The Embassy of Cambodia

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-14

Chapters 15-21

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Shuttlecock

Throughout the story, there’s a perpetual game of badminton occurring at the Embassy of Cambodia. It is never revealed who is playing the game, and the only reason anyone knows badminton is being played is because a shuttlecock can be seen flying back and forth over the wall. The shuttlecock is a motif primarily used to explore the theme of The Pain and Suffering of Daily Life. The motif is extremely whimsical and feels out of place for the majority of the story. The whimsical nature of the shuttlecock contradicts many of the character's long-held assumptions about the Embassy of Cambodia, primarily its association with genocide. On the surface, the perpetual game of badminton—and its implied leisure—feels almost cruel when so many characters experience pain, such as Fatou’s enslavement. However, the shuttlecock becomes an object that relieves and calms Fatou, especially following her termination: “We watched her watching the shuttlecock. Pock, smash. Pock, smash. As if one player could imagine only a violent conclusion and the other only a hopeful return” (69). This implies that while Fatou has often only seen the “violent conclusion” in life, she may perhaps be able to see “a hopeful return” (69) in her new life with Andrew.

Water

Water is a recurring motif throughout the novella that symbolizes the theme of Self-Reliance, Independence, and Agency. Water serves as a respite for Fatou, and swimming is the one activity she has for herself outside of her work at the Derawals. Notably, Fatou taught herself to swim in less-than-ideal conditions: “No, she learned by struggling through the rough gray sea, on the other side of the resort walls. Rising and sinking, rising and sinking, on the dirty foam” (4). By teaching herself to swim in dangerous conditions, Fatou’s self-reliance and grit are emphasized. Typically, water symbolizes cleansing and new beginnings in literature. However, the water in this short story does not seem to take on this stereotypical meaning, though this is perhaps what Fatou longs for given her baptism and steadfastness in the rain, even pulling out her swim cap after refusing Andrew’s umbrella. Water primarily serves to emphasize that, regardless of the pain and suffering Fatou experiences, she will consistently swim through it.

The Devil

In the short story, Fatou has recently converted to Catholicism. While she has a lot of questions surrounding God, she has few questions surrounding the Devil and appears to have more experience with the Devil. In this way, the Devil is a recurring motif that highlights the theme of The Consequences of Dehumanization and Stereotypes. Whenever Fatou experiences a trauma, she blames it on the Devil. When she is sexually assaulted in a hotel room in Accra, she sees the Devil in her attacker: “That was when she knew that the Devil was stupid as well as evil. She spat in his face and left” (44-45). Additionally, she sees the Devil in Mrs. Derawal when she is fired: “At last Mrs. Derawal looked at Fatou, right into her eyes, but her face was twisted […] Anyone could see the Devil had climbed inside poor Mrs. Derawal. He was lighting her up with a pure fury” (66). By stripping her attacker and Mrs. Derawal of their human capability to cause extreme pain and suffering and instead blaming their actions on a supernatural entity, Fatou doesn’t hold either of her tormentors wholly responsible for their actions. However, this dehumanization may help Fatou understand why she suffers in the world, and blaming it on a supernatural entity makes it less coincidental or random.