In If I Die in a Combat Zone, author Tim O’Brien argued that the Vietnam War was unjust, unnecessarily violent, and that U.S. involvement had a negative effect on all parties through his depictions of enemy encounters vs. civilian encounters, how the Vietnamese civilians interacted with U.S. military, and soldiers’ experiences during military invasion. O’Brien shows the reader his bias on how just the Vietnam War was from the very beginning, claiming that it was a war of morality, not for a single justifiable reason. Although the author grew up in a veteran family, he asserts himself as more of a diplomat than a soldier, but would take a stand against who he deems as a bully when confronted. This can be seen from when he states that his
…show more content…
in the Vietnam War came with lasting detrimental effects as seen through his own insight and field experience of both soldier and civilian traumatization. Chapter 12 immediately begins with O’Brien reporting what happened to a vietnamese woman who ended up getting shot and how his fellow soldiers reacted to finding out not only that this particular enemy was female, but the possibility that more civilians could secretly be apart of the Vietcong (O’Brien 112-114). All the troops from Alpha Company, including O’Brien, were taken aback by the news that one of their men had shot and killed a woman who was fighting as a member of the VC. Similarly, Alpha Company stopped in a village to rest up when shown kindness by an old man, offering them water to drink and clean themselves with when suddenly one of the men reacted violently towards the old man, most likely causing harm to his already blind eyes (O’Brien 100). The men could only stare as one of their own had treated a kind, old civilian -who was trying to aid them-so terribly as to cause harm and frighten the other villagers; the men have become desensitized to something as simple as rudeness because of the events taking place in the war and what those men saw on a daily basis. Thus further proving O’Briens’ point that the war has already made an impact on his fellow soldiers that they do not bother to correct the rude man’s actions, apologise on his behalf, or even help the blind man back to his
in the Vietnam War came with lasting detrimental effects as seen through his own insight and field experience of both soldier and civilian traumatization. Chapter 12 immediately begins with O’Brien reporting what happened to a vietnamese woman who ended up getting shot and how his fellow soldiers reacted to finding out not only that this particular enemy was female, but the possibility that more civilians could secretly be apart of the Vietcong (O’Brien 112-114). All the troops from Alpha Company, including O’Brien, were taken aback by the news that one of their men had shot and killed a woman who was fighting as a member of the VC. Similarly, Alpha Company stopped in a village to rest up when shown kindness by an old man, offering them water to drink and clean themselves with when suddenly one of the men reacted violently towards the old man, most likely causing harm to his already blind eyes (O’Brien 100). The men could only stare as one of their own had treated a kind, old civilian -who was trying to aid them-so terribly as to cause harm and frighten the other villagers; the men have become desensitized to something as simple as rudeness because of the events taking place in the war and what those men saw on a daily basis. Thus further proving O’Briens’ point that the war has already made an impact on his fellow soldiers that they do not bother to correct the rude man’s actions, apologise on his behalf, or even help the blind man back to his