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Impact of vietnam war on america
Impacts of the vietnam war on the united states
Impact of vietnam war on america
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Remembering Vietnam
"Facing It," by Yusef Komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all Americans are familiar with. The ever so controversial Vietnam Conflict, also known as the Vietnam War. This poem was very well written, and I respect all that was said in the context of the poem. "Facing It," discusses his visit to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and his emotions that he experienced while he was at the memorial. I can not imagine what the feelings would be like to see one of my friend's name etched in this wall, although Tomas Van Putten can. I had a personal phone interview with him on October 30th, 2002.
Tom Van Putten served nine years in the U.S. Army, two of which were spent in Vietnam. In a phone interview with Tom, I asked him if he had ever visited the monument. In fact, he did and he discussed with me how hard it was to see a dozen names of men he knew that were put on that wall. "It's really an awesome monument; it is hard remembering what it was like coming home. I was definitely changed for life " (Van Putten).
Most of the content Mr. Van Putten and I spoke about, alluded back to "Facing It."
Komunyakaa really shows me that he is emotional about the monument by his visions that he sees when he is at the wall. "My black face fades / hiding inside the black granite" (1-2). Here I believe he is realizing he should be on that wall. I feel as if he may be remembering a point in time in Vietnam that he was involved in an incident that should have cost him his life. Also, these are all names. His fading face makes me think that he realizes that there were no separate races in that war. When I told Mr. Van Putten about this part of the poem, he said "Yea, you are right. We all looked the same. We were all Americans."
"I said I wouldn't, dammit: no tears" (3-4). How could you not cry at this scene. Hundreds, if not thousands of fellow Americans that Komunkyaa had interacted with at one point in time, or another, were just names etched on a wall. I asked Mr. Van Putten what the overall environment was like once he arrived in Vietnam. Mr. Van Putten described the environment of Vietnam as a "pretty country, really nice.
I carry the memories of the ghosts of a place called Vietnam-the people of Vietnam, my fellow soldiers- Tim O’Brien
Lin's work, unlike most previous military monuments, rejects the emphasis on heroics in favor of a poignant, contemplative, apolitical design which conveys an almost unbearable sense of loss. Simple, graceful, and abstract, the design specified two 246.75 foot long walls of polished black southern India granite, set below grade and connected at a 125 degree angle.2 Each segment of the wall is composed of 70 panels. At their intersection, the walls are 10.1 feet high and they taper down to a height of 8 inches at their extremities.3 The largest panels have 137 lines of names.4 The smallest panels have just one line. Each line consists of five names, which were sandblasted into the polished surface by hand, rather than cut into it with machine tools.5 Currently, the monument wall lists the names of 58,175 members of the armed forces who were confirmed killed or listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War.6
The poem's persona and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall depend on each other to express the poem's intention. The poem's intention is to show that war is lethal, less than gloriful, and extremely real. Although years have gone by, these recollections are still affecting how he lives. Simply standing in front of the wall reminds the speaker of all of this. The Veterans Memorial takes on a life of its own. While the speaker is in its presense, the wall controls him. It forces him to remember painful memories and even cry, something he promised himself he would not do. The persona in the poem reacts to the power the wall has and realizes that he must face his past and everything related to it, especially Vietnam.
Robert S. McNamara's book, In Retrospect, tells the story of one man's journey throughout the trials and tribulations of what seems to be the United States utmost fatality; the Vietnam War. McNamara's personal encounters gives an inside perspective never before heard of, and exposes the truth behind the administration.
Yusef Komunyakaa reflects on his experiences from the Vietnam War, describing his mixed emotions using vivid imagery and dark metaphors. He struggles throughout the poem, as the caesuras indicate, as he is trying to bottle up his emotions like he would if he was fighting in the war. Komunyakaa displays the harsh reality of the aftermath of being a soldier with everlasting scars-both mental and physical-that can haunt and manifest someone. He also describes how all veterans, even if they do not know each other personally, can connect with one another on a higher level of understanding than others who do not share similar experiences or struggles would ever be able to.
In away he shows us how we create our fears in a way. In line 5 he says “I’m stone.” which the monument is made out of. Throughout the poem he gets confused because of the reflectiveness of the monument. He is seeing the reflections as if they are happening in front of him, like the wall would be. It seems as though he is embodying this wall which holds his fear. This makes sense because he is the one holding the memories and the wall is only the name of people that could have been in those memories. The wall isn’t Vietnam nor is it a book written with his specific experiences. Meaning that he is the soul keeper and creator of this fears and the wall is what he is projecting it on. Komunyakaa say near the end of the poem “then his pale eyes looked through mine. I’m a window”. There is a metaphor that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Komunyakaa’s soul is what is harboring his fear and the only way to cleanse his soul is by letting his fear
The Airline Industry is a fascinating market. It has been one of the few industries to reach astounding milestones. For example, over 200 airlines have gone out of business since deregulation occurred in 1978. Currently, more than 50% of the airlines in the industry are operating under Chapter 11 regulations. Since 9/11, four of the six large carriers have filed for and are currently under bankruptcy court protection. Since 9/11 the industry has lost over $30 billion dollars, and this loss continues to increase. Despite the fact that the airline industry is in a state of despair, JetBlue has become the golden example, a glimpse of what the industry could be.
Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...
Women used to dress very conservatively and strict before the turn of the decade. Clothing consisted of fitted dresses, long skirts, and corsets in lady like manners. Since the 1920’s brought women’s rights along, young women decided that they were not willing to waste away their young lives anymore being held down to the rules; they were going to enjoy life. The younger generations of women were breaking away from their old habits and their fashion statements changed their roles in society completely. Women were modeling their lives after popular icons...
In “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien describes a more personal experience of the difficulties soldiers face during war. In the other hand, Komunyakaa tells us in his poem the type of challenges veterans have long after they were in war. Although sometimes when we think about war, we think being the strongest physically can be enough to be a warrior, but we tend to forget that mentally we need to be equally strong. Komunyakaa uses vivid imagery, diction, and a sad tone throughout his poem and is able to show the reader his sadness and confusion while the speaker is visiting the Vietnam Veteran Memorial. O’Brien uses diction, imagery and a burden tone to connect with the reader in a more
The fashion that was worn during this period of time marked a sense of social change, as many women considered themselves to be “flappers” and wore clothing and hairstyles than was marked as appropriate for them in the past1. Members of the younger generation wore this style of clothing and took on different roles in society than they had in the past because they wanted to break free from the expectation that their primary role should be in the home. As such the gender expectations of men and women started to shift during this period of time, and although many women were still thought of as wives and homemakers, others ventured into the workforce creating fortune for themselves. Ultimately, the idea of achieving the American Dream was a driving factor for many of these individuals, and in the 1920s, it appeared that every person was equally capable of achieving this
Self-estrangement can be closely associated with a symptom of depression, many of these soldiers were later diagnosed with PTSD, where depression is a symptom commonly found. Many soldiers, including Komunyakaa, entered the war with the mindset that this act was a necessary precaution to prevent the spread of communism not only just to the US but the rest of the world. Despite the Americans citizens so strongly opposing the use of force, the soldiers and US government believed this amount of force was essential in the combat against the spread of communism.To show their disapproval of the war, American citizen often protested the issues in some cases this eventually broke out in violence. Anti-war protesters were known for being extremely ill-mannered and even violent to returning soldiers by throwing garbage, eggs and various other objects. Many theorized that the hostility shown in US Soldier played “an important environmental factor” (Begg) in the development of the Soldiers PTSD. Komunyakaa directly addresses this hostile environment, he has been subjected to as a Vietnam War veteran by saying in his poem“My clouded reflection eyes me/like a bird of prey”(l. 7). He believes that he has been placed under harsh scrutiny by the public. Komunyakaa also recognizes the struggles that other soldiers have faced as a result of differences in narratives. When looking at the eyes of
"Sports People: Horse Racing;drug Suspension for Jockey." New York Times October 12, 1995, Nytimes.com, May 25, 2012.
The soldiers feel that the only people they can talk to about the war are their “brothers”, the other men who experienced the Vietnam War. The friendship and kinship that grew in the jungles of Vietnam survived and lived on here in the United States. By talking to each other, the soldiers help to sort out the incidents that happened in the War and to put these incidents behind them. “The thing to do, we decided, was to forget the coffee and switch to gin, which improved the mood, and not much later we were laughing at some of the craziness that used to go on” (O’Brien, 29).
Lee, Roger A. "War in Afghanistan." 10 October 2011. The History Guy: The War in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). 11 November 2011 .