school, French students also have a special treatment. For example,

"ask he to let me do as I like in the evenings, not to check the time I come in, not to force me to he out with the other girls on Sunday excursions." … "The head agrees because I'm white and the place needs a few whites among all the half-castes for the sake of its reputation." (Marguerite Pg.70-71)

she(the little white girl) wants to go out in the evenings, and come back any time she wants. The head of the school agree that she can do whatever she want because she is a French. Thus, in Vietnam, a colony of France, the white people have better treatment because they a best and superiority than Chinese.

Instead of the racism, sexism is happened in the Vietnam as well; the traditional gender habit cause the women have treated unfairly compared to men. In that era, women can not against men, on matter what happen. For example,

"In my elder brother's presence he ceases to be my lover. He doesn't cease to exist, but he's no longer anything to me. He becomes a burned out shell. My desire obeys my elder brother , rejects my lover." (Marguerite Pg.52)

the girl's brother doesn't like her to go out with a Chinese man. Since she can not fright with her brother, even thought she is unwilling to reject her lover, she obeys her brother. Indeed, it is the way of the women's life in that era. Women have no choice to their own.

Beside, Women have treated unfairly compared to the men because women are weak and powerless. Since women have no ability to against the men and most of the women are depending on the men, they usually obey and follow the men. In the passage,

"People have always let the land in the same sorrow and despair, but that never stopped men from going, Jew, philosophers, and pure travelers for the journey's own sake. Nor did it ever stop women letting them go, the women who never went themselves, who stayed behind to look after the birth place, the race, the property, the reason for the return." (Marguerite Pg. 108-109)

the men always leave the land to the other countries. They leave their wife in Vietnam to look after the place. No matter what, the women can every stop letting them go because the women have to obey their husband. The only thing that the women can do is wait; to wait until their husband come back. Thus, in that era, men are the ruler and women are the follower; women have to obey the men.

Also, the poor people have discriminated by the rich people in Vietnam as well. The poor people have isolated by the rich people and they live worst compared to wealth people. Rich people have been looked more superiority and regard than the poor people. For example,

"Between drivers and employers there are still sliding glass panels. There are still fold-down seats. A car is still as big as a bed room. (Marguerite Pg. 17)

inside the car, there a glass separate the driver and the employer because the employer tries to keep away form the driver - the drivers was isolated by the employers. The employer ever talk to the driver, except for ordering job, because the think it will lower themselves if talking to a poor people. Beside, poor people in Vietnam are the follower and the rich people are the leader. Poor people have to keep quiet in every where because this is the ruling of the society, which is seen through the passage,

"We said nothing about all this outside, one of the first things we'd learned was to keep quiet about the ruling principle of our life, poverty. And then about everything else. Saigon and then on ocean liners and." (Marguerite Pg. 60)

Indeed, Poor people are lower class than the rich people in Vietnam.

Moreover poor people have to live in bad environment condition. People who are poor have to sell their furniture for paying food. In the passage,

"I've also been told it was because being poor made us brood. But no, that wasn't it, Children like little old men because of chronic ashamed, we sold our furniture, but we weren't hunger, we were white children, we were ashamed, we sold our furniture, but we weren't hungry, we had a house boy and we ate. Sometimes, admittedly, we ate garbage-storks, baby crocodiles- but the garbage was cooked and served by a house boy, and sometimes we refused it, too, we indulged in the luxury of declining to eat." (Marguerite Pg. 6-7)

the poor people have lack of choice of their food. Even thought they don't like to eat, this is the only food they have. However, to make a photographer is like a dream for the poor people, too. Making a photographer is very expensive. Usually, the poor people go to the photographer just once in their life, in the passage,

"The better - off natives used to go to the photographer's too, just once in their lives, when they saw death was near." (Marguerite Pg. 96)

Thus, the life of the poor people is difficult and unfairly compared to the rich people.

In conclusion, different culture and groups of people have faced discrimination in Vietnam society, which can seen throughout the contrast between the Chinese and the French, the unfair treatment for women in Vietnam society, and the classicism between the poor people and the rich people. In the novel "The Lover", Chinese are treated unfairly and discriminated by the French. Also, the women in that era have no right in the society. Moreover, poor people have been treated unfairly compared to the rich people. Thus, the racism, the sexism, and the classicism has happened around the Vietnam society.

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