For this weeks journal I chose to write on the story written by Daly Walker titled “I am the Grass”. This was an enlightening story for me. This story describes a man’s horrific story of the Vietnam War. All of these experiences where encounters with native individuals that he cause harm to. These encounters have continuously haunted this man for the last 20 years. He becomes a doctor and volunteered to return to Vietnam to do surgery on children. On his journey he encountered a native doctor that had also served in the war and forms a bond with him.
My initial reaction after reading the first paragraph was that I was either going to hate this man or feel really sorry for him. As the story progressed I began to realize that there are probably hundreds of men out there today that feel this same exact way. My grandfather was in the Vietnam War and still to this day will not talk about his experience. The element that stood out the most to me was the graphic details that were used throughout the story. Some of the language was a little shocking but it made you feel like you where there.
I think that throughout this story the literary element that stood out the most to me was the setting. It plays a key part in helping you to understand the story. It all starts when he is flying into Vietnam and is looking out the window for any remnant left over from the war. As you travel with him throughout the country side the surrounding environment is described in great detail. Every aspect of the country side triggers a memory of his time there during the war. When the doctor goes to dinner with Dinh the restaurant is described in vivid detail, setting the mood for there dinner. A line that describes the setting and gives you the feeling of serenity: “I gaze out at Long Binh’s grass. It ripples in hot wind like folds of silk.”
The setting throughout the story gives the story more depth. If the story was told from his living room I don’t think that it would be as intriguing. It draws your attention because he is back where his night mares started. This leads me to wonder why did he volunteer to go to Vietnam if it causes such bad memories?
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I think he feels that he has a debt to pay in Vietnam. He somehow feels like he has to do something to right the wrongs that he did during the war. Another student pointed out to me that in a way, the thumb that he tried to transplant for Dinh, was a symbol that there wasn't anything he could really do to fix it. What was done, was done. And although he knew it would be hard to succesfully do the procedure in Vietnam, he tried anyways.
ReplyDeleteI believe he volunteers to return to Vietnam because he has buried his feelings and memories of the war, and yet, they still haunt him. He hopes that by bringing these feelings of guilt and pain to the surface, he can finally confront them and come to grips with them. The Western guilt complex is contrasted against the Eastern philosophies which have been able to incorporate the pain and horror of war and moved on, letting the "grass grow over" the pain and suffering. It is ironic that the narrator, who lives far away and has a successful life and family, is so much more affected by the memories of war than Dinh, who lost his thumbs and still lives in the same country, but yet has managed to move on and accept his life without guilt.
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction you did after reading the first paragraph. The things of the past that were haunting him were not something that I would enjoy reading about. The setting is very crucial for this story and yes I think that it does make the reader feel connected somehow with the setting almost like a "fly on the way". As for the volunteering part, I think that he like many people did not know what they were getting themselves into at the time. Most guys and girls that go there are just 17 to 18 years old and think of war as glorious and honorable with nothing to regret later. When they get there and face the reality it's too late to change their mind.
ReplyDeleteI think it is the whole guilt thing that takes him back; he feels he has a debt to pay off to Vietnam and the people for what he's done. Perhaps he thinks that going there and facing the troubles he's seen there will stop the nightmares.
ReplyDeleteI think he volunteered to return to Vietnam to solidify that those memories where real but that the war was over. I also think he went there to make piece with the things he had done as a young soldier. Your question is a thought provoker.
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