From When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip

 2/17

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From When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip 

“Although I could silence Miss Ly’s song– which now seemed to me obscene– I could not silence the children’s pain. For the pain itself was a voice; a voice that had risen above Ky La as a chorus of deathly smoke” (367). 

I think that this passage from Le Ly Hayslip When Heaven and Earth Changed Places might be the hardest thing we have had to read in this class so far. While reading, readers live through the constant torture, anxiety, and suffering that Hayslip experienced during the war in her village Ky La (361). Her diction evokes strong imagery. You feel the bites, bruises, and cold cement floor (365). You picture the dead bodies of humans and animals on the road, ignored by Republicans, waiting to be buried and put to rest (368). You feel the snakes, ants, sweat, and hits (366). It hurts to read this. 

In this passage and in Le Ly’s life, there are only extremely brief moments of relief that soon change into bad ones. For example, a sigh of relief from her father when she returns home (361). The people singing “Miss Ly’s song” to celebrate avoiding a massacre (364). These are small moments that are soon ruined by more pain and woe. 

I can’t imagine living as Le Ly and then writing about my experiences as she did. She’s so brave to re-live that pain. I believe she might’ve written about her experiences in such depth because she wanted to share a life that is unique to her only. Her accounts bring insight and awareness to the brutality of civilians in wartime. 

Although the people in the village celebrated her bravery at one point, and she acknowledges that she is both brave and smart, she does not always feel this way. This makes me so sad. The passage ends with her saying, “I didn’t deserve to live” (375). She is such a fighter, and it pains me to think that after all that pain and torture, she feels she doesn’t even deserve the life she fought for.