American Sniper Theme

The novel American Sniper, written by Chris Kyle, is an autobiography about the war in Iraq that we are still struggling with today. It explores the themes of how war affects life on our shores, the protagonist/antagonist relationship between Chris Kyle and the extremist groups, and the undying patriotism that Chris embodied.
The first theme that will be explored in this essay it the effects that a war thousands of miles away can put on family life here in the United States. In the source, it states, “Like many other military wives, she braved through the birth and early lives of their two children as well as tensions in their relationship while he was overseas, including his numerous injuries and various forms of post-traumatic stress disorder after his periodic returns from his dangerous deployments in Iraq (Sinai, 2).” Taya, and many other military families, suffer from their loved one(s) being deployed overseas. Many times, Taya would be on the phone with Chris, and the sound of gunshots would make Chris have to hang up. The strain of not knowing her husband’s health put a serious strain on their relationship, and it almost ended in divorce between the two. However, their love did overcome the struggles that the war overseas presented. While their home life may have never been the same, they ended up staying together.
The second major part of the novel was the protagonist/antagonist relationship between Chris Kyle and the extremist groups. Chris

Kyle didn’t view the men he was fighting as human. He commonly refers to them as “savages” throughout the autobiography. In an interview, Chris speaks of some of the atrocities “In this one house, we heard faint moans as we went down into the basement. There were two men hanging from chains on the wall. One was dead; the other barely there. Both had been severely tortured with electric shock and God knows what else. They were both Iraqi, apparently mentally retarded—the insurgents had wanted to make sure they wouldn’t talk to us, but decided to have a little fun with them first (Strachan, 1).” After, as stated in this source, Chris encountered two mentally ill Iraqis that were chained to a wall and gruesomely tortured to the point of death, Chris believes that no human is capable of these horrendous acts, so these “people” must be nothing more than savages. He commonly saw mothers using their children as suicide bombers and combatants using toddlers as shields. The obvious antagonist in this situation is the Iraqi militants that Chris Kyle and all of the other men and women in the service are fighting against. The protagonist in this autobiography would be the men and women fighting these savages overseas. Chris Kyle never sought fame for what he did. He viewed it as God’s will that he should destroy this evil, and that is why he is the protagonist.
The final theme I will be using in my report is patriotism. This source covers the theme of patriotism in its entirety. In the autobiography, Chris Kyle shows complete and undying loyalty for our country. He went through excruciatingly painful struggles that he faced on both fronts -- overseas and at home. He handled both conflicts with patriotism for our country -- until the day that he lost his life trying to support a fellow serviceman. He did not want to kill Iraqi insurgents just to complete his assigned task, but he did it to keep them from American shores. While Chris Loved the life of being a SEAL, he never romanticized it. God put him there for a reason, and that reason was to protect all of us from the atrocities of the war overseas. Many people could not even imagine being in a single firefight, but Chris and the other men out there witnessed much worse. They did it in order to protect the freedoms that we all enjoy today. “He was not there to set Iraqis free, but to make sure the terrorists never made their way to American shores (Rutherford, 1).” Once again, this goes over the fact that he had no concern for the people overseas, but he was willing to put his life on the line for people in our country that he would never see. Patriotism can be defined as devoted love or support for one’s country, and Chris Kyle, as well as all of those out there who have served, exhibits a strong sense of patriotism. I will also use another quote to back up the theme of patriotism in this novel. “...authenticity seems to be what Kyle was all about. He was a man of conviction who believed in doing his part, whether that was protecting fellow servicemen in war with his sniper rifle or the variety of efforts he made to help and support veterans after he left the Navy (Rutherford, 1).” All Chris Kyle ever wanted to do was help the people of this country. Even after his time as a SEAL, he was helping members of the service here on out own soil, and that is pure patriotism.
The autobiography American Sniper is about Chris Kyle’s change from a Texas cowboy to the most lethal sniper in United States history.

The autobiography encompasses the theme of how the war affects life on our shores, the protagonist and antagonist between Chris Kyle and the savages that he fought, and the theme of undying patriotism. Chris Kyle has embodied a certain quote that I remember from former president John Fitzgerald Kennedy. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your

country.”