The Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of stories A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler was a major discussion point for the readers of 1993 due to the book’s revealing content about Vietnamese immigration history. One of the prolific works by Olen Butler is Mr. Green. Totally capturing and involving it makes you want to take a deep breath before you start reading the best stories. It is a persuasive story about the feminine role in society and culture that we are completely strayed from to be able to understand the story from the very beginning, although the end surprises and astonishes with its deepness. Although the story is a little heavy-handed with symbolism, the author magnificently reflected the main problem of those times’ culture. In Mr. Green Butler uses the character of the grandfather to develop the theme of gender roles within the culture.
It is very interesting to trace connections of culture and personal feelings of misogyny as presented through the character of grandfather in Mr. Green. In fact, it is very hard to trace the line between the cultural identity and the misogyny that took place in Vietnamese culture. The character of the grandfather is extremely sound for the cultural beliefs the author conveyed through all stories of this collection: it is a man strongly dedicated to the cultural heritage. This is a wonderful presentation of the generation gap misunderstanding when a younger generation does not want to put up with the orders defined. Instead, they fight those somewhere deep inside but never let it come up on the surface because of the same respect for the culture and older generation. However, the generational and cultural problem was demolished at the same time after the mercy killing of the parrot.
The grandfather did represent the gender roles imposed by the cultural beliefs. He did not know any other kind of attitude towards gender roles. Women have always stood on the lower step of a social gradation in Vietnam and on his deathbed the grandfather “lifted his face and his eyes were very sad, and I knew he was disappointed. My brothers were not yet born….” (Buttler 28). This is a reflective line that holds loyalty to culture and religion and, ironically, it conveys love to his granddaughter. Yes, this may sound weird but Butler made a hint on the true feeling in this line. Those are the feelings that had to be concealed under the cultural identity but gender roles became secondary during the deathbed time of grandfather. Although he regretted there were no boys yet to continue the family but the granddaughter was the next of kin and at that moment there slipped carelessness for gender roles into the two characters’ lives. Grandfather’s character reflected an enormous part of the culturally obedient population of Vietnam, though a human one. That is why the granddaughter killed Mr. Green – she knew the grandfather loved her and she needed to put an end to that cultural injustice.
Mr. Green is a splendid story that showcases cultural beliefs that tend to be very strong within the generations though not stronger than love in the family. The character of the grandfather is used to develop the theme of gender roles bound with the forced dedication to culture. The character was greatly unveiled to put an impression for many more days after reading.
Works Cited
Buttler, Robert, O. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. New York: Henry Holt, 1992. Print.