Violence In The Vietnam War

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Kurt Vonnegut's portrayal of War is neither glorious nor shameful, but rather he presents the complex nature of war and argues about the blurred line that separates heroes and villains. In chapter two, Vonnegut describes the violence Roland Weary applied to “save” Billy Pilgrim. “He had been saving Billy's life for days, cursing him, kicking him, slapping him, making him move. It was necessary that cruelty be used because Billy wouldn't do anything to save himself” (Page 43). The violence which Weary justified as required to rescue Billy even though Billy did not wish to be free from danger, represents and symbolizes the political atmosphere of mid-20th century America, and outlines the American imperialistic tendency to use violence to “save” other nations from falling into communism, a permanent ideological foil of Capitalism. …show more content…
An example would be the Vietnam war, a majority of Vietnamese supported the transition into a communist nation; however, The United States deemed this support “wrong” and used violence in an attempt to subjugate Vietnam. For the fighting and dying Americans, the spread of communism was the real enemy. Conversely, the Americans were the real enemy for the fighting and dying Vietnamese. The issue of who is the true enemy and saviors in the Vietnam War is still hotly debated. To relate back to Slaughterhouse Five, All in all, war is complex, with opposing sides all believe what they are fighting for is the right reason, and denouncing the other rival, war is not fought to rid of wrong, but for the subjective wrong to be objectively

Americans Are Not Beautiful Poem Summary

written by a Hoang Son, a fourteen year old teenager in Saigon, argues that American presence in Vietnam has tainted his image of Americans overall. Although Americans may be beautiful “in their far away country” their presence in Vietnam is rooted in violence and hatred for the Vietnamese (16). Son makes various comparisons pitting Americans against Vietnamese in order to mimic the realities of war in this poem. He ultimately characterizes Americans as savages with descriptions like, “they have…

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Essay on Vietnam: Drug Addiction and Tech Vietnam Archive

The American Combat Soldier in Vietnam: Black Soldiers Experiences with Drugs, Conflict, and Racism, 1968-1971 United States combat soldiers during the Vietnam War faced many difficult challenges on a day-to-day basis. During the years of massive troop mobilization, 1966-1969, a U.S. soldier’s life was determined by performance, an elusive enemy, overcoming adversity, racism, substance abuse, and at times, luck. Because the war in Vietnam was a fully integrated U.S. conflict, race relations…

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Themes Modern History Essay

Escalation of Vietnam and Radicalization of the Youth of the United States There is a huge connection between the escalation of the Vietnam War and the radicalization of the youth of the United States. The United States’ involvement in the war in Vietnam began in 1965 when the first US ground troops were sent in. Each following year the amount of troops drastically increased. During this time, there were many factors of the war that made people protest the war effort. For example, there…

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s Involvement In Vietnam

In this passage, Martin Luther King Jr. justifies his objection to American involvement in the Vietnam war by providing us with several reasons for his position. His first and foremost explanation is his belief that the Vietnam war is unjust. Firstly, Martin Luther King Jr. makes a clear connection between the Vietnam war and the struggle that people have been carrying out in America. By giving an example of a malfunctional poverty program, he points out that this kind of program used to be thought…

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Martin Luther King Beyond Vietnam Analysis

being unjust with the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a speech "Beyond Vietnam- A time to Break Silence," to persuade readers why American involvement in the Vietnam war was not right. Essentially, imagery was one of the key elements that were used during this speech. "...In brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village..." This sentence creates an image of what the day to day activities of what both Negroes, and whites face together during the Vietnam War. Dr. King most likely used…

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O Brien Rhetorical Analysis

American soldiers to serve in Vietnam was at the forefront of American men’s minds. When O’Brien was selected for the draft, he heavily weighed the idea of evading conscription entirely and fleeing to Canada. O’Brien’s explains his hesitation toward fulfilling his enrollment when he says that “certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons”(O’Brien 173). These “uncertain reasons” prompted O’Brien to consider the purpose of his service if he were to go to Vietnam and fight a war he knew little about.…

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Tom Hayden's Anti-War Movements During The Vietnam War

1960s was the protests of the vietnam war. Whether for ethical, economical, or other reasons, people opposed the fighting that was occurring at the time. During this anti-war movement era, one of the major figures was the National Mobilization Committee to End the War on Vietnam, which was spearheaded by Tom Hayden. Hayden was a significant figure during the antiwar movements, providing and organizing significant movements and events in their crusade against the war. However, some of Hayden’s…

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's Speech

New York City, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech about the negative effects on America from the Vietnam War. To persuade his audience that involvement in the Vietnam war is a negative thing for America, Dr. King uses irony, ethos, and compels to the audience's sympathy to build his argument. One way that Dr. King builds his argument about the negative effect of the Vietnam War is using irony. For example, Dr. King states that “We were taking the black young men… and sending them eight…

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Rat Kiley In The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien, the author and narrator of the novel The Things They Carried, uses the Vietnam War to portray a true war story. The narrative depicts a clear image of what the Vietnam was like for many soldiers. No morals and the senseless killing of innocents without purpose. Every soldier is damaged by war and each is affect psychologically by his or her experiences. Yet, like a truthful war story, these experiences are conveyed differently or each soldier. Rat Kiley carries the baggage of death,…

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War In The Things They Carried

United States of America. War is viewed in a different way by everybody and war has a different affect on everybody. The authors of the short story “Hunter’s in the Snow”, the poem “War is Kind”, and the novel The Things They Carried all view war and violence and the way war and violence affect people in different ways. Tobias Wolff writes about violence and the affect it has on people in “Hunter’s in the Snow”. Stephen Crane writes about war and the affect it has on people in “War is Kind”. Tim O’Brien…

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