Quotation:
“If you can’t identify them by name we’ll be burdened by
their deaths for the rest of our lives,” the head of the MIA team had said. He
had been an insurance clerk at one time. Now his entire life was gathering
corpses. He was preoccupied with this sole duty, which was to locate, identify,
recover, then bury the dead soldiers. He used to describe his work as though it
were a sacred oath, and as others to swear their dedication. (91-2)
Response:
Throughout this novel the dead constantly confront the living,
and the living, in turn, are always busy with the dead. There’s a need for
closure – burying the dead properly might not be much, but it’s all that can be
done. Soldiers’ belongings are returned to loved ones and teams struggle to
locate and properly bury the many bodies scattered across the battle zones.
Some people, such as the man mentioned in the passage above, have devoted
themselves to the dead: pledged their lives to serve the dead. Constantly
confronted by bodies and death, it seems that they will never really be able to
move on. Burial is supposed to bring an end to the issue, to bring closure, but
it doesn’t seem to help Kien fight his demons. It’s not that the dead should
not be properly buried (Kien agrees that they should shortly after the above
passage), but to think that proper burials will set the souls of the living at
ease is not correct. It’s a beginning, perhaps, but as the novel proves, the
surviving soldiers have layers of suffering that all need closure, and not all
their problems can be so simply solved. Some things cannot be so “easily” dealt
with: memories that are buried will only resurface with vehemence. The living
are consumed by caring for the dead, remembering the dead, and dealing with the
fact that they have caused death as well. No wonder Kien has a hard time relating
to other people – he’s had to experience things not many others have, and he’s
had to continue living among people who cannot possibly understand what he
suffers. And yet there’s really nothing else Kien can do – those who have died
have died precisely to provide Kien and other the opportunity to live, and yet
the chance of Kien and others like him being able to reintegrate with society
is very slim. The surviving soldiers are closer to the deceased soldiers than
they are to civilians.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Amanda. Death surrounds all the soldiers who survived and that makes it hard for any of them to live normal lives after the war. Not only that, but dead corpses also haunted them while they were fighting during the war, too. It was a constant struggle for Kien to keep seeing his friends or comrades die right before his eyes and instantly turn into a corpse. It was even worse for him and other MIA soldiers to see all the dead bodies lying around everywhere. Death surrounded Kien everywhere he went, he couldn't escape from it, even after the war. Death was a constant reminder to him and all of the other surviving soldiers of the pain and sorrow that they had to go through.
ReplyDelete-Paula Martin
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI found your interpretation of the concept of dead among the living to be very interesting and insightful into how you interpret your readings. You nicely shed light on how the soldiers had to deal with the dead and how some were dedicated specifically to dealing with the dead bodies. While reading your journal entry my mind kept taking me back to the passage in the novel where it was Victory day and how Kien explains the treatment on the dead woman who was next to him while he was sleeping. It displayed how some of the soldiers treat the dead like they are burdens while other treat them respectfully in order for their souls to be free. Another aspect that came to mind while reading your entry was the Jungle of Screaming Souls. Like I mentioned earlier in another journal response was how if the dead soldiers were not given a proper burials their soul were trapped where they where killed. You did a great job in you journal entry for it made me apply your points into how i interpreted my readings which provided me with a clearer understanding. Great job!
-Fariba
Hi Amanda!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree that because these soldiers are constantly preoccupied with this job of identifying the deceased, it is hard for Kien to integrate himself back into society where life flourishes. It is as if with all the ugliness he has experienced with the war and the gang rapes of the women (Phuong and his guide) he cannot help he dies interiorly. As you mentioned he is unable to experience emotion-- because if he was able to he would not be able to deal with all the pain he has felt because of the all the hardships he has been forced to endure.