Paper #4 Revised

Tim O’Brien’s memoir shows that American shows that American soldiers behaved in ways that alienated Vietnamese people and could not when hearts and minds. The cruelty and vulgarity expressed in the memoir shows that the relationship could not be anything but negative. The behaviors of the American soldiers were because of a lot factors. For instance, the domestic situation in the United States, the unfamiliarity of Vietnam (i.e.: culture, people, terrain) and the political climate in the Vietnam. In this paper, I will show that the relationship between the Vietnamese people and the American people in the context of O’Brien’s memoir could not have been anything but distrustful because of the realities of the war.
The Cold War effected everything in the international system from 1945-1991. Most of Asia and Africa were former colonies of western countries and there was a great battle to get those countries into the Soviet or US sphere. The Vietnamese people have a long tradition of resisting the western powers in their country. It is in this resistance that the American soldiers were forced to fight a war. The battle for hearts and minds dictates the way a foreign power will be received by the indigenous people. In the case of Vietnam, this quintessential battle was not won. As opposed World War 2 the indigenous people were happy to see the foreign powers of the Soviet Union, United States, and Great Britain. The situation created by not winning the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people did not help the Vietnamese-American relationship. This situation added the anger that the American soldiers were filling resulting in the cruelty that that Tim O’Brien experienced in his memoir. (Insert O’Brien Quote and explain)(End with the human condition)
The human condition is extremely important. It is what makes us different from animals. The relationship between human beings can overcome anything, war, hunger…

Paper #4 Revised

The Human Condition During the Vietnam War

Topic: I want to focus on the relationship between the Vietnamese People and the American soldiers. I want to see was the battle won in a heart and mind context. I will use the following chapters, “Hearts and Minds,” and “Courage Is a Certain Kind of Preserving.”

Argument: The battle to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese People was never achieved and that is the main reason why the Vietnam War is seen in a negative connotation. The war is seen as a colossal failure and was never winnable. It is seen as American imperialistic quagmire.

The Vietnam War is seen as an encroachment of the freedom of the Vietnamese People imposed on them by the United States. The war lost mass support as a result of the “Tet Offensive.” Imperialistic tendencies are one of the main charges that superpowers are charged with. (will change later) The human condition shapes a war and how it is fought by those who fight in it. The relationship between the South Vietnamese and the American soldiers dictates the battle for hearts and minds. In this paper, I will show that the battle for hearts and mind in the Vietnam War was never achieved and as a result it was never winnable.

The human condition…
o what, why, result
o use firsthand accounts to show what the human condition was during the war

The battle for the hearts and minds…
o why it is important
o what it is
o how it is seen through the O’Brien’s memoirs