Comparison

Question 1

Theme with main characters in their setting (compare)

Answer 1

Both stories deal have main characters in minority groups in their setting and their fight to establish some freedom to escape from the society they are currently in

Question 2

Finances constrat

Answer 2

In both stories, finances seem to be an issue for the main characters. However in ADH this is due to gender discrimination since men were able to handle their fianances, but in Ru, this was due to racism and the communist government

not really women in power, men are the ones doing the discrimination they were allowed to fight in the war

Question 3

Theme with identity (constrat)

Answer 3

However in a doll’s house where Nora wishes to have the freedom of those who oppress her (the men), An Tin still wants to maintain her original vietnamese identity

not vietnamese in the sense of how people perceive that, their fragility quote thingie

Question 4

Deception (compare)

Answer 4

In order to overcome limitation, both protagonists have some sort of deception involved in order to get away with what they are doing, which brings in the theme of morality. Something that is viewed as wrong (lying) but within the circumstances it may be okay because the discrimination they experience is wrong and the restrictions placed on them are unreasonable, and deception is the only way through which they can escape this

Question 5

Who they ask for help with (compare & contrast)

Answer 5

In both stories, characters need help to overcome the limitations they face. In Ru, An Tinh’s family needed the help of several people from thoes driving the boat to the sponsors in Granby quebec. However, in ADH Nora only really asks for Mrs. Linde’s help to have the transition. She is more alone than An Tinh because while both actions were unconventional in their time, Nora’s was more so since there were no strories of people leaving their family and not even Mrs. Linde understands her actions wehreas An Tinh can share her experiences with other Vietnamese refugees and also her family.

probably has to do with different time periods, now it is not as unconventional

Question 6

Strong enough to walk away (compare)

Answer 6

In both stories, characters have to be brave enough to walk away from their situation that they realized is not right. They did not like the way society was structured and how they were being treated as a result, so they decided to do something about it.

strong female protagonists they were not passive

Question 7

Transformation in character (time and age of protagonists) (constrast)

Answer 7

Even though in ADH only takes place over the course of a few days, it is still evident that there has been an ongoing transformation of her character, the earliest indication of which began when she forged her father’s signature to save Torvald. However her transformation started when she was an adult. The circumstances that An Tinh faced as such a young age caused her to experience transformation as a child, when she put in the very dangerous situation of immigrating and the whole novel also dictates her transformation from childhood and even well into adulthood

Question 8

Comparision about individual vs society

Answer 8

In both stories, tension is portrayed as conflict through an individual vs society lens, where characters are battling the expectations of what others think of them as the “old” when they have transformed into something different, “the new”. They experience tensions because they are strongly connected to their past.
In both stories, the character’s what to be viewed and understood as who they are as their new self, the tension is because those around them still believe they are like their old self

Question 9

If characters have changed to themselves and to readers (constrast)

Answer 9

However, in A Doll’s house, tension is used to emphasize to readersif really have changed; Nora certiantly has for her perspective is different than those around her, but Krogstad arguably hasn’t changed because he has threatened and used Nora to get his way, an act that certainly does not garner much respect. In Ru, tension is used to allow the character to question if they should change, An Tinh should know she is Vietnamese even with her confidence and determination and her mom should know she can be carefree and go dancing and that is still right

Question 10

How did tension originate in terms of time (compare and constrast)

Answer 10

In both stories, the tension between the old and new is something that the characters experience every single day. However, in a Doll’s house, the tension started to originate because of a catalyst, for Krogstad that was the threat of getting fired and for Nora that was realizing how society is flayed. However, in Ru, the tension started to originate more gradually, with An Tinh’s mom learning that she did not want to stay uptight her whole life and with An Tinh struggling with identity from when she first arrived in Granby all the way to the present

Question 11

Why the tensions are caused (constrast)

Answer 11

In Ru, the tensions between the old and new are caused by the difference of setting, where those in the new setting do not share the same persperspectives. In ADH the tensions are caused by character’s perspective changing around them while they remain in the same setting, so for Nora that would be her transformation and for Mrs. Linde that would be how she no longer feels she has someone to live for

Question 12

Why are the tensions caused (compare)

Answer 12

In both stories, it is clear that the difference between old and new is largely due to the character in question not being able to adapt to the change and facing an internal struggle that those around them do not necessarily understand

Question 13

If characters still experience tensions

Answer 13

In Ru, An Tinh still experiences tensions by the end of the novel and has not transformed as a result of circumstances changing whereas in ADH Mrs. Linde does something about her situation and gets a job at the bank and mrs. Linde rekindles her relationship with Krogstad and they start over and now she has someone to live for.

Question 14

When the stories were written and why context important (contrast)

Answer 14

In A Doll’s House, knowledge of the context in which the play was written helps readers better understand a context they may not be familiar with because of different time periods with different societal expectations, as ADH was written over a century ago. However, in Ru, this context they may not be familiar with is due to different cultural experiences as can be seen with An Tinh’s distinction between emotional traumas and tatooos

Question 15

Does context change (contrast)

Answer 15

Since A Doll’s House spans over the course of a few days, the context in which it was written stays the same throughout the story. However, in Ru, there are various contexts because of her immigration from Vietnam, to the Malaysian Refugee Camps, to Granby with each past location influencing her new perspective.

Question 16

How context helps to characterizes (compare)

Answer 16

In both stories, the context helps characterize various characters in the story. For example, Ahn Phi’s generosity would seem like an act of kindness, when in reality it is an act of sacrifice and shows his character to do something without expecting anything in return. In A Doll’s house, the fact that Nora is working may not seem so special to readers in this time period as it has become more of a norm, but in that context, it shows that she is resourceful and determined to fight for equality, even though in the beginning her efforts are more silent than vocal.

Question 17

Justification for why characters are the way they are (compare)

Answer 17

In both stories, the justification for the reason why characters are the way they are is better understood through the context in which they are written, which helps garner empathy from the readers. This can be seen in ADH as Nora’s seemingly rash decision to leave her family is actually backed up and supported by a series of comments and actions from Torvald, and understanding the struggles she is facing in her time period help back up the emotional distress that she must be feeling. In Ru, the action of taking cyanide pills should An Tinh’s family be caught demonstrates how petrified they have been about the entire journey and reading between the lines.

Question 18

Knowledge of context more important than time (contrast)

Answer 18

In Ru, the knowledge of the context is more important to understanding character’s motives rather than the time, because their motives are based on their own cultural experiences about oppression, which is still commonly present worldwide today. However in ADH, arguably the knowledge of the time period because Torvald’s direct comments seem out of place in today’s society, as there are examples of men nowadays sacrificing their honour for their loved ones.

Question 19

Context helps understand problematic however differing perspectives (compare and contrast)

Answer 19

In both stories, the knowledge of the context in which the play is written helps readers understand how problematic the societal and cultural norms of the time and place are. However, in Ru, there is some ambiguity as her differing perspective compared to others around her does not mean any one perspective is correct.

Question 20

Power of authority (compare)

Answer 20

A Doll’s House and Ru clearly display how both Torvald and the Vietnamese government respectively constrain people by making life choices for them that selfishly satisfy their own needs, regardless of what is best for the people they dominate. While the manner varies in which these figures express their control, it achieves the same purpose for both protagonists in that they feel a sense of desperation of wanting to make things better, but not knowing how.

Question 21

Type of control opposed and how protagonists can escape it (contrast)

Answer 21

Furthermore, in A Doll’s House, Torvald’s control over his marriage degrades their relationship because there is a lack of trust and mutual agreement, thus Nora begins to disobey her husband’s wishes. Rather than verbal restrictions, in Ru, the government imposes a lack of control on its people through physical actions, by ransacking and confiscating their items. Thúy’s characters have no opportunity to avoid the government’s surprise visits, like how Nora can lie about her actions as Torvald is not always monitoring her.

Question 22

Types of sacrifices (contrast)

Answer 22

The types of sacrifices that characters have to make in the books by not adhering to societal norms differs. In Ru, sacrifices are a matter of life and death, with An Phi’s decision to give back to gold to An Tinh’s family costing him the opportunity to be able to escape Vietnam himself, without knowing if another opportunity like that will come up, a true and honourable sacrifice. However, in A Doll’s house, by not adhering to societal norms, she sacrifices her reputation and her family, as Torvald clearly showed that he would not respect her if her secret about procuring money got out.

Question 23

Similarity: source of inspiration
Kinds of norms differeed

Answer 23

In both stories, authors used various literary techniques such as ___, ___ and ___ to depict characters who did not conform to norms, as a source of inspiration to readers that they do not have to be passive characters in their own lives. However, the kind of norms characters deviated from differed between the two books: in Ru character’s deviated from cultural norms whereas in A Doll’s House (ADH) characters deviated from gender norms.

Ahn Tinh deviated from how a Vietnamese person should act vs Nora deviated from how a woman should act

Question 24

What inaction would do (constrast)

Answer 24

In Ru, this would sacrifice their lives but in ADH this sacrifices more of their happiness and mental health, also life in terms of suicide

Question 25

Power of money (compare)

Answer 25

It is clear that finances present an issue in both stories and that money holds great power and importance in terms of what people are able to do in the society. For example, with a lot of money, women would not have to be so dependent on men to get well off in life and in Ru, money would allow An Tinh to live her childhood rather than give it up for a noble reason and for Vietnamese people to gain the freedom away from the opppresion they face

Money would allow them to gain freedom from the oppression they face

Question 26

If deviation from norms is convential (contrast)

Answer 26

Argbubly in ADH, the deviation from nroms is more unconventional than in Ru, shown clearly by An Tinh ebing with other refugees in her trip to canada but also meeting other vietneamese refugees like the man with the scar.

Question 27

If characters feel alone (contrast)

Answer 27

Similarly to this idea, many people in Ru are trying to change their situation whereas there is no one else who faces Nora’s situation, no other female protagonists in the story who are married, has to do with lack of characters in the play. Causes Nora to feel more alone

Compare number of charactres in books as this might be a cause

Question 28

Issues prevalent in today’s society and inspiration (compare)

Answer 28

Both stories while written in very different time periods still reflect issues that are prevalent in todays society, so they are likely relatable to numerous audiences even if the exact circumstances are not the same. For example, nowadays there are many more places in the world where women are allowed to manage finances than in the time A Doll’s House was written, but women may still face discrimination in the workplace and these novels can serve as inspirations to fight for equality. Paired with the strong female protagonists who fight through inequality amongst other struggles, the novels serve as inspirations

Distinction is that women should have a choice, not that they should be independent