Tim O’Brien states in his book The Things They Carried “Above all, a true war story is never about war” (85). We hear of the gruesome effects of war, but never about the brutality of the war itself. Tim O’Brien however introduces the reader into a world of war, full of fighting and brutal battles yet not one of these battles is fought against the enemy, but in fact against themselves personally. We learn of the trials and tribulations the soldiers had to go through and the personal battles that occur to these soldiers due to the effects of the war. Yet, I do agree that the brutality of the war has a large affect on the soldiers emotional lives, I feel there is another word that sums up Vietnam literature: Love. The Things They Carried is about a troop full of young men who are in love, in love with religion, girls, writing, safety but most of all each other. It has come to my surprise that a soldier in Vietnam literature who is full of blood and danger is on the inside full of love. War stories and in specific Vietnam literature never describes the gun battles or the horrific killings that occur, but the personal pain the soldiers have to go through in order to survive. We read of Jimmy in The Things They Carried, about a young man who continuously daydreamed about his love and often forgot about the war and his troops. We learned of Dave Jensen who was unable to kill his friend Lee Strunk while he was in a dying state because of his love for Strunk. We learned of Kiowa and his love for religion and kindness. In my eyes, the underlying component of Vietnam literature is love. Love for girlfriends, religion, belongings, each other and the will to get home. Kurt Vonnegut describes the concept of war beautifully “There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre”. I could not agree with him anymore, an author is able to glorify and make war interesting but to describe war as intelligent is impossible. How would you describe killing innocent people as intelligent? How would you describe sending soldiers into battle as intelligent? Many leaders and in fact soldiers will contradict this point and in fact say that war is intelligent, it is intelligent as it controls corrupt government, takes out communist leaders and gives there country stature and power. War is a continuous battle with no ending. A country may be victorious but the pain and nightmares that the soldiers posses will last forever.
4 comments:
I loved that last line you said. I think that is the best way to sum up this war. I'm not quite sure if the US won or lost, but I do know that the nightmares and pain that the soldiers suffer is horrible. While watching that movie in class, I saw grown men cry over it...that says a lot about the pain they feel. Men are supposed to be masculine and they are taught that "big boys don't cry"...but sometimes it's okay to cry, and this is a time where it is okay.
"Love" is not a word that I would automatically associate with the Vietnam War or its literature on my own, but your post brought to light so many relationships I had overlooked. In reading this novel, I find myself so caught up in the terror and the wounds that I forget these men still emotional beings at the core. The love is what keeps them human.
I also agree in a way with you about war being about love. All these characters that we read about in O'Brien's novel are all in love with life. They all try to survive the war, the pain and everything they go through so that they can continue living. I would really say that Vietnam literature is about life. It is about what these people go through in their life and how they change though it.
Great post, great discussion. You have a lot going on this week Group 6 -- great individual work and great dialogues...
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