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Philip Caputo Quotes From A Tumor Of War

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A Rumor of War is a memoir written by Philip Caputo describing his experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Since one can read about his experiences first hand, one can also witness him change as a person. Throughout the text, Caputo undergoes a change in his personality. He starts off as a young man who is eager for adventure, but as he experiences through combat, a new metamorphosis of Caputo forms. The beginning of the text starts with the narrator, Caputo, describing his current life. He had grew up in a suburban area, and this certain lifestyle bored him. “...I was sick of the safe, suburban existence I had known most of my life.” (Rumor, 4) Caputo also states, “This is what I wanted, to find a commonplace world a change to live …show more content…

“I felt uneasy doing this, like a burglar or one of those bullying Redcoats who used to barge into American homes during our Revolution.” (Rumor, 88) This specific quote was said by Caputo when he and his squad were to search through a village. Despite his emotions, he followed through with his task. When Caputo searched, he encountered a woman. “I expected her to show anger or terror. I wanted her to, because her passivity seemed to be a denial of our existence, as if we were nothing more to her than a passing wind that had temporarily knocked a few things out of place.” (Rumor, 89) These two quotes in a way contradict each other. Caputo first felt uncomfortable searching these villagers' homes; he felt as if this was wrong to do. However, when he encounters this woman not making a scene, he is bewildered. He was irritated at the fact that she did not make a fuss watching these men making a mess in her home. He knew that they were turning her home upside down, and he wanted her to show some sort of emotion towards them whether it be fear or anger. The first quote stated relates to his innocent morals about what is wrong and what is right. The second quote, however, shows that Caputo wants her to feel something. Here, one can see Caputo's personality start to slowly change as he wishes the woman to feel some sort of pain to what they are doing. He is aware of the immoral behavior, but he will do it …show more content…

The reason behind shooting this village was that someone discovered that this was another ambush site. Here, one can agree that Caputo definitely undergone a change in morals. He felt nothing as he saw the dying civilians in the flames, unlike the man who first enlisted in the

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