In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason is in many ways a continuation of the suffering on war veterans we have seen prevalent in the semesters reading so far. For the first time we have been asked to give our thoughts and curiosity into the crimes and pain delivered by the United states army onto the Vietnams country, people and US soldiers camped out in battle. The US Army in using the powerful weed killer Agent Orange, not only destroyed crops, and jungle but innocent citizens and soldier’s lives. In using a girl who has lost her father to the war, Bobbie Mason introduces the reader to a new perspective on the effects of Agent Orange. We learn of Agent Orange and its effects in chapter nine “Agent Orange could also act on the immune system, causing it to collapse over a periods of time” (68). Sam in many ways acts just like another reader, curious of the effects of Agent Orange and the lack of care taken by the US Army. Personally, In Country has made me look with even more disgust of the actions taken by the US army. I find as a reader you can often get num to the tragedies of the war and the effects it had on the soldiers by reading and talking about it so much. In Country has made me stop and look again at the horrific occurrences of death and Agent Orange. In wanting to gain a stronger understanding of Agent Orange and its effects, I researched Agent Orange at where it gave me a stronger insight into the “weed killer”. “Agent Orange in particular was laced with dioxins - extremely toxic to humans. Dioxins accumulate in the body to cause cancers. Anyone eating or drinking in contaminated areas then receives an even higher dose”. However I feel that you are only able to gain a stronger understanding of the effects of Agent Orange by the images that have been released. I found this BBC post useful as it gave an honest look into the harm that Agent Orange caused and the effects that are still being found due to the horrid toxins sprayed by the US army in Vietnam. In researching Agent Orange, it became a huge worry to me about how a war in today’s society would be fought. Many countries that have no mercy for innocent civilians would without hesitation use toxins to have a society suffer.
4 comments:
This whole group of books and readings on the Vietnam war has opened my eyes to tragedy. Like you said, you have disgust at the actions taken by the US army...but I have disgust for the US's part in the entire war. I'm still not convinced that they needed to get involved, and then I read about other things they did to try to win the war...and it makes me sick. I'm not so much upset that they dropped Agent Orange, but the fact that they won't take responsibility for it. If you make a mistake, own up to it. BE A BIG BOY, AMERICA!!
Please don't take this response and my condoning the things that america did in the war I am simply playing devils advocate.
Have you ever been angry, really angry and done something that had major consequences. Later to realize that what you were angry about really didn't make a whole lot of sense. I think that this is what may have happened to the US. When you're upset and looking for a way to vent it you know what you can. The immediate affects of agent orange were not known at the time they were being used, so they kept using it because it served it's purpose well. Because of it's short and long term affects it is no longer used. America is that tough kid in class who knows he's done wrong but doesn't want to admit it because it will make him look weak and tarnish his touch reputation.
I agree with your comments yet still do not believe that if a new world war broke out within the next few months, harmful chemicals would not be used. Once in battle and fighting for pride, countries I believe will have no mercy in being the "King of the castle".
This group does such a good job of thinking things through and collaborating on "knowledge making" -- it's really gratifying to follow your conversations, so much original thinking, creative insights, analytical thinking mixed with personal reflection. Thanks so much for all the great work you've done in this blog...
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