"In Country" is looked at more of a coming home novel than a war novel. The book takes place in a little town in Hopewell, Kentucky in the 1980's. The novel shows both the physical and emotional effects on veterans after the war has been over for some time. Also the post war effects on those lives that were close to veterans, such as Sam growing up with Emmett.
The setting of the novel was also very significant in the little town of Hopewell, that was a symbol of the effects on war on an individual. There was little hope or opportunity within the town, which was also true for the individual veterans like Emmett and Tom. Also the effects on Sam's life she could not move out of the town for higher opportunities because her life was revolving around the the people who close to her in Hopewell. For example when Sam states, "Her whole life centered on two men at the mercy of the V.A" (p. 129). This shows the great effects on those people who needed to give constant care to those effected by the war, since no one else like the V.A was taking any responsibility.
Also popular culture was a reoccurring theme in the book, this shows the importance of both music and media that was important for the post war time. Such as artists like John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen were brought up frequently. Music was very popular for a coping mechanism, that was highly influenced by the Vietnam War. For example when Sam turns on the radio, and shes hoping to listen to the Bruce Springsteen song, she states, "Somehow there was a secret knowledge in his songs, as though he knew exactly what she was feeling" (p. 138). This is a clear example of why many people turned to this culture of music in order to help cope and understand the effects of the war.
"In Country" is looked at more of a coming home novel than a war novel. The book takes place in a little town in Hopewell, Kentucky during the 1980's. The novel shows both the physical and emotional effects on veterans after the war has been over. Also the effects on those lives that were close to veterans, such as Sam growing up with Emmett.
ReplyDeleteThe setting of the novel was also very significant in the little town of Hopewell, that was a symbol of the effects from war on an individual. There was little hope or opportunity within the town, which was also true for the individual veterans like Emmett and Tom. Also Sam's life was effected by being unable to move out of the town for higher opportunities because her life was revolving around the the people who were close to her in Hopewell. An example on how Sam's life was effected is the statement of,"Her whole life centered on two men at the mercy of the V.A" (p. 129). This shows the great effects on those people who needed to give constant care to those effected by the war, since no one else like the V.A was taking any responsibility.
Also popular culture was a reoccurring theme in the book; this shows the importance of both music and media in the post war time. For example the artists John Lennon,and Bruce Springsteen were brought up frequently. Music was a very popular coping mechanism. The music was highly influenced by the Vietnam War. For example when Sam turns on the radio, and she is hoping to listen to the Bruce Springsteen song, she states, "Somehow there was a secret knowledge in his songs, as though he knew exactly what she was feeling" (p.138). This is a clear example of why many people turned to this culture of music in order to help cope and understand the effects from the war. Sam used this popular culture of war to try to get a feel of what war was like. The book represented a coming of age story in learning to come to terms with what her father and Emmett had done in the war.