The Sorrow of War (Assignment 5)

       The novel Sorrow of War, has shown me how cold hearted a person can be. This novel not only explains the ruthless things people can do to a person it also taught me the true significance of love and war. However, fighting in the vietnamese war can be a bit complicated due to not be connected with the real world and how one can not trust other people. One has to work hard everyday just to fight for their lives only to live another days worth of fighting and killing. Although kien and phuong were really close back in their time, they suddenly drifted apart as if kien never thought that it would happen to them. This novel also taught me how friendships can suddenly change over time ruining the memories of what one might have with one another. This novel not only teaches one how to survive, it also teaches people how soldiers during the war fought hard and mostly died just to save their country. While reading this novel one can gain huge amounts of knowledge about many things: friendship, love, and how to survive.


       The novel Sorrow of War, was written to acknowledge the mind of readers and to influence them about the real world and What one can go through. This novel also teaches the life of war and what soldiers go through to either survive or be killed. Throughout this novel, kien is one of ten survivors who tries to deal with his real life and the life of a soldier all at one time. He struggles with his love relationship because of how complicated phuong made it. He didnt know whether if he wanted to continue living the horrible life he was living or to push on. However, even though he stuggled he felt as if he was living in hell due to soo many tragic events occurred in his life.

The Image Poem

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

The Sorrow of War (Sunday)

• Pages: 126-146
• Passage One: In later years Kien regretted his harsh assessment of his father and his disdain for his dying words. He had been embarrassed about his eccentric father and had frequently shown dislike for his work and words when he was alive. That much was true.  (Pg. 127, 1st paragraph)
• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Never mistreat the ones you love. Kien began to regret the way he treated his father.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quote characterizes Kien and how he felt towards his father and also how he treated him.

• Passage Two: Kien had crawled most of the day and a night, dragging himself through mud on the forest floor, his naked body badly cut up. Men who had escaped from the massacre met up with him on the edge of the forest and carried him west to the border. He came to at clinic 8, safely close to the cambodien border. (Pg. 140, 4th paragraph)
• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Never give up. As Kien was badly injured he continued to go on and find help.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quote characterizes how strong and difficult kien was and what it took for him to survive his ambush.

The Sorrow of War (Saturday)

• Pages: 105-125
• Passage One: Kien squatted down near the four bodies, shaking and retching. In ten long years of fighting, since his first day at the front, he had never felt as bad. (pg. 106, 3rd paragraph)
• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Never show fear. Showing fear lead to many dangerous things, and also come true.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quote characterizes kien and how his fear almost led him to his death as if he felt like he was already dying.

• Passage Two: He reached out unsteadily and tried to embrace the ghostly shadow of the girl. In his drunkeness he was blubering, generating deep pity for for her poor lost soul as he blethered on with words of consulation for her. (Pg. 108, 2nd paragraph)
• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Always think before you react. As kien approached the female enemy he began to feel pitty for her which is something one should never feel.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quote characterizes how Kien feelings gets in the way of his missions.

The Sorrow of War (Friday)

• Pages: 85-105
• Passage One: Dying and surviving were separated by a thin line; they were killed one at a time, or all together; they were killed instantly, or were wounded and bled to death; they could live but suffer the nightmares of white blasts which destroyed their souls and stripped there personalities bare. (Pg. 89, 3rd paragraph)
• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Many soldiers can die from many things while fighting for their country.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quote characterizes the life of all soldiers and how difficult it is for one to fight and survive their country.

• Passage Two: “Anyway, im sure it wasn’t a human laugh because it was shaking and choking.” (Pg. 126, 4th paragraph)
• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Never expect the unexpected. In this quote Kien began to think he was near an enemy that was trying to kill him but really was not.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quote characterizes kien and his way of surviving.

The Sorrow of War (Thursday)

• Pages: 64-85
• Passage One: During a lunch break at home from school one day Kien was startled when Hanh slipped quietly into his room. “Hey, younger brother, how about helping me later. I want to dig an air-raid shelter under my bed so i don’t have to tear down the street everytime that siren goes off.” (pg. 65, 1st paragraph)

• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Finding shortcuts to bond with other people/things brings easy living. Many people in modern times create shortcuts to do any and everything.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quotation characterizes kien and how older sister hets him to help dig an air-raid shelter under her bed due to her laziness.

• Passage Two: Kien took to staring out of his window for hours on end, then walking the dark streets, now and then looking back in hope. On bad nights he would loose control altogether and breakdown, sobbing into his pillow. Yet he knew that if she returned to him both of them would suffer again. 
• Question One: Does the quotation relate to a theme? If so, which theme and how does it relate?
• Answer: Never hide from one’s feelings. This is a theme because as Kien holds his feelings from Hanh it began changing him negatively.
• Question Two: Does the quotation characterize Kien, Phoung, or another character? If so, in what way does it characterize?
• Answer: This quote characterizes Kien and his feeligs toward Hanh and how it is also ruining his life.