The Embassy of Cambodia

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.