The bitter taste of salt

Monique Truong uses salt for a metaphor in The Book of Salt. Salt is somewhat bitter and Binh is bitter about many parts of his life. He has bitter feelings toward his father due to the physical and verbal abuse that he suffered through as a child. His father was somewhat bitter concerning the thought of his wife having a business, and this is because he considered the word business to be only associated with men. He also seems to have a bitter hatred of women and this is shown in how he talks about his wife and how he treats her. It is terrible how his father treats Binh and yet he has his favorite son, Minh. Minh does truly accomplish assimilation into the French culture and does try to help Binh with the assimilation process as well. He does this by teaching him French and by teaching him how to cook in a way that will secure Binh a good job so that he can support himself. Problems of quality employment are also present in parts of this book and are shown in ways like they were in Drown. Both books demonstrate how hard it is to find really good employment and how employers treat these people and listen to what they have to say like tossing a grain of salt into the air. Binh is also bitter about how others view homosexuality and consider it to be some sort of sickness that is not curable. Also, many different religions and cultures frown upon homosexuality and consider it a sin. It's somehwat ironic that Binh lands a job with Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas since they are both homosexuals. There is also a look of talk concerning food and many of these foods are things that one would find in an ocean or a sea which of course contains salt. Other foods mentioned, especially while Binh is taking Chef Blerior to the vendors is also somewhat strong and bitter. For instance when Binh is talking about the onions and garlic. These items definitely have strong somewhat salty odors. The metaphor of salt definitely plays a role throughout the book.