“Dien Cai Dau” by Yusef Komunyakaa is a collection of poems regarding different aspects of the Vietnam War. Komuyakaa was an African American soldier in the Vietnam War and writes many of the poems from his personal perspective of the war.
“Tu Do Street” on pg 29 is regarding segregation between white and black soldiers. Although white and black soldiers were fighting this war together, white soldier brought segregation even to Vietnam. Black soldiers were discriminated against at “white only bars”. They were not given the same treatment that white soldiers received. “When I order a beer, the mama-san behind the counter acts as if she can’t understand while her eyes skirt each white face”. Only the machine gun fire brings these men closer Komuyakaa writes. White soldiers and black soldiers were touching the same women only minutes apart. Black and White soldiers were fighting the same war, for the same country, and touching the same women. Some of black soldiers felt as if they were fighting for a country that could not even provide them with equal rights.
“2527th Birthday of the Buddha” on pg 18 shows that not only there was hostility among white and black soldiers but the Vietnamese also faced conflicts. Vietnam was divided among the ones who were ready to retaliate and then one who could not even consider the idea of war. This poem depicts the scene of a Buddhist monk, sitting in a busy intersection and setting fire to his own body. This self- immolation was due to the events and emotions caused by the war. This is image gained tremendous attention worldwide. This was an example of how war affects one’s emotions even if one is not directly involved in the fighting and killing. Since Buddhist monks are heavily spiritually and peaceful individuals war was completely opposite of their beliefs.
“Toys in the Field” on pg 56 uses powerful imagery to describe a scene in the field. In this poem Komuyakaa refers to Vietnamese children playing on an abandoned helicopter. He describes “Using gun mounts for monkey bars, Vietnamese children play skin-the-cat…suspended in doorways of multimillion-dollar helicopters.” The Vietnamese children are similar to American soldiers. American soldiers were very young and they can be viewed as playing with guns and expensive equipment except they were killing people while these kids remained innocent. Towards the end of the poem Komuyakaa writes “for the boy with American eyes who keeps singing rat-a-tat-tat, hugging a broken machine gun”. This is similar to the film Full Metal Jacket, where American soldiers were taught to love their rifles because it would save their lives instead this American eyed kid is hugging the rifle but with no intentions of killing anyone.
“Dien Cai Dau” by Yusef Komunyakaa is a collection of poems regarding different aspects of the Vietnam War. Komuyakaa was an African American soldier in the Vietnam War and writes many of the poems from his personal perspective of the war.
ReplyDelete“Tu Do Street” on pg 29 Komunyakaa writes regarding the segregation between white and black soldiers. Although white and black soldiers were fighting this war together, white soldier brought segregation even to Vietnam. Black soldiers were discriminated against at “white only bars”. They were not given the same treatment that white soldiers received. “When I order a beer, the mama-san behind the counter acts as if she can’t understand while her eyes skirt each- white face”. Only the machine gun fire brings these men closer Komuyakaa writes. White soldiers and black soldiers were touching the same women only minutes apart. Black and White soldiers were fighting the same war, for the same country, and touching the same women. Some of black soldiers felt as if they were fighting for a country that could not even provide them with equal rights.
“2527th Birthday of the Buddha” on pg 18 shows that not only there were protests against the war in the United States but the Vietnamese also heavily protested. Buddhists are normally known as peaceful individuals who rejected the idea of violence as a means for freedom. This poem depicts the scene of a Buddhist monk, sitting in a busy intersection and setting fire to his own body. This self-immolation was due to the events and emotions caused by the war. The monks believed although they self immolated their hearts still remained intact. This is image gained tremendous attention worldwide and led the U.S to change certain policies.
“Toys in the Field” on pg 56 uses powerful imagery to describe a scene in the field. In this poem Komuyakaa refers to Vietnamese children playing on an abandoned helicopter. He describes “Using gun mounts for monkey bars, Vietnamese children play skin-the-cat…suspended in doorways of multimillion-dollar helicopters.” The Vietnamese children are similar to American soldiers. American soldiers were very young and they can be viewed as playing with guns and expensive equipment except they were killing people while these kids remained innocent. Towards the end of the poem Komuyakaa writes “for the boy with American eyes who keeps singing rat-a-tat-tat, hugging a broken machine gun”. This is similar to the film Full Metal Jacket, where American soldiers were taught to love their rifles because it would save their lives instead this American eyed kid is hugging the rifle but with no intentions of killing anyone.
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