Name
Class
Historical Fiction Analysis
Date
The Lotus Seed
by Sherry Garland
“My grandmother saw the emperor cry the day he lost his golden dragon throne” (Garland 2). This
is how Sherry Garland opens her historical fiction, The Lotus Seed. The story follows the narrator’s
grandmother as she journeys from a ravaged war-torn Vietnam to a modern day America with only a
lotus seed. This seed not only serves as a symbol of her identity as a Vietnamese woman, but also as a
link to her future as an American through her grandchildren.
Through the trials of the grandmother, the reader learns about the hardships that the Vietnamese
had to endure at the hands of the French, and then through their own civil war. In 1945 Bao Dai gave
over his authority as Emperor to a revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh, in the hopes that his people would
be able to gain their freedom from France. Although the Vietnamese were victorious in this conflict they
soon plunged into another, this time a civil war. This war was fought between the North and the South.
As the battles consumed their homeland, many Vietnamese became refugees and fled to America. “One
terrible day her family scrambled into a crowded boat and set out on a stormy sea. Ba watched the
mountains and the waving palms slowly fade away. She held the seed in her shaking fingers and silently
said good-bye” (Garland 11).
Along with providing an assortment of facts about some key moments in their history, Garland
gives the reader a glimpse into the Vietnamese culture and customs. The story begins with the emperor,
a system of government Vietnam used to follow before the wars began. The author also weaves into the
narrative that traditional Vietnamese garb was a silk ao dai, and that a bride’s husband was chosen by
her parents. Garland also speaks to the refugees who were forced to leave Vietnam, and the hardships
they faced as they fled their homeland and relocated in a foreign land with a language they couldn't
speak. Finally, the reader grows to appreciate that the lotus bloom is the beautiful flower of the
Vietnamese people.
Although the granddaughter is the narrator of the story it is her grandmother who serves as the lead
protagonist. This character does all she can to preserve her beliefs and her heritage. Family and identity
are so important to the grandmother, that she shares the seeds of her sacred lotus bloom with her
grandchildren, while retaining one so that she may remember her beloved emperor. “Whenever she felt
sad or lonely, she took out the seed and thought of the brave young emperor” (Garland 5).
The Lotus Seed is a powerful, yet simple, historical fiction. Through Garland’s grandmother
character I was able to experience the great love that the Vietnamese people have for their country.
These people struggled through French occupation, were torn a part by a civil war, and sent overseas as
refugees into other counties. Not only has my understanding of this period of time in Vietnam’s history
expanded, my level of sympathy for her people have deepened. “I wrapped my seed in a piece of silk
and hid it in a secret place. Someday I will plant it and give the seeds to my own children and tell them
about the day my grandmother saw the emperor cry” (Garland 25).