Style Of Writing In Bao Ninh's The Sorrow Of War

The style of writing which an author uses is a key determinant in how the reader will receive and interpret the work. Style, which is the author’s combination of diction, structure and vocabulary in order to elicit a particular response from the reader, is specific to an author. The differences in style arise due to the different backgrounds, ideologies and overall thinking process of one author from another. In The Sorrow Of War Bao Ninh tells the story of Kien, a veteran of the Vietnamese war, and his experiences during and after the war, as well as how they have influenced his relationships with those closest to him, such as Phuong, his first love. The sensuous style present in The Sorrow of War is used as a means of connecting Bao Ninh

In the novel auditory imagery is seen when Kien finds himself alone after Phuong has left him, and he begins to have a depressive episode during which he has post-traumatic nightmares. The author describes these nightmares as

During the twilights of those cold nights the familiar, lonely spirits reappeared from the Screaming Souls Jungle, sighing and moaning to him, whispering as they floated around, like pale vapours, shredded with bullet-holes. They moved into his sleep as though they were mirrors surrounding him. (Ninh, 70)

Ninh’s sensuous style is created by his use of auditory imagery. The use of descriptive language creates a visual image for the reader. The image which the author creates is frightening as the memories of Kien’s dead mates are likened to ghosts, floating, endlessly sad. The verbs used by the author to describe the actions of the spirits, such as “sighing”, “moaning” and “whispering”, create auditory imagery of the scene, making the setting unsettling. The author chose to create the image in order to illustrate Kien’s ordeals and the horrific nature of his nightmares to the reader. This is done in order for the reader to understand the suffering Kien is experiencing as a result of war. The effect of the auditory imagery on the reader is immersive. The reader is able to accurately picture the scenes of the novel, creating an added depth to the

A metaphor in which the rosa canina represents Kien, enforces the themes of the novel. In the novel Kien describes his time in the battalion, specifically when he and his mates grew addicted to the rosa canina flower and its intoxicating properties, Kien describes nature of the flower as “The local people say the canina thrives in graveyards or any area carrying the scent of death. A blood-loving flower. It smells so sweetly that this is hard for us to believe.” (Ninh, 12) The author creates the metaphor due to the common characteristics which Kien and the Rosa Canina flower share. Although the two are distinctly different, both the rosa canina and Kien’s existence depend and thrive on the deaths of others. The “scent of death” creates an appalling image of rotting corpses. The emphasis on the olfactory senses of the reader introduce a horrific aspect to the metaphor, which already has morbid imagery created by the use of words such as “graveyards” and “blood-loving”. The rosa canina is said to “thrive” in graveyards and similarly, Kien, as a war veteran, has received his recognition from the skill he has displayed on the battlefield, a place in which many dead people are to be found, just like a graveyard. Kien’s successes on the battlefield depended heavily on people dying, just like the rosa canina. This metaphor is significant as Bao Ninh uses it to illustrate