Application
Read the excerpt and answer the questions that follow it.
Ho Chi Minh, letter to the French minister of colonies in the newspaper La Paria, August 1, 1922
We know very well that your affection for the natives; of the colonies in general, and
the Annamese [Vietnamese] in particular is great.
Under your proconsulate [leadership] the Annamese people have known true prosperity and real happiness, the happiness of seeing their country dotted all over with an increasing number of spirit and opium shops which, together with firing squads, prisons, "democracy" and all the improved apparatus of modern civilization, are combining to make the Annamese the most advanced of the Asians and the happiest of mortals.
These acts of benevolence [kindness] save us the trouble of recalling all the others, such as enforced recruitment and loans, bloody repressions, the dethronement and exile of kings, profanation of sacred places, etc.
2. Identify the evidence that Ho provides to support his view of the minister's "affection"
for the Annamese.
3. Specify the goal of Ho Chi Minh in writing this open letter.
4. Describe the tone of Ho's letter.
2. The evidence that Ho provides to support his view of the minister's "affection" for the Annamese includes sarcasm and irony in describing the supposed prosperity and happiness brought about by the French leadership, such as the increase in spirit and opium shops, firing squads, prisons, and the mention of "democracy" and modern civilization.
3. The goal of Ho Chi Minh in writing this open letter is likely to criticize and expose the negative actions and policies of the French colonial government in Vietnam and to highlight the disparity between their rhetoric of care and affection towards the Annamese people and the harsh realities faced by them under French rule.
4. The tone of Ho's letter is critical, sarcastic, and mocking. He uses irony and sarcasm to highlight the negative impact of French colonial rule on the Annamese people and to point out the hypocrisy of the minister's supposed affection towards them.