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
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Raven--
ReplyDeleteI think that your argument sounds pretty solid: From what I understand, you're going to argue that O'Brien uses his memoir to show the American people that because of a failure on the part of the Americans to connect with the Vietnamese, the war was lost from the beginning. Secondly, this relates to the theme of empire in that once again, America the imperial power comes into a foreign land, objectifies and emasculates the inhabitants, and largely fails to live up to its ideals. Perhaps this could also relate to consumption, in that the soldier's consumption helps to better their condition, and the lack of consumption available to the Vietnamese hindered the American effort to win their hearts and minds. I don't know, that idea would need more thought.
How are you going to relate 'the human condition' to what cultural work is being done?
Anyways, it sounds like you're off to a good start; see you in class!
Chris
You definitely have a solid base to make an interesting argument and paper.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I would advise you do is make sure you why the troops never won hearts and minds by saying what they did not do and what they did wrong. I think this can transition smoothly into the question of should we have go there in the first place.
Talking about American imperialism could then maybe link up nicely with the issue of consumption as the only remaining image of America to the point where like the professor had said today that CocaCola is a symbol of our country as opposed to say democracy or peace and prosperity.
You could also consider (this might not be necessary or simply make the paper too broad) mentioning the lack of unity at home as well as on the war front: the protests and also citing the example of the girlfriend who is detached or wants to be detached from the whole thing by "escaping" to Europe. maybe its the result of a "consumer mentality" where we are used to chosing what we like and dont like and our actions are not necessarilly connected to any ideals.
Hope that helped a little!