A Novel Without A Name Analysis

The novels The Company You Keep and A Novel Without a Name both bring forth the idea of anti-war movements. However, the books are contrasting because the characters in A Novel Without a Name are too afraid to do anything about their anti-war ideas. In the book, A Novel Without a Name the people of Vietnam are tired of the war that has been going on for over a decade. Their cities are constantly filled with people who are preaching the Marxist ideas and encouraging young men to become soldiers for the Marxist cause. The men, such as Quan, think that the war should have ended a long time ago. But, he is afraid to voice these opinions. During a conversation with another man he says, “Doctors are useful to society, too. You can be a man without …show more content…
They’re out for their own interests, never the glory of the party,” (Huong, 75). This scene shows how the people of Vietnam have been brainwashed by The Party to do what they’re told and fight for a cause they may not support. Another time that this is brought up is when Quan is having a conversation with Bien’s father. He says, “And no one dares say it. Even I don’t, and I’m the most rebellious person in the village. I brought you out here to speak freely. For so long, it’s just been misery, suffering, and more suffering. How many have died since the great De Tham, Phan, and Nguyen Thai Hoc- how many lives were sacrificed to gain independence? The colonialists had only just left Vietnamese soil and these little yellow despots already had a foothold… Well, keep this between the two of us, Quan. Don’t breathe a word to anyone. These days relatives spy against relatives, like jackals. Even their faces have changed. These aren’t human faces anymore,” (Huong, 138). I think this is …show more content…
Ben writes, “Now imagine this. Imagine that you were also being told that when you turned eighteen, if you weren’t in college and you weren’t sick, you could kiss your ass goodbye because the government had the right to force you-force you- to go to this little country in Southeast Asia and shoot ferocious big bullets into people who, likewise, we're going to shoot ferocious big bullets into you,” (Gordan, 57). This image alone paints the picture as to why the protests during Vietnam were starting with young people. As we have previously discussed in class, it is always the old people that are at home safe who push the young people to go to war. This was the first time that people were fed up and finally decided to voice their opinions and thus the SDS, Students for a Democratic Society, was created. As talked about in the book, the people were getting frustrated and promised many things that were turning out to be lies. As a result, protests began and the anti-war movement was stronger than ever. However, to much surprise, as the movement got bigger so did the war. The government ignored the protestors and began to escalate the war which resulted in a larger, more violent movement. This book portrays a polar opposite idea than A Novel Without a Name; the people in the US were finally having a say and were not backing down from the