In Country is a book in which not just one but many characters are affected by the Vietnam War. The protagonist's father died in the war and she never had a chance to meet him. The protagonist lives with her uncle who survived the war and returned. The book is written from Sam's perspective and expresses her constant struggle to find out more about the war. However, no one tells her about the war and everyone seems to be trying to forget about it.
Popular Culture brings the setting forward in this book. It is the first book in which they constantly refer to popular restaurant chains, music and television shows. This role of popular culture in the book is important because it shows that while Vietnam was devastated by the war, around the same time, America was booming with fast growing economy and culture.
Sam tries to have Emett, a Vietnam War veteran tell her about the war, but he tells her not to keep thinking about it. Sam insists that Emmet's acne problems have been caused by Agent Orange and encourages him to see a doctor. The doctor however laughs at the thought of it being Agent Orange.
It is ironic that the book's title is In Country because this usually means at war or in the battle field. I think this title reflects that Emett and Sam are both still In Country because they cannot get over the war. Also the meaning of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. song plays a role because he expresses the embarassment the U.S.A. should be feeling about the Vietnam War.
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Aside from being a war novel, Bobbie Ann Mason’s In Country represents Sam’s own struggle to find out about the Vietnam War. Sam’s father died in the war even before she was born and her uncle whom she lives with is a Vietnam War veteran and yet she doesn’t know anything about the war. The setting of this novel is like many other war novels and films we have seen, in that it the protagonists are from a small town closed out from the outside world. Sam lives in a small town while her mother, Irene, marries a wealthier man, moves to a bigger city and is more exposed than small town people. Irene wants Sam to move out of the small town but Sam insists that she has to stay back with her uncle Emmett as she is worried about him and he is her only hope to find out more about the war.
ReplyDeleteAnother major theme in the book is Sam’s coming of age. Throughout the book we find Sam’s attitude and thoughts shifting between those of a teenager’s and those of an adult. For instance, on Sam’s road trip to Washington, as a teenager she makes fun of her grandmother’s excessive fat but as an adult she is attracted to Tom, an older man.
Popular Culture is a big part of the book because a lot of the war and a lot of the feelings toward the war are expressed through popular culture. As we saw in other books, veterans tend to ‘live’ in the war even after it is over. Similarly, Emmett was obsessed with watching M*A*S*H because it reminded him of the times of war. Another popular culture figure that is mentioned in the book is Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen through his music protested against the war. Sam also wondered whether the soldiers would have been less violent if they had listened to the Beatles more as the Beatles’ songs were about love and peace.
Finally, Emmett tells Sam that no matter how much she fights to find out about the war she will never know because she was not there.