The Vietnam War destroyed many people lives. In American, it lead to psychedelic era with fashion and music never being the same. It lead to massive civil unrest with protests against the war, against government, and against lack of civil rights for African Americans. Two soldier that fought on opposite sides give two of the best summaries of what war does to individuals. The first being “The Sorrow of War” by Bao Ninh. Ninh would write about his experience from a fictional character name Kien. The second being “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. Both of these soldier will survive the war, but at the cost of their youth and sanity. These two men do not give the typical “war glory” that we has seen on TV or in movies about our World War
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They didn’t enlisted for the fun of it. O’Brien was drafted to fight, while O’Brien tried to figure out options to get out of fighting. Kien last day of school, everyone has allow to leave early to study for college entrance exams, expect for Kien. He had to immediately report to army recruiting office. Kien had his step father tell him not to go to war and Phuong. Phuong tells him “You loved the idea of going to war; you were headstrong, you wanted to remain pure and loyal to your ideals”(Ninh 135). Kien wanted to stay loyal to his country and communism at the start, even Phuong notice that war changes people. Kien just wanted to hold onto his youth before he went off to fight. When Kien was told he got a promotion and needed to report back from more training in the north. He felt nothing, said nothing, and thought he did not deserve this. When Kien after he finish fighting he saw his country was about to fight in another war. He hate war and at this point he hated the politicians. He said “…The ones who loved war were not the young men but the others like politicians.... Not the Ordinary people. The recent years of war had brought enough suffering and pain to last them a thousand years.” (Ninh 75) Kien was just taken back by the countries willingness to go back to war. Kien will refers the teachings his superiors force him to learn as indoctrination. The front line soldiers would called back to the …show more content…
O’Brien writing is similar to Ninh by having the novels go back and through inbetween past and present. “Stories are for joining the past to the future”(O’Brien 36). O’Brien that it is hard to separate what happen and what seem to happen. The book is fiction, so some stories are not true, but they still hold an emotion pact. O’Brien wanted us to feel what he felt the guilt, the sadness, and still asking for forgiveness. He said “Telling stories seemed a natural, inevitable process, like clearing the throat”(O’Brien 151). He means expressing what he did and what he see feel him deal with nightmares of war. He would admit that he did not see his work as a way to cope with what he saw. In fact, he just wrote those stories, because he was obsessed with writing about the stories he remembers. O’Brien was just trying to hold onto his innocents by writing about what the war did to him. What the war did all of comrades died or alive. He still isn’t ready to accept all of the people he met are died in Vietnam. In fact they are still in his head alive and telling him their
They didn’t enlisted for the fun of it. O’Brien was drafted to fight, while O’Brien tried to figure out options to get out of fighting. Kien last day of school, everyone has allow to leave early to study for college entrance exams, expect for Kien. He had to immediately report to army recruiting office. Kien had his step father tell him not to go to war and Phuong. Phuong tells him “You loved the idea of going to war; you were headstrong, you wanted to remain pure and loyal to your ideals”(Ninh 135). Kien wanted to stay loyal to his country and communism at the start, even Phuong notice that war changes people. Kien just wanted to hold onto his youth before he went off to fight. When Kien was told he got a promotion and needed to report back from more training in the north. He felt nothing, said nothing, and thought he did not deserve this. When Kien after he finish fighting he saw his country was about to fight in another war. He hate war and at this point he hated the politicians. He said “…The ones who loved war were not the young men but the others like politicians.... Not the Ordinary people. The recent years of war had brought enough suffering and pain to last them a thousand years.” (Ninh 75) Kien was just taken back by the countries willingness to go back to war. Kien will refers the teachings his superiors force him to learn as indoctrination. The front line soldiers would called back to the …show more content…
O’Brien writing is similar to Ninh by having the novels go back and through inbetween past and present. “Stories are for joining the past to the future”(O’Brien 36). O’Brien that it is hard to separate what happen and what seem to happen. The book is fiction, so some stories are not true, but they still hold an emotion pact. O’Brien wanted us to feel what he felt the guilt, the sadness, and still asking for forgiveness. He said “Telling stories seemed a natural, inevitable process, like clearing the throat”(O’Brien 151). He means expressing what he did and what he see feel him deal with nightmares of war. He would admit that he did not see his work as a way to cope with what he saw. In fact, he just wrote those stories, because he was obsessed with writing about the stories he remembers. O’Brien was just trying to hold onto his innocents by writing about what the war did to him. What the war did all of comrades died or alive. He still isn’t ready to accept all of the people he met are died in Vietnam. In fact they are still in his head alive and telling him their