On Distant Ground | Topics for Discussion & Projects

On Distant Ground Key Questions

Butler does not, in On Distant Ground, use terms such as "half-breed" or "bui doi"—the Vietnamese phrase which translates to "Child of the Dust" or "Dust of Life" which is applied to Ameriasian children born of Vietnamese mothers and American GI fathers—all too often "short-timers" who lived with, or carried on relationships with, Vietnamese women for a few weeks or months, then returned to "The World," the United States. Nor does Butler broach in detail issues of how well David Fleming expects to deal with the implications of a biracial family, or the implications of Jennifer, still coping with postpartum depression, needing to accept not only her own infant with the expected feedings, diaperings, sleepless nights with colic and such, but needing also to accept her husband's attention to the older son born to another woman. Butler does include David Fleming's angry reactions to seeing television news stories about losses...
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