The Loss of Innocence
Psychological and physical trauma can severely damage one’s character. The severity of the trauma can determine the impact on each individual, but in extreme cases such as war, thousands of communities can be greatly affected. Kien and Phuong, two lovers in Bao Ninh’s novel, The Sorrow of War, become permanently traumatized through their Vietnam War experience. The stories Kien and Phuong provide undercover the extensive trauma vietnamese communities experienced, as well as providing a deeper understanding on Kien and Phuong’s relationship. In the novel, The Sorrow of War, Bao Ninh exposes the harsh realities of war through the character transformations of Kien and Phuong, in order to display a drastic loss of innocence
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Kien reflects back on his memories with Phuong and says,“The lake became a symbol of Phuong in her beautiful youth, symbol of the marvels and grief of youth, of love and lost opportunities (132). The romantic experiences at the lake symbolize Phuong’s true character as an innocent, light hearted young teenager who is infatuated and lovestruck over her relationship with Kien. Kien’s pre war memory relates to “Phuong in her beautiful youth,” which helps develop her innocent, pure character throughout the novel. In the hope to preserve her pure love and innocence, Kien states “he dare not accept her challenge to make love to her” (137). Phuong was an image of innocent youth, and Kien’s decision to protect her cleanliness highlights the importance of her purity. In a larger thematic application, Phuong’s character symbolizes the untouched beauty of the Vietnam community and the tranquility before the destruction of war. Her character as a young innocent women is then drastically changed after tragic events during war. After the explosions Kien and Phuong experience on the train, Kien attempts to bandage up Phuong’s wounds but she pushes him and cries, “No! Can’t you see? It’s not a wound! It can’t be bandaged!” (204). Her “wounds” were not curable - Phuong was brutally raped. Her young innocence was torn …show more content…
Bao Ninh emphasises the strength of their young love by stating, “Kien and Phuong became inseparable, like a body and its shadow. They clung to each other as if there were no tomorrow, as if there were no time to lose and every moment should be spent together”(131). Kien and Phuong’s relationship is described as “inseparable, like a body and its shadow” to communicate the extremely tight bond they share, and the immense love they had for each other. The strength of their young love expresses the significance of connections throughout the Vietnam community and the importance of innocent love within relationships. Later in the novel, Kien and Phuong slipped out of a campfire circle and began whispering “innocent, passionate vows to each other, promising never to waver in their love” (175). Kien, referring back to their “innocent, passionate vows,” expresses the significance of their innocence as well as their youthful childhood. Kien and Phuong’s pre war relationship represents their happy, innocent love untouched by war. As a couple, Kien and Phuong share a strong passionate love that symbolizes the young innocence and purity of teenagers before the trauma of war. During the raid on the train, Kien and Phuong’s relationship is suddenly torn apart as Phuong angrily screams at Kien for beating up a
Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa is a collection of poems based on Komunyakaa’s personal experiences of the Vietnam War. He describes his experiences and observations in a way that isn’t as gritty and raw as some veterans, but still shows the horrors of war and the struggle to survive. What makes Komunyakaa’s work different is the emotion he uses when talking about the war. He tells it like it is and puts the reader in the soldiers’ shoes, allowing them to camouflage themselves and skulk around the jungles of Vietnam from the very first lines of “Camouflaging the Chimera.” Komunyakaa’s title Dien Cai Dau means “crazy” in Vietnamese and is an appropriate title based on the mind set of this veteran soldier. Two common themes I have found in Komunyakaa’s
John Knowles wrote a fantastic novel entitled A Separate Peace. Some important character in the novel were Gene, Finny, Leper, and Brinker. Gene and Finny were best friends; Leper was the outcast; Brinker was the “hub of the class” This was a novel about friendship, betrayal, war, peace, and jealousy. Although Gene and Finny were similar in many ways, they also had numerous differences.
In this chapter, O’Brien contrasts the lost innocence of a young Vietnamese girl who dances in grief for her slaughtered family with that of scarred, traumatized soldiers, using unique rhetorical devices
The character of O-lan was twisted by the circumstances of her life. Surviving adversity made her bitter, stoic, and wise. O-lan’s wisdom was from the things she saw and heard during the tough times. Without her stoicism, she would have fallen to pieces amongst the people who used Wang Lung. She tried not to let her bitterness get in the way of serving her family because they meant everything to her. In the end, it was her pride that held her together. Her pride would not allow her to give up or show weakness. Her pride kept her mind sharp until the end. And at the end, she had a husband who mourned for her, but only after her death did others really appreciate her.
There are different types of parent and child relationships. There are relationships based on structure, rules, and family hierarchy. While others are based on understanding, communication, trust, and support. Both may be full of love and good intentions but, it is unmistakable to see the impact each distinct relationship plays in the transformation of a person. In Chang’s story, “The Unforgetting”, and Lagerkvist’s story, “Father and I”, two different father and son relationships are portrayed. “The Unforgetting” interprets Ming and Charles Hwangs’ exchange as very apathetic, detached, and a disinterested. In contrast, the relationship illustrated in the “Father and I” is one of trust, guidance, and security. In comparing and contrasting the two stories, there are distinct differences as well as similarities of their portrayal of a father and son relationship in addition to a tie that influences a child’s rebellion or path in life.
Have you ever had one person who you have absolutely nothing in common with, but for some bizarre reason you “click” with them? It is astounding that two completely different people with two divergent personalities, morals, goals or lifestyles can compliment each other. In Loung Ung’s, First They Killed My Father, the dynamic duo, Loung and Chou are so completely different, yet their relationship works. At the start of the novel, Loung is the striking age of five years old and Chou is eight years old. Loung is very outgoing, loud, and obnoxious, while Chou is reserved, calm, and level headed. Both manage to survive the horrible genocide that struck their country in 1975 when Pol Pot, the communist leader of the Angker, turned their world upside down. The girls use two completely different ways of coping and accepting what happened. Through the use of symbolism and point of view, Loung and her sister Chou, although best friends, are complete antitheses in every way possible.
Yang makes her topic of the treacherous history of the Hmong people an appealing one with the story of her parents. She brings emotion into her writing that makes her readers feel as if they are there in the jungle, experiencing the fear and love these two lovers felt. Yang makes us aware of how hard it was for a young Hmong couple to survive in this trying time. Fate and destruction brought Yang’s parents together, and like other Hmong people, love kept them moving forward.
From the contrast of the slums of Hanoi and the breathtaking beauty of a natural vista, Huong has revealed the impact of this disparity on her protagonist. The author utilises the connection between the land and the villagers of Que’s birthplace to emphasise the steadiness and support the landscape gives, in times of upheaval, illuminating that it is possible to recover from disaster. Despite Huong’s criticism of Vietnam, she emphasises the resilience of the people of Vietnam and the ability for beauty and hope to flourish through oppression.
In every story, there is a protagonist and an antagonist, good and evil, love and hatred, one the antithesis of the other. To preserve children’s innocence, literature usually emphasizes on the notion that love is insurmountable and that it is the most beautiful and powerful force the world knows of, yet Gen’s and Carmen’s love, ever glorious, never prevails. They each have dreams of a future together, “he takes Carmen’s hand and leads her out the gate at the end of the front walkway… together they… simply walk out into the capital city of the host country. Nobody knows to stop them. They are not famous and nobody cares. They go to an airport and find a flight back to Japan and they live there, together, happily and forever” in which their love is the only matter that holds significance (261). The china
Kiowa feels guilt and feels like he took something from his more than his life. He stood over the man’s body and imagined what he was really wanting to do than fight a war. Kiowa thought, “He was not a fighter. His health was poor, his body small and frail. He liked books. He wanted someday to be a teacher of mathematics.” This quote proves that Kiowa feels guilt over the killing of the soldier because he dreamt of his life outside of the war and he just stands over the body. The other soldiers try to get him to realize, the Vietnamese soldier knew he was going to die as soon as he picked up his gun. It takes Kiowa hours to come to terms with
Bao Ninh's The Sorrow of War is a contrapuntal reading to American literature on the Vietnam War. But rather than stand in stark contrast to Tim O' Brien's The Things They Carried, The Sorrow of War is strangely similar, yet different at the same time. From a post-colonialist standpoint, one must take in account both works to get an accurate image of the war. The Sorrow of War is an excellent counterpoint because it is truthful. Tim O' Brien writes: ". . . you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil." (O' Brien, 42) Bao Ninh succeeds in this respect. And it was for this reason that the Vietnamese government initially banned The Sorrow of War. A thorough textual and historical examination of both the war and post-war experience of Vietnam reveals that its experience was similar to, if not worse than, that of America.
War is cruel. The Vietnam War, which lasted for 21 years from 1954 to 1975, was a horrific and tragic event in human history. The Second World War was as frightening and tragic even though it lasted for only 6 years from 1939 to 1945 comparing with the longer-lasting war in Vietnam. During both wars, thousands of millions of soldiers and civilians had been killed. Especially during the Second World War, numerous innocent people were sent into concentration camps, or some places as internment camps for no specific reasons told. Some of these people came out sound after the war, but others were never heard of again. After both wars, people that were alive experienced not only the physical damages, but also the psychic trauma by seeing the deaths and injuries of family members, friends or even just strangers. In the short story “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” by Bao Ninh about the Vietnam War, and the documentary film Barbed Wire and Mandolins directed by Nicola Zavaglia with a background of the Second World War, they both explore and convey the trauma of war. However, the short story “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” is more effective in conveying the trauma of war than the film Barbed Wire and Mandolins because of its well-developed plot with well-illustrated details, and its ability to raise emotional responses from its readers.
The family's personal encounters with the destructive nature of the traditional family have forced them to think in modern ways so they will not follow the same destructive path that they've seen so many before them get lost on. In this new age struggle for happiness within the Kao family a cultural barrier is constructed between the modern youth and the traditional adults with Chueh-hsin teeter tottering on the edge, lost between them both. While the traditional family seems to be cracking and falling apart much like an iceberg in warm ocean waters, the bond between Chueh-min, Chueh-hui, Chin and their friends becomes as strong as the ocean itself.
The Tale of Kieu, called the most important piece of Vietnamese literature, is the story of a young Vietnamese girl's attempt to right the wrongs of her past lives by enduring hardship in this life. She is sold into prostitution and continuously deceived by men promising her love. The only man whose promise of love is not in vain is Kim Trong, the first man to pledge himself to her. Kieu is visited by a ghost who reveals to her the bad karma she earned in a previous life. Following Kieu and Kim Trong's vows of love, he is called off to attend to his family when his uncle dies. Soon after, robbers brake in to steal and vandalize Kieu's house, and they tie up her father and brother. In order to redeem them, Kieu sells herself into a marriage. Unfortunately, the man she marries then turns around to sell her to a brothel. This is the beginning of her life as a prostitute.
As we got further and further into the Vietnam War, few lives were untouched by grief, anger and fear. The Vietnamese suffered the worst hardship; children lay dead in the street, villages remained nothing but charred ashes, and bombs destroyed thousands of innocent civilians. Soldiers were scarred emotionally as well as physically, as