Blog 11- In Country
The focus of this novel, In Country, by Bobby Ann Mason was not the war itself, but rather the long term effects of the war. It also analyzes the search for identity and the quest for a young girl to find her place in the absence of her father. This novel offered a different perspective of the war. Because the story is told from the perspective of a teenage girl, Sam Hughes, we get a different look at how people thought about the war. Sam’s connection was that her father was a deceased Vietnam War veteran.
The novel analyzes the perceptions of the war through the pop culture that Sam delves into. Sam seems to romanticize the war and her father’s role in it. Her veteran Uncle Emmet shields her from the true horrors, so she gets her education from M*A*S*H and other Hollywood versions. Mason uses symbols of patriotic pop like Bruce Springsteen to show how the perceptions are changing. She writes, “Bruce Springsteen is facing the flag, as though studying it, trying to figure out its meaning” (236). Bruce Springsteen had a huge influence over America’s patriotism in the 80’s. His music explored a way to unite people and explain the aftermath of the war and its effect on the country. Same is also trying to find explanation. Sam does not understand the war or why her father died. She does not understand how inaccurate the media captures the war, 15 years after its ended.
Aside from her obsession with the war, Sam is struggling with her place in life. She does not live with her mother and cares for her Uncle Emmet, trying to convince him he has been affected by Agent Orange. The more people deter her from exploring her connection with the war the more she seems to pursue it. Her uncle tells her, “Don’t fret too much over this Vietnam thing, Sam” (57). The point is not discovering what actually occurred as much as learning about her father so she will not be misplaced. Sam story parallels the experience of war veterans, because she is a misplaced person. People ignore her efforts of understanding in the same way they ignored the risk men took in war.
This novels time period was significant to the story and perception of the war. In the 80’s, the children of Vietnam War veterans tried to define the war and learn through pop culture. Even though Sam was more isolated in Kentucky from anti-war protests, she was still able to experience MTV, created in 1981. The novel combines the struggles of a teenage girl to the effects of war through the lenses like pop culture and time period. Bobby Ann Mason wanted to convey the message that what happens in the past should not be forgotten.
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The focus of this novel, In Country, by Bobby Ann Mason was not the war itself, but rather the story of a girl trying to find her place. It analyzes the search for identity and the quest for a young girl to find her place in the absence of her father. This novel offered a different perspective of the war, as the setting occurred in the 1980’s. Because the story is told from the perspective of a teenage girl, Sam Hughes, we get a different look at how people thought about the war
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The novel analyzes the perceptions of the war through the pop culture that Sam delves into. Sam seems to romanticize the war and her father’s role in it. Her veteran Uncle Emmet shields her from the true horrors, so she gets her education from M*A*S*H and other Hollywood versions. Mason uses symbols of patriotic pop like Bruce Springsteen to show how the perceptions are changing. She writes, “Bruce Springsteen is facing the flag, as though studying it, trying to figure out its meaning” (236). Bruce Springsteen had a huge influence over America’s patriotism in the 80’s. His music explored a way to unite people and explain the aftermath of the war and its effect on the country. Same is also trying to find explanation. Sam does not understand the war or why her father died. She does not understand how inaccurate the media captures the war, 15 years after its ended.
Aside from her obsession with the war, Sam is struggling with her place in life. She does not live with her mother and cares for her Uncle Emmet, trying to convince him he has been affected by Agent Orange. Emmet seems to be in denial of his condition. He says, “It’s just adolescence…just a little heartburn” (30). Health issues associated with Agent Orange are just starting to emerge at the time period of this novel.
The more people deter her from exploring her connection with the war the more she seems to pursue it. Her uncle tells her, “Don’t fret too much over this Vietnam thing, Sam” (57). The point is not discovering what actually occurred as much as learning about her father so she will not be misplaced. However, when she reads his diary, she is disheartened and the romantic hero ideas she had of her father were crushed. She is even sickened by his description of dead men.
This novels time period was significant to the story and perception of the war. In the 80’s, the children of Vietnam War veterans tried to define the war and learn through pop culture. It was difficult for the children because so many were products of Veterans and they wanted a way to cope , relate and rebel all at the same time. Even though Sam was more isolated in Kentucky from anti-war protests, she was still able to experience MTV, created in 1981. The novel combines the struggles of a teenage girl to the effects of war through the lenses like pop culture and time period. Bobby Ann Mason wanted to convey the message that what happens in the past should not be forgotten.