The Sorrow of War Essay

motif of love to characterize Kien in The Sorrow of War” Literary work is often sourced from an author’s inspiration or passionate feelings. Bao Ninh, the well-known Vietnamese author, develops his historical fiction novel The Sorrow of War using the motif of love to develop his novel. Bao’s novel unravels the life of a man named Kien, who as a young soldier and later as a writer, struggles to embrace the savageries he has witnessed in during and post Vietnam war. The novel follows Kien as his internal

In the novel, The Sorrow of War, Bao Ninh uses loss, flashback, and morality in order to show an unforgettable memory of the character Kien and how it had impacted his life. Before Kien went to war he didn’t have any flashback and he had not lose many people around him. But since he had started his war journey he was slowly losing everyone around him. During the war, people who is close to Kien may not die physically but he had loss them mentally and emotionally. After the war had ended, Kien would

Vietnamese novelist is known as a legend for serving in the Vietnam War, and choosing to write his first novel on what he experienced. This novel was wrote in 1990 which tells a story of a soldier’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The main reason this novel was written is to educate readers on what it was like in the Vietnam War. This novel touched many individuals hearts and provided much needed information on what happened in the Vietnam War. Many people felt as if it was too descriptive. While others

meaning of the work. Hoàng Ấu Phương is a Northern Vietnamese veteran of the Vietnam War. Under the pen name Bao Ninh, he is the author of The Sorrow Of War. In his fictional memoir, there is no chronological order and the memoir transitions from event to event based on what triggers the next memories. Ninh recounts the hardships of the war and life after as a catharsis for the trauma he is inflicted during the war. As the memoir is a reflection of Ninh’s traumatized mind, Ninh utilizes an intended

Bao Ninh's Sorrow of War When we think of the Vietnam War, we think of all the hell and torture that American soldiers went through with little regard to the Vietnamese and the hardships they endured. Reading the Sorrow of War gave me a clear understanding of the Vietnamese people and the suffering that the war caused them. The Sorrow of War is unique and powerful in the sense that it is written by a Vietnam army veteran and gives the perspective of the war from a Vietnamese soldier. It is one

War is an entity such that its destructive nature can wear away at even the strongest of people. Through Sorrow of War Bao Ninh attempts to describe the effects of war to convey his message of the destructive and warping nature that not only soldiers but anyone involved or affected by the war. Ninh created broken characters with an erratic structure to reflect the North Vietnamese progressive mental deterioration. Using the Vietnam War (1962-1975) and the novel’s protagonist Kien as well other characters

to highlight a particular quality of another character, typically the protagonist. The protagonist in The Sorrow of War, Kien, is a complicated character. He experiences the effects of war throughout his life, making it difficult to truly understand his personality. Through the use of a foil, his childhood sweetheart Phuong, characteristics of Kien begin to come to light. In The Sorrow of War, Bao Ninh uses the character Phuong as a foil in order to further develop Kien’s personality. From the start

and believed in the importance of a proper burial of the dead.  The survival and honor of the family rested on these beliefs.    Through the course of the war, Kien lost these values: his father was not properly respected, the dead were not appropriately buried, and were even forgotten.  After the war, the Kien spends his time struggling to return to these values and purge his soul of these sins.      At the beginning of the novel,

During the Vietnam War, the official ideology of North Vietnam was Marxism-Leninism, which the government tried to force onto their citizens. The majority of the citizens were indoctrinated with their ideology, however, a small number of citizens were not. The most championed campaign was the “‘Three Don’ts,’ which forbade sex, love, or marriage among the young people” (131). This political indoctrination on the citizens of North Vietnam was of great importance to Kien and Phuong’s relationship in

In the novel, The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh, many conclusions can be drawn from characters through observation. One can learn certain characteristics about a person, like their interests, goals, and skills, by simply observing. Being an observant individual, one is in touch with their surroundings and behavioral patterns of those around them. Learning about someone through observation is . On March 5, 2016, I observed a girl I do not know personally. By listening closely, I found out her name was