In the novel In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason we see, once again, the story about the Vietnam War, but it truly contains more. We see the search for Sam’s identity through her childhood after growing up without a father, due to the Vietnam War. The time that this novel was written falls right in line with many kids who were growing up without fathers because of the war, right around the early eighties.
Sam has experienced childhood much differently than most teenagers growing up, not only without a father, but she also grows up without her mother too. Sam wanted to find out more about her father so she decides that it would be best if she lives with her uncle Emmett. She doesn’t learn much just through Emmett besides the fact that war has a taken a toll on Emmett. He uses marijuana to get away and wonders if he will ever find a wife to be happy with.
Sam spends much of her teenage years wondering about her father, until she gets a hold of her father’s diary and finds out many things that disappoint her. Through her father's racism and drug use Sam begins to feel very disappointed of her father and grows a strong hatred toward him. Positive things come out of these findings though. Sam finds an identity of her own through this and no longer tries to relive what he did, to try to find out what he was like. The final part shows Sam going to the wall and I think the most important part of this is when she sees herself in the wall. She not only sees someone with the same name but she sees her own reflection while looking at this man’s name. When looking at the other Sam written on the wall she doesn’t think of a veteran who died fighting for his country, but she thinks of herself and how she wants to live her life.
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