Letters from Thailand #31-#40 by Choeuk Sreyneath

3.An analysis using Marxist Literary Criticism:

kimtaeyeon2085 — 2023-12-17 12:49:12 UTC

-Exploitation of Workers: In the story, there is an element of exploitation when Shang U discovers that his best friend, Kim, has been playing the lottery. Shang U, being concerned about Kim's well-being, does not want him to engage in such activities as he perceives it as a potential waste of money and a danger to Kim's financial stability. This can be seen as an example of class dynamics and exploitation, where Shang U, who holds a position of relative power and authority, tries to exert control over Kim's actions in order to protect his interests and prevent him from potentially falling into financial hardship.

-Social Inequality and Poverty: Social injustice and poverty is brought to light towards the end of the story when Shang U, Mui Eng, and Ang Buai come across a woman pleading for money since she is foodless and her child isn't getting any milk. There's a clear reminder of the socioeconomic divide in the society the novel portrays when you see this beggar and her hired infant. The woman's desperation and her use of the baby's presence to manipulate others into feeling sorry for her in order to get money highlight the harsh realities that marginalized people must deal with when they are caught in poverty cycles and have no choice but to use desperate means of survival.

-Cultural identity and pride: When Weng Kim, his kid, speaks Thai instead of Chinese all the time, Shang U gets upset. This shows how proud Shang U is of his Chinese ancestry and how much he wants his son to uphold their cultural identity. It illustrates how societal dynamics and self-esteem can affect how family members interact and perceive one another.

1. A short summary of letter #31-#40

vothanahorng7 — 2023-12-17 12:51:55 UTC

Shang U is gaining a reputation in his family businesses; unfortunately, he has conflict with Kim, who is his best friend from China. Shang U discovered that Kim had been playing the lottery, and Shang U did not want Kim to play it at all. For almost three months, Kim was still angry with Shang U. At that time, Shang U moved his business to Yaowarat, and he gave up his customers to Li San. While Shang U and his family were moving into Yaowartat, he met his old friend, Tae Sheng. Tae Sheng teased Shang U about his businesses, Ang Buai, and Mui Eng. Shang U wants to end the quarrel with Seng. His business in the new land is not going well, and Mui Eng has entrusted the fate of their business to the supernatural. She realized that there was a foreign woman in her house, the spirits have put a curse on this house. Nothing will go well for them until the curse is removed. Shang U accompanied Mui Eng to the spiritualist, and the man said that their business was not caused by a foreign woman at all but by other serious problems. When they follow what that man says, their business has even drifted up a bit. Shang U and Mui Eng have another daughter named Bak Li. Shang U took his son, Weng Kim, to see Seng and Chaba at the market. Weng Kim was very happy staying with Seng. Seng and Chaba also had a daughter. Suang U had a reaction and point of view towards Weng Khim’s behavior of constantly speaking Thai to people around him. Suang U is feeling discontented about this, for he has a great pride in being Chinese. Suang U’s and Ang Buai carried different perspectives and opinions about Weng Kim. Shang U wants his son to speak Thai at home, and he wants him to be able to move easily in both Thai and Chinese, but as a Chinese because the origin of his family is Chinese. Mui Eng fell in the bathroom, and she was sent to the hospital because she was pregnant. Her baby was born on that Day. Unfortunately, Mui Eng cannot have a baby anymore because her uterus is damaged. Shang U is very disappointed because there will be no more sons. Several months later, Mui and her daughter, Meng Chu, returned home. One day, when Shang U , Mui Eng, and Ang Buai went to see the movie, they met something that was strange to them. There was a woman begging for some money because she had no food and their baby had no milk. Lastly, they realized that a beggar who asked them for some money was renting the baby and begs in places where women are eating. Shang U cannot believe it.

5. An analysis using psychoanalytic Literary criticism

vothanahorng7 — 2023-12-17 12:52:53 UTC

• Suang U's pride in his Chinese identity and his desire to raise Weng Khim in the traditional Chinese way show that he wants to feel in control and stable. people often stick to cultural or societal norms to feel safe.

• Suang U's strict parenting can also be understood through psychoanalytic theory as a reflection of his fears and worries about being a good father. people might unconsciously put their fears onto their children, leading to strict behavior. Suang U's focus on discipline and hard work for Weng Khim may come from a fear of failing as a parent and a wish to make sure his son is ready for life's challenges.

2. A short analysis of the main character's development.

teytey011804 — 2023-12-17 13:03:38 UTC

-Suang U: From letters 30 to 40, there were a few unfortunate circumstances that happened to Suang U. His business didn't do well since he moved to a new place. That's why he made a great effort to recover his business again. Besides his hard work, Suang U became the most heartless father since he was disappointed about his newborn daughter, and he even refused to see her. He held that her daughter was the problem that made Muy Eng could no longer be pregnant, so he could not have more sons as he wished. He wanted more sons than more daughters because he was worried that the daughter could bring shame to the family, so he wanted to avoid that.

Muy Eng: In those letters, Muy Eng also worked hard to make the business grow. Moreover, Muy Eng was a really good wife since she tried to tell her husband to not worry about having more sons because they had a good family already and she wanted him to understand how much she did with the four children and how hard being pregnant was, so for her it's enough for a family.

Lo Yong chua: He is a man who always supports Suang U until now. Suang U faced problems in his business and family. Lo Yong Chua comforted Suang U by providing positive opinions to Suang U during his hard time, and he also tried to pull Suang U out of his worries.

4. An analysis using Feminist literary criticism

bearice476 — 2023-12-17 16:26:09 UTC

1. Suang U is not happy because his third child is a "Daughter". He mentioned that a good family should be consisted of FIVE SONs and TWO DAUGHTERs. This has shown the power dynamic of men by that time was way too high than girls since the existence of Suang U's third child as a daughter has upset him and made him feel sorry to his mother because his third child was not a boy.

2. Another one is about the ge der inequality in terms-of "Values", Suang U seems to give little or we can say zero attention to his daughters. He didn't mention spec ific like he did of Khim, about his daughters to his mother at all. As we already know he had named his SON, Khim, 9 months before he was born. He had thought about it very well, the meaning and everything. For the second and third child since they are both women, he told Mui Eng not to worry much about their names because women will be known for their nicknames in the future.

Member names

bearice476 — 2023-12-18 12:49:53 UTC

1. Choeuk Sreyneath
2. Horng Vothana
3. Tong Sopheavatey
4. Seoun Sreynuth