The Sorrow of War free essay sample

It is as a soldier that you make love and as a lover that you make war,† Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Both Kien and Jimmy Cross, used their love back home as a way to escape from the horrors of war. Even though they were from different sides of the world, Kien and Cross shared similar experiences during the war. Both found themselves fighting with the same motivation, using their love to keep them alive and to survive until the end of war. For one of them, this motivation was a major distraction, but for the other it is the only thing that kept him alive.In the Sorrow of War, Kien is the lone survivor of his North Vietnamese brigade and this book is his memories of the war. It is the memories of the last ten years that wasted his youth and that of his countrymen and continues to affect life after the war. We will write a custom essay sample on The Sorrow of War or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page During the war Kien used his affection for Phuong, his lover, back home to help him push forward to the end, instead of surrendering to the inevitability of defeat. Kien and Phuong were truly in love. Before the war they were inseparable; together they were not only lovers but also best friends. Both of them were very influential to each other’s lives.Growing up, Kien did not have a positive relationship with his mother. When mentioned in the book she was described as being cold and even a harsh part of Kien’s childhood. Due to the absence of a loving mother, Kien searched for new maternal warmth through Phuong. Kien desired affectionate contact, because he had been denied it when he was young. Phuong provided physical warmth to Kien. During the night at the lake, Kien refused to sleep with her, yet he had a feeling of completion and relief just from lying there with her. Phuong kept Kien stable, and most importantly gave his life a sense of fulfillment.When Phuong left Kien’s life, he still described her as if she were actually there. In the book it said, â€Å"She had left him, that early winter evening, brushing past him out of the door without even bothering to switch off the lights in her room next door† (Ninh, 142). He makes it sound like she had been with Kien when she left, but in reality she left from the apartment next to his. He desired Phuong’s touch, and the only thing Kien wanted was to be with her until he died. When she left, it tore him apart and he desperately wanted things to go back to the way they were when he was a child. All the suffering that Kien endured from the loss of life, youth, family, and love were all in vain. The future that he had fought and hoped for in the war never materializes when the fighting is over. The Things They Carried provides a different viewpoint from the love and war perspective. Jimmy Cross found himself in a different position than Kien. In Cross’s case, his peculiar loving relationship with Martha was a major distraction and very dangerous for someone with such a ranking as his. He cherished the letters that Martha sent him. â€Å"Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps† (O’Brien, 4). Martha was all that he thought about. Was Martha a virgin? Does she actually love him? Questions were always running through his head leaving him tormented, and with no answers. It is unclear how serious their relationship actually was. The way Cross describes his feelings towards Martha are that of lust and desire; he obsessed over her virginity and physical aspects. He remembers going to a movie with her and when he touched her knee during the final scene, â€Å"she turned and looked at him in a sad, sober way that made him pull his hand back† (O’Brien, 4).This example leads the reader to believe that Martha did not share Cross’s lustful feelings. Cross had difficulty keeping his attention on leading his men because of the emotions he had for Martha. The distractions not only affected himself but the entire platoon under his command. After one of his men was killed in his presence, Cross found himself face to face with reality and knew that his â€Å"love† for Martha and his obligations in the war were not supposed to be mixed. â€Å"He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men† (O’Brien, 16).Cross took action and burned the letters and photographs that Martha had sent him, physically removing her from the war. Although it was only a gesture, he felt a great amount of relief because Martha was no longer a distraction. After the symbolic destruction, Cross â€Å"was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence (O’Brien, 25). † A major difference that separates Kien and Cross is their home front. Cross had to fly half-way across the world to fight in the war. Back in the United States, life continued as normal.People still had their jobs and students continued going to school. The American people knew they were at war, but they were oblivious to what was actually going on. In Martha’s letters, she would write about her professors, roommates, and her midterm exams. â€Å"She often quoted lines of poetry; she never mentioned the war, except to say, Jimmy, take care of yourself† (O’Brien, 1-2). It seemed almost as if the war had no effect on her. Kien and Phuong were directly affected by the troubles of war. They lived in it; their home front was the war.The first real conflict Kien and Phuong faced was when they were headed to the front lines. American planes bombed their train; Kien was flung from the train car, when he found Phuong she was in terrible shape. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding, Phuong had been raped. The trauma she faced had changed her approach on life. â€Å"From being a pure, sweet and simple girl she was now a hardened experienced women, indifferent to vulnerable emotions† (Minh, 223). She appeared to be separating herself from Kien and from her past.War not only affected them physically but it destroyed them inside, it weakened their relationship. Besides the many differences Kien and Cross had, they were similar in certain aspects. Although both Kien and Cross were from different countries and were enemies, they both shared common experiences. They both had to deal with the stress of leaving their loved ones and going to war. Both characters used the thought of going home to their love as an incentive to stay alive and keep fighting. The war took a major toll on Kien and Cross. They would never be able to forget the horrific experiences they faced.After the war, life could not continue as it had before. Lasting impressions of war were always being triggered through dreams and everyday normalities. For both sides, war was something that would never be forgotten. Throughout history soldiers have gone to war carrying memories of their loved ones. For many, love and fond memories carry them through the war with hope that they will go home to normal life. For others, memories or loss of love are a distraction and lead to fatalities. Through these two books we see two similar yet different experiences of love and war.