An allegory is a symbolic representation of something abstract or spiritual. Often times, an allegory serves to teach a lesson. The film Apocalyse Now: The Complete Dossier (Redux), is an allegory for the Vietnam War. The film uses a number of visual images to portray ideas about the War, such as that enemies were not clearly distinguishable, that there was no "right" or "wrong" side in the war, and that the benefits of controlling the Vietnamese were not as satisfying as they seemed.
Throughout the film, it is very difficult for the Americans to distinguish who their enemies are. Even when they realize the soldiers they are confronted with are supposed to be their allies, they still cannot let their guard up and trust the other soldiers. An example of this is when the small American troop that the main character Benjamin Willard is travelling with encounters a larger group of French soldiers, the men are still uneasy with the confrontation and are slow to lower their weapons, as are the French. The American soldiers have an extremely difficult time distinguishing the South Vietnamese from the North Vietnamese, as well. Again, even when they realize that the Vietnamese are supposed to be their allies, they are unable to decipher whether they will be hostile or not. These examples show just how confused the line between allies and enemies was.
From the beginning of the film, Willard is on a secret mission to find Colonel Walter Kurtz, a former American soldier who now controls and leads a large group of hostile Vietnamese fighters. However, when he finds Kurtz, he is unable to kill him right away. This is because he somewhat understands where Kurtz is coming from, so to speak. A seasoned soldier, Willard knows how war can affect a person, and how "horror," as Kurtz puts it, can drive a person mad. This is why Willard hesitates in killing Kurtz, since he sees a part of himself in the older man. This symbolizes how there usually is not a definite "evil" side in war, because people have reasons, although not always justified, for why they do horrible things. However, Willard does eventually kill Kurtz, most likely because he sees the part of himself that he resents in Kurtz.
Another symbol within the film is the effect of having control over people. The Americans and French seek control over the land, and in essence the Vietnamese people, throughout the War. However, when Kurtz finally achieves this through becoming a spiritual as well as military leader for the Vietnamese, he still does not find true happiness. Likewise, when Willard kills Kurtz and the Vietnamese accept him as their new leader, the thought visibly sickens him and he leaves the encampment before he can get sucked into the power offered by the Vietnamese.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Blog 7 - JWE
In the book "Dien Cai Dau", the author Yusef Komunyakaa uses poems to illustrate the war. Major themes in his poems include race because he was African-American and also visual imagery that m akes you believe you are right there with him.
The first poem I choose to discuss was "Tunnels" on page 5. I choose this poem because tunnels where such a huge part of the war for the Vietnamese and such a downfall for the American soldiers who were fighting the VC. Yusef's imagery is astounding in this poem and he makes it feel like you are down there with the soldier. He makes me feel the same fear and anxiety the soldier felt as he inched throught the tunnel. "Every concerned shadow has a life to bargain with" is a very powerful line in this poem. It really just shows how these soldiers were not worrying about bugs or roots or even the darkness but all they worried about was leaving the tunnel alive. "Loving the weight of his shotgun" shows how much they relied on their weapons for survival and how they knew it was the only thing keeping them alive.
The second poem I choose is "Thanks" on page 44. It really shows how all the soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War thought that the nature around them saved their lives. In the poem he thanks the tree for stopping a bullet and a butterfly for pointing out a mine and usually people take these things for granted. The soldiers believed that something like "mother nature" was watching over their every move and keeping them alive. The soldiers realize how frail their life is and how little they have done to deserve it. The theme of giving thanks to nature is prevalent in most of the other literature we have read about the Vietnam War.
"A Greenness Taller Than Gods" is the third poem I choose from the book, found on page 11. The most appealling thing about this poem is the sensory imagery and the fact that Yusef makes the reader feel like they are walking through the jungle. Also, the quote "unaware our shadows have untied from us, wandered off & gotten lost" is very typical of war stories. It shows how the soldiers lose part of them once they begin to fight and most soldiers will never "find their shadows" after the war. They lose their innocence along with their shadows in the jungles of Vietnam. The poem also includes "torch birds" which could be looked at as a symbol for helicopters dropping napalm on the Vietnamese.
Through all of Yusef's poems, a broader sense of the war can be realized than just reading one poem. The each tell their own tale and each teach us a different lesson.
The first poem I choose to discuss was "Tunnels" on page 5. I choose this poem because tunnels where such a huge part of the war for the Vietnamese and such a downfall for the American soldiers who were fighting the VC. Yusef's imagery is astounding in this poem and he makes it feel like you are down there with the soldier. He makes me feel the same fear and anxiety the soldier felt as he inched throught the tunnel. "Every concerned shadow has a life to bargain with" is a very powerful line in this poem. It really just shows how these soldiers were not worrying about bugs or roots or even the darkness but all they worried about was leaving the tunnel alive. "Loving the weight of his shotgun" shows how much they relied on their weapons for survival and how they knew it was the only thing keeping them alive.
The second poem I choose is "Thanks" on page 44. It really shows how all the soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War thought that the nature around them saved their lives. In the poem he thanks the tree for stopping a bullet and a butterfly for pointing out a mine and usually people take these things for granted. The soldiers believed that something like "mother nature" was watching over their every move and keeping them alive. The soldiers realize how frail their life is and how little they have done to deserve it. The theme of giving thanks to nature is prevalent in most of the other literature we have read about the Vietnam War.
"A Greenness Taller Than Gods" is the third poem I choose from the book, found on page 11. The most appealling thing about this poem is the sensory imagery and the fact that Yusef makes the reader feel like they are walking through the jungle. Also, the quote "unaware our shadows have untied from us, wandered off & gotten lost" is very typical of war stories. It shows how the soldiers lose part of them once they begin to fight and most soldiers will never "find their shadows" after the war. They lose their innocence along with their shadows in the jungles of Vietnam. The poem also includes "torch birds" which could be looked at as a symbol for helicopters dropping napalm on the Vietnamese.
Through all of Yusef's poems, a broader sense of the war can be realized than just reading one poem. The each tell their own tale and each teach us a different lesson.
Blog 7 sr
In the book Dien Cai Dau, Yosef tells his story about his experience in the war through a series of poetry. Dien Cai Dau is translated to mean "crazy" which is what the Vietnamese men use to call the American Soldiers. This shows the connection between Yosef and the Vietnamese and how they both look at the American Soldiers in a negative light. Just how previous wirters expressed their stories through novels and short stories, this authors takes a different direction and illustrates these poems through the character of Yosef.
The first poem I wanted to talk about was "Toys in the field". The author of the book shows children playing on a old gun mound sourrounded by helicopter remains instead of a original scene like a playground where one would suspect children to be playing in because of the saftey and innocense of a place like the playground. The games that the children play is similiar to how the soldiers live their life in the field. This takes away the innocence of the children and compares it to a violent action, something that would be more related to soldiers, not children. The author discribe playful actions as silent. "Their play is silent as distant rain". Children playing shouldnt be silent majority of the time, but it was a connection to how soldiers walked through the fields of Vietnam so they wouldnt be noticed in combat or just to hide themselves from danger.
The next poem I looked at was "Thanks". This poem just showed the gratitude of the ability of the soldiers being able to stay alive through the war. It shows different situations where the soldiers are saved from dying because of nature. In one situation, a soldier was saved by grass just because he was able to hide in it. The soldiers had to use their surroundings alot because they werent as skilled of soldiers like the americans so they were already at a disadvantage but using their home land as a war tatic helped them survive. Komunyakaa talks about how the American soldiers should have learned from the vietnam but they were to hard-headed to do so.
The final poem I looked at was "Roll Call". This poem paid a tribute to all the dead soldiers and brothers that Komunkayaa lost in the war and whats left of one. This poem goes in detail imagery wise on the horrors of death and the efffect that it had on the soldiers. "those five pair of boots" which reconized the five dead soldiers. Its shows how difficult it is for being a soldier and sleeping on your bunk bed and not seeing the man sleeping on the bed beside you anymore because he died in combat. Its crazy because he woke up with you that morning and your never going to wake up next to him again.
The first poem I wanted to talk about was "Toys in the field". The author of the book shows children playing on a old gun mound sourrounded by helicopter remains instead of a original scene like a playground where one would suspect children to be playing in because of the saftey and innocense of a place like the playground. The games that the children play is similiar to how the soldiers live their life in the field. This takes away the innocence of the children and compares it to a violent action, something that would be more related to soldiers, not children. The author discribe playful actions as silent. "Their play is silent as distant rain". Children playing shouldnt be silent majority of the time, but it was a connection to how soldiers walked through the fields of Vietnam so they wouldnt be noticed in combat or just to hide themselves from danger.
The next poem I looked at was "Thanks". This poem just showed the gratitude of the ability of the soldiers being able to stay alive through the war. It shows different situations where the soldiers are saved from dying because of nature. In one situation, a soldier was saved by grass just because he was able to hide in it. The soldiers had to use their surroundings alot because they werent as skilled of soldiers like the americans so they were already at a disadvantage but using their home land as a war tatic helped them survive. Komunyakaa talks about how the American soldiers should have learned from the vietnam but they were to hard-headed to do so.
The final poem I looked at was "Roll Call". This poem paid a tribute to all the dead soldiers and brothers that Komunkayaa lost in the war and whats left of one. This poem goes in detail imagery wise on the horrors of death and the efffect that it had on the soldiers. "those five pair of boots" which reconized the five dead soldiers. Its shows how difficult it is for being a soldier and sleeping on your bunk bed and not seeing the man sleeping on the bed beside you anymore because he died in combat. Its crazy because he woke up with you that morning and your never going to wake up next to him again.
Blog Seven- LDT
Yusef Komunyakaa is a veteran from Vietnam and the author of Dien Cai Dau. Dien Cai Dau is translated into meaning “crazy”, which the Vietnamese used to describe the American soldiers. Having the title mean “crazy” suggests that Komunyakaa agrees with the Vietnamese in that the Americans were crazy for going in and fighting the war. The poems in this collection, tell about experiences that many war veterans experienced.
In the poem “Night Muse and Mortar Round”, Komunyakaa is describing the girl that is in every war story. She is the one that all men think of at night and is used to keep the men sane. “She shows up in every war. Basically the same…”(21) The women back home are not going to actually be there for the men, but the men still try and hold on to her. The idea that holding on to a women can save you, is seen in the last few lines where Komunyakaa describes what could have happened. “ Then you hear the blast rocks the trees and stars where you would’ve been that moment.” This idea was very helpful for men to escape the harsh realities of the war and dream with a woman just for a little bit.
In "Toys in a Field" the poem depicts Vietnamese children playing with the forgotten weapons and machinery left behind by American soldiers. Komunyakaa is using the children who are playing with the left machinery to symbolize how the many of the soldiers who went into war were just children themselves. Lines such as "Suspended in doorways of multimillion-dollar helicopters" and "they imitate vultures landing in fields” are used to show how the men fighting the battles and jumping into war scenes with no real sense of what is going on. The poem does a great job of showing how the men fighting did not feel like they were prepared for what came, and they were not prepared when they left for the life back home. This can be seen from the countless number of Veterans who have not been able to adjust back to life.
In “Thanks”, the poem shows the struggle it was for every soldier to just stay alive. Komunyakaa demonstrates the exertion through the use of nature imagery in describing different life saving situations. Throughout each situation the soldier finds himself in, they are saved by nature. In one scene a soldier is saved, by the grass revealing a hidden soldier, so the soldier can save his life. The Vietnamese had a lot of respect for the nature and environment they were in, and even though the Vietnamese were not as well “trained” and did not have as many supplies, but because they respected the nature they were in they were able to win. I think what Komunyakaa is doing is showing that the Vietnamese were right. The Americans should have listened learned from the Vietnamese, and the Americans should not have been so naive.
In the poem “Night Muse and Mortar Round”, Komunyakaa is describing the girl that is in every war story. She is the one that all men think of at night and is used to keep the men sane. “She shows up in every war. Basically the same…”(21) The women back home are not going to actually be there for the men, but the men still try and hold on to her. The idea that holding on to a women can save you, is seen in the last few lines where Komunyakaa describes what could have happened. “ Then you hear the blast rocks the trees and stars where you would’ve been that moment.” This idea was very helpful for men to escape the harsh realities of the war and dream with a woman just for a little bit.
In "Toys in a Field" the poem depicts Vietnamese children playing with the forgotten weapons and machinery left behind by American soldiers. Komunyakaa is using the children who are playing with the left machinery to symbolize how the many of the soldiers who went into war were just children themselves. Lines such as "Suspended in doorways of multimillion-dollar helicopters" and "they imitate vultures landing in fields” are used to show how the men fighting the battles and jumping into war scenes with no real sense of what is going on. The poem does a great job of showing how the men fighting did not feel like they were prepared for what came, and they were not prepared when they left for the life back home. This can be seen from the countless number of Veterans who have not been able to adjust back to life.
In “Thanks”, the poem shows the struggle it was for every soldier to just stay alive. Komunyakaa demonstrates the exertion through the use of nature imagery in describing different life saving situations. Throughout each situation the soldier finds himself in, they are saved by nature. In one scene a soldier is saved, by the grass revealing a hidden soldier, so the soldier can save his life. The Vietnamese had a lot of respect for the nature and environment they were in, and even though the Vietnamese were not as well “trained” and did not have as many supplies, but because they respected the nature they were in they were able to win. I think what Komunyakaa is doing is showing that the Vietnamese were right. The Americans should have listened learned from the Vietnamese, and the Americans should not have been so naive.
NR Blog 7
"The Dead at Quang Tri" (12) is one of the many poems in the collection focused around death. This one, however, brings to light the soldiers’ recognition of their beliefs. While there are no quotation marks, most of the poem reads like a conversation. First, there is a portrayal of immeasurable amounts of pointless death as “trying to count stones on a path to nowhere”. Then there’s talk of a Buddhist boy who surely ended up dead. One yells that he won’t stay dead, bringing light to the Buddhist belief in reincarnation. When I read “The grass we walk on won’t stay down”, I picture Vietnamese soldiers still standing tall for their country, even as reincarnated blades of grass.
We’ve read about it in all the novels and we read about it again in Dien Cai Dau. "We Never Know" (26) is about a Vietnamese soldier shot down by G.Is. I am reminded of Kien and the soldier in the crater when this narrator “falls in love” after finding the photograph. We’ve already read how newer soldiers would look through the bodies of those they’d killed in an effort to see what their lives may have been like. This is just another example. Before leaving, the narrator returns the dead man’s wallet and flips him over as a gesture of respect.
"Prisoners" (35) is full of vivid imagery. The poem is set in the Chu Lai airbase. It should be noted that the base was involved in Operation Starlight in August of 1965, where Marines launched a surprise attack and prevented what would have been a Viet Cong ambush on the base. “I think some must be laughing under their dust-colored hoods, knowing rockets are aimed at Chu Lai- that the water’s evaporating and soon the nail will make contact with metal”. The narrator goes on debating the existence of a loving God while he looks at the frail prisoners. He also comments how they carry the weight of their country’s future on their shoulders. “The old ones are the hardest to break”, he says. No matter what sort of beating they’re dealt, they will not give in. Interrogators know that killing them is the only solution when the prisoners begin to pray. The narrator remembers how he found himself bowing the prisoners walking in at one point. The poem ends with a picture of a group of dead prisoners hanging from trees, looking like “marionettes hooked to strings of light”.
We can determine what Yusef thinks of the war by looking at the book’s title in english, Crazy. The three poems featured bring to light a sort of respect for the dead, a respect that bewilders American troops. They recognized that these Viet Cong were fighting their hearts out for their country, one that the Americans weren’t invited to. From walking through a field of reincarnated soldiers, to discovering the now ended life of another human, to looking up at branches bending from the weight of dead men; it’s no wonder why so many vets suffer from PTSD. They experience in real life what the rest of us see in horror films.
We’ve read about it in all the novels and we read about it again in Dien Cai Dau. "We Never Know" (26) is about a Vietnamese soldier shot down by G.Is. I am reminded of Kien and the soldier in the crater when this narrator “falls in love” after finding the photograph. We’ve already read how newer soldiers would look through the bodies of those they’d killed in an effort to see what their lives may have been like. This is just another example. Before leaving, the narrator returns the dead man’s wallet and flips him over as a gesture of respect.
"Prisoners" (35) is full of vivid imagery. The poem is set in the Chu Lai airbase. It should be noted that the base was involved in Operation Starlight in August of 1965, where Marines launched a surprise attack and prevented what would have been a Viet Cong ambush on the base. “I think some must be laughing under their dust-colored hoods, knowing rockets are aimed at Chu Lai- that the water’s evaporating and soon the nail will make contact with metal”. The narrator goes on debating the existence of a loving God while he looks at the frail prisoners. He also comments how they carry the weight of their country’s future on their shoulders. “The old ones are the hardest to break”, he says. No matter what sort of beating they’re dealt, they will not give in. Interrogators know that killing them is the only solution when the prisoners begin to pray. The narrator remembers how he found himself bowing the prisoners walking in at one point. The poem ends with a picture of a group of dead prisoners hanging from trees, looking like “marionettes hooked to strings of light”.
We can determine what Yusef thinks of the war by looking at the book’s title in english, Crazy. The three poems featured bring to light a sort of respect for the dead, a respect that bewilders American troops. They recognized that these Viet Cong were fighting their hearts out for their country, one that the Americans weren’t invited to. From walking through a field of reincarnated soldiers, to discovering the now ended life of another human, to looking up at branches bending from the weight of dead men; it’s no wonder why so many vets suffer from PTSD. They experience in real life what the rest of us see in horror films.
Blog 7 MW
In his book Dien Cai Dau, Yusef Komunyakaa writes about the atrocities and horrors of the Vietnam War. He emphasizes certain themes that are common throughout most war novels we’ve read so far, including, the fear of the unknown, death, and loss of innocence.
The poem “Tunnels” reminds me a lot of one of the chapters in O’Brien’s book. Komunyakaa tells of a soldier, usually the smallest one in the platoon, crawling through a tunnel and describes the feeling of fear and of the unknown. “He moves as if trying to outdo blind fish easing toward imagined blue, pulled by something greater than life’s ambitions. He can’t think about spiders or scorpions mending the air, or care about bats upside down like gods in the mole’s blackness.” He describes that the soldier can’t worry about little things such as spiders or scorpions because what lay ahead may be even worse. Death could be around any corner. This is what the soldiers had to deal with every day, the unknown. They had no idea what was going to happen then tomorrow, the day after or even the next week.
The next poem I read was “Roll Call.” This poem is honoring 5 fallen soldiers who died in the war. They’re symbolized by their “M-16 propped upright between a pair of jungle boots, a helmet on its barrel as if it were a man.” Death is something that is seen every day throughout the war, the soldiers are accustomed to it. They don’t recognize each soldier individually, but rather pay tribute to them as a group.
The last poem I read was “Thanks.” In this poem, the soldier is praying to a higher power. In all the other novels we’ve read, religion is a common theme. The soldiers thank God or some other spiritual being for their survival. I noticed that the soldier is giving thanks for the simplest of things, things that a civilian wouldn’t normally give thanks for. He give’s thanks to the monarch that was sitting on the booby trap, he gives thanks to the hills and the tree that moved only when he moved.
The poem “Tunnels” reminds me a lot of one of the chapters in O’Brien’s book. Komunyakaa tells of a soldier, usually the smallest one in the platoon, crawling through a tunnel and describes the feeling of fear and of the unknown. “He moves as if trying to outdo blind fish easing toward imagined blue, pulled by something greater than life’s ambitions. He can’t think about spiders or scorpions mending the air, or care about bats upside down like gods in the mole’s blackness.” He describes that the soldier can’t worry about little things such as spiders or scorpions because what lay ahead may be even worse. Death could be around any corner. This is what the soldiers had to deal with every day, the unknown. They had no idea what was going to happen then tomorrow, the day after or even the next week.
The next poem I read was “Roll Call.” This poem is honoring 5 fallen soldiers who died in the war. They’re symbolized by their “M-16 propped upright between a pair of jungle boots, a helmet on its barrel as if it were a man.” Death is something that is seen every day throughout the war, the soldiers are accustomed to it. They don’t recognize each soldier individually, but rather pay tribute to them as a group.
The last poem I read was “Thanks.” In this poem, the soldier is praying to a higher power. In all the other novels we’ve read, religion is a common theme. The soldiers thank God or some other spiritual being for their survival. I noticed that the soldier is giving thanks for the simplest of things, things that a civilian wouldn’t normally give thanks for. He give’s thanks to the monarch that was sitting on the booby trap, he gives thanks to the hills and the tree that moved only when he moved.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Dien Cai Dau Malini_Samtani
In Dien Cai Dau, author Yusef Komunyakaa brings forward his experiences during the Vietnam war through poetry. Komunyakaa served as an editor for the military newspaper in Vietnam. Dien Cai Dau is the Vietnamese word for "crazy" and is also the phrase the Vietnamese soldiers used to refer to American soldiers. Just as in the other books we have read, the American soldiers in the war come out so traumatized that they literally go crazy.
The most evident theme in this book is the role of racism in the war. Komunyakaa was an African American serving in the war. In his poem "Tu do Street", Komunyakaa talks about white and black soldiers at a brothel. He regresses into childhood memories when everything was segregated. There were signs for whites and colored. He then notices that in the eyes of the Vietnamese prostitutes nothing has changed because they still ignore the black soldiers and try to get the attention of the white soldiers. These Vietnamese prostitutes probably believe that they will get more money out of the white soldiers than from the black soldiers so racism and prejudice is even evident in the war. He then explains the black soldiers and white soldiers as a unified force against the Vietnamese. He also talks about the prostitutes that actually connect the black and white soldiers because they touch the same women.
In "the one legged stool", Komunyakaa describes use of divide and rule strategies among the black and white soldiers. In this poem, the enemies namely the Viet Cong try to break down Komunyakaa by telling him his white comrades are not on his side and are making fun of him. Of course, Komunyaa refuses to crack under this pressure but this poem goes to show that the Viet Cong had a means to separate the American comrades. Towards the end of the poem, he talks about his experiences of racism in southern U.S.A. He compares his treatment by the Viet Cong to the treatment he received from the rednecks in the U.S.A. He explains that the Vietnamese treat him even worse than the rednecks and that he has nothing to lose by going back to the rednecks because they cannot be worse than the Vietnamese.
In "Report from the Skull's Diorama", the author once again emphasizes the role of racism in the war and the strategy of Divide and Rule on Vietnam's part. He writes " but the red-bordered leaflets tell us VC didn't kill Dr. Martin Luther King". This, once again, I believe is an effort on the part of the Viet Cong and the rest of the communist armies to gain the support of the black American soldiers.
Other issues evident in the book are the ubiquotous prostitution in the Vietnam war as it is referred to in many of the poems in Dien Cai Dau.
The most evident theme in this book is the role of racism in the war. Komunyakaa was an African American serving in the war. In his poem "Tu do Street", Komunyakaa talks about white and black soldiers at a brothel. He regresses into childhood memories when everything was segregated. There were signs for whites and colored. He then notices that in the eyes of the Vietnamese prostitutes nothing has changed because they still ignore the black soldiers and try to get the attention of the white soldiers. These Vietnamese prostitutes probably believe that they will get more money out of the white soldiers than from the black soldiers so racism and prejudice is even evident in the war. He then explains the black soldiers and white soldiers as a unified force against the Vietnamese. He also talks about the prostitutes that actually connect the black and white soldiers because they touch the same women.
In "the one legged stool", Komunyakaa describes use of divide and rule strategies among the black and white soldiers. In this poem, the enemies namely the Viet Cong try to break down Komunyakaa by telling him his white comrades are not on his side and are making fun of him. Of course, Komunyaa refuses to crack under this pressure but this poem goes to show that the Viet Cong had a means to separate the American comrades. Towards the end of the poem, he talks about his experiences of racism in southern U.S.A. He compares his treatment by the Viet Cong to the treatment he received from the rednecks in the U.S.A. He explains that the Vietnamese treat him even worse than the rednecks and that he has nothing to lose by going back to the rednecks because they cannot be worse than the Vietnamese.
In "Report from the Skull's Diorama", the author once again emphasizes the role of racism in the war and the strategy of Divide and Rule on Vietnam's part. He writes " but the red-bordered leaflets tell us VC didn't kill Dr. Martin Luther King". This, once again, I believe is an effort on the part of the Viet Cong and the rest of the communist armies to gain the support of the black American soldiers.
Other issues evident in the book are the ubiquotous prostitution in the Vietnam war as it is referred to in many of the poems in Dien Cai Dau.
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