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Of crucial importance is the different attitudes between Nguyen and Quang has towards the Vietnam War. Nguyen represents the traditional view that the Vietnam War was a failure on the part of the Americans, a mistake and pointless war that ruined the lives of many. What is surprising is Quang’s view. With an immediate and loud retort to Nguyen’s negative feelings towards the Vietnam war, Seol’s portrayal of Quang immediately grabs the audience’s attention. Quang is grateful for the Vietnam war, and “thankful for the American soldiers that gave up their lives so [he] could live.” Actor Seol aptly captures the spirit and sentiments of an actual Vietnamese refugee, and in doing so provides a refreshing and different perspective about the Vietnam War. Faced with these differing perspectives, the audience must come to realize that America is not a monolith, but instead composed of people from many different backgrounds with varying experiences, attitudes, thoughts, and

The Vietnamese believed that, “ Americans were evil and the Vietnamese simply were fighting merely defensively”. For several decades the Vietnamese fought boldly to win their freedom from the French. Many rebellious groups formed to win the freedom for Southern Vietnam. American troops could not identify were exactly the enemies were located in Vietnam. The United States used several tactics to gather information from sources and intelligences. In the film, Vietnamese peasants spoke intensely about the injustice surrounding the war. The local inhabitants of the villages spoke about the deadly tactics employed to kill innocent farmers and families. They spoke about how eight to nine hundred children were killed by the many toxics elements distributed by the planes and the several hundred tons of bombs dropped on a daily basis; to exterminate the Vietnam population. The villagers spoke about how their loved ones were killed right before their eyes and there was nothing they could do. The documentary shows soldiers entering villages, burning homes down, and killing civilians. They show the torture being inflicted by the soldiers.

The world chose to ignore war and it was only a reality to the soldiers fighting for their own lives. The passage brings forth the emotion and alienation the soldiers felt during and after the war. While the soldiers were hiding in a bunker in the unfriendly jungle of Vietnam, life continued without a second thought or concern. It was almost as if it was two completely different worlds that coexisted without the acknowledgement of the other which caused turmoil for the soldiers throughout the novel.

Although there are many tones in the book, there is an emphasise on the loss of humanity. The war caused people to lose everything that they once had.. Losing everything caused them to have a wary approach on anything that came into view. . “Someone had started a rumor of the seven boys…” (Beah 57). The people in the villages were scared of outsiders because of the pain they have caused. No one knew who to trust anymore. Beah used great tones to show how the people felt and while reading the book one can sort of imagine how the boys felt knowing this. In the book the author writes about how he approached a family swimming in the river. They were having fun and and trying to be normal and escape the horrors. Beah walked up to them and, “...all of them

     Through meeting Li Van Hgoc the reader learns the “true enemy” in the novel. According to Li Van Hgoc, “The land is your true enemy.” He mentions that the soldier is the representative of the land and the land is also fighting a battle. Through listening to Li Van Hgoc at the “tea party” the platoon realizes the land actually is the enemy and notices the natural defenses: the tunnels, dangerous trails, the land mines, the hedges and paddies, and the jungle itself. The platoon thought that their enemy were the Vietcong, but they began to come to the realization that the Vietcong used the land; what they were protecting, why they were fighting, how they were fighting, to destroy foreign troops sent there. Li Van Hgoc telling the platoon of “Xa,” meaning community, soil, home, that “a man’s spirit is in the land, where his ancestors rest and where the rice grows,” helped show that the land was the “true enemy.”

War is hell. The images that passed through the conciousness of those who participated in the Vietnam War left indelible visions. Rather than giving an opinion of,the war, Komunyakaa writes with a structure designed to allow the reader to experience the images and form their own opinions. The visions, images and experiences of thevietnam War as expressed by Komunyakaa vividly displays the war through his eyes and allows one to obtain the experiences of the war without being there. The title of the book when translated means "crazy soldier." This title gives the reader an immediate sense of the mind set developed by the soldiers. In providing further insight to the soldiers point of view, Specialist 4 Arthur "Gene" Woodley, Jr.

Moreover, the war persuades both the Vietnamese and Americans that fighting has no productivity. The local Vietnamese explain they do not want Freedom Road because it will bring the Cold War to Vietnam (Ugly American, The). Having both perspectives allowed the director to influence his viewers using two concepts. Even Deong rallies against the Americans as the movie continues toward its inevitable conclusion. He willingly allows the communist protesters to attack MacWhite to try to stall America’s imperialist efforts (Ugly American, The). It appears that nearly every person tried to condemn the Vietnam War as a burden on everyone. The Ugly American differs from The Green Berets because it criticizes the Vietnam War rather than sympathizing with it.

War is woven into the familial aspects of this novel. It not only separated families, but also separated Vietnam itself, dividing the people and therefore compromising the idea of unity and cultural identity. The Vietnam War left a residue of resentment

I related the overall war to everyday life. Sometimes it goes smoothly and other times there are “battles”. Whether the battles are mental, physical, or emotional and if you win depends on you and how hard you are willing to push back. Sometimes you get wounded. “I was shot twice…I almost smiled, except then I started to I might die” (180). “…when I was released from the 91st Evac Hospital, they transferred me over to Headquarters Company-S-4” (182). Sometimes in life there are challenges, but eventually with determination, you can preserve and in the end, of course, a true war story is never about war. It’s about sunlight. It’s about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do things you are afraid to do. It’s about love and memory. It’s about sorrow” (81). I think that it’s important that you take in the little things, because that’s what life’s about. It is about taking chances and making the most out of life. Life’s about going through the struggles and hard times in order to make the good ones even better than they would’ve been

Ketwig, like most Americans, pictured the American soldier giving candy to French children when he thought of the US military. Ketwig thought that the US army was always going to fight to make the world a better place wherever they planted their flag. It was thought that the Vietnamese people would rejoice at the sight of Americans because American soldiers were going to be fighting to liberate them from the terrors of communism. When Ketwig got to Vietnam however, the reality was much different than he had imagined. Vietnamese people yelled “fuck you” and threw garbage at the GI’s when they drove into their base, a far cry from the French children of World War Two. Ketwig realizes that the soldiers are not seen as liberators to these people but as the oppressors. As the war continues and Ketwig sees men on both sides die, he begins to wonder whether this war is worth fighting and who is right in all of this. The military wanted all its soldiers to know unequivocally that they were on the right side of the war but Ketwig questioned that. He

In final analysis, war is caused by a desire for power and causes loss of family. War affects people not only physically but mentally and causes also of pain. As war ravages across nations the destruction in brings in unprecedented. The worst part is that the innocents affected by war were once happy but will forever be scarred by the horrors of

Just as many stories, both action and adventure, or comedy and crime, Beah’s narrative is created through his personal journey. In his journey he encounters many events and people. Out of those events are the negative and the positive ones. Thus, his journey revolves around the abstract idea of war and how neither him or his fellow villagers would come to a general understanding of what the refugees migrating to their village had perceived because it was too terrific and unpredictable. The three major events that took place in the main character’s life was changing from innocent young boy, to savage solider and again to a normal adult.

Vietnam is a country located in Southeast Asia. It serves as the setting for a gruesome and traumatizing campaign. Vietnam, however, also symbolically represents the struggle and the fear. The fear being that American soldiers like Tim O’Brien and Bob Kiley are in a location that is strange and unsettling. They are in another man’s land, not in the comfort of their own homes. To the American soldiers Vietnam is Hell with evil lurking every corner. “Jungle, sort of, except it’s way up in the clouds and there’s always this fog-like rain, except it’s not raining-everything’s all wet...you hear shit nobody should hear.” Nothing is familiar, and the soldier’s coping mechanisms are limited, as indicated by O’Brien’s description of Lemon and Kiley at the beginning.

Since 1968, there have been at least 25 films made that portray the events of the Vietnam War. Historians have to ask themselves when watching these films, "Did the fictional character represent historical figures accurately? Is this how a soldier would react in this situation?" The point of view of the director of the film can change with simple alterations in camera angles. For example, a view from the ground of a battle seen can show how the innocent people had the war in their own backyards. The view from a helicopter can show Viet Cong firing rounds at American troops and the troops can't tell the difference between the innocent and the enemy. The audience feels empathy and sympathy for the person from whose point of view the

War. War never changes. The theme of war is introduced rather late in the novel, but has a, enormous impact to the plot and is in many ways the major conflict (pun intended). The first mention of war begins when the reader is informed that Laila’s brothers have joined with the Mujahideen, a rebel group in Jihad against the communist government. At first, the effects of this ongoing battle had little effect on the characters, even when