Symbols in Vietnam War Literature
- Norman Bowker: Bowker's story is one of the sadder ones that O'Brien tells in his narrative, for Norman represents the traumatic affects of war. One of Norman's favorite things to do is to drive in circles around a lake near his home town. He does this for hours, symbolizing his inability to address the war and the impact it had on him. Instead of getting to the heart of his issues with the war Norman circles it like the lake, eventually leading him to commit suicide.
- Kathleen: the daughter of O'Brien, is often the subject of her father's war stories. Kathleen is a symbol of the generational distance between the members of the Vietnam War and their children. O'Brien wants to share stories because they are an experience that is very important to him. However, Kathleen is unable to really understand her father's emotional behavior. Kathleen represents the inability for Americans who didn't go to Vietnam to understand the veterans who did go off to war. This is a distance that cannot be bridged by storytelling, symbolizing a generational divide.
- Mary Anne Bell: Mary Anne is the symbol of America's inability to leave the Vietnam War. She arrives in Vietnam to visit her boyfriend, treating the trip like a vacation. Immediately, Mary Anne becomes curious about everything, wanting to learn how to speak the language and properly fire a gun. However, as the story develops, her curiosity morphs into obsession and she cannot allow herself to leave. Instead, Mary Anne starts singing strange music, begins living in a hut of skeletons, and even wears a necklace of human tongues. Much like America's ten year obsession with Vietnam, Mary Anne cannot pull herself away.
- Linda: O'Brien's childhood friend and classmate, Linda, is a symbol of the power found in storytelling. For O'Brien, telling stories is the only way to heal from the pain and suffering associated with the deaths of countless soldiers in the Vietnam War. Through the image of Linda, the pain of death becomes something that all people can empathize with, for it is an experience that will eventually affect everyone. By telling stories of Linda, O'Brien is attempting to keep her memory alive, just as he does with the members of the Alpha Company. Through these stories O'Brien is immortalizing the memories of the deceased, ensuring that they will never be forgotten.
- The Dead, Dainty Young Man: the figure of the young man that O'Brien kills in battle symbolizes the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people who died at the hands of American soldiers. These people are faceless, all blending together and without personal identities. Their own individual stories are never heard, which makes it easier to kill them every day.
- Kathleen: the daughter of O'Brien, is often the subject of her father's war stories. Kathleen is a symbol of the generational distance between the members of the Vietnam War and their children. O'Brien wants to share stories because they are an experience that is very important to him. However, Kathleen is unable to really understand her father's emotional behavior. Kathleen represents the inability for Americans who didn't go to Vietnam to understand the veterans who did go off to war. This is a distance that cannot be bridged by storytelling, symbolizing a generational divide.
- Mary Anne Bell: Mary Anne is the symbol of America's inability to leave the Vietnam War. She arrives in Vietnam to visit her boyfriend, treating the trip like a vacation. Immediately, Mary Anne becomes curious about everything, wanting to learn how to speak the language and properly fire a gun. However, as the story develops, her curiosity morphs into obsession and she cannot allow herself to leave. Instead, Mary Anne starts singing strange music, begins living in a hut of skeletons, and even wears a necklace of human tongues. Much like America's ten year obsession with Vietnam, Mary Anne cannot pull herself away.
- Linda: O'Brien's childhood friend and classmate, Linda, is a symbol of the power found in storytelling. For O'Brien, telling stories is the only way to heal from the pain and suffering associated with the deaths of countless soldiers in the Vietnam War. Through the image of Linda, the pain of death becomes something that all people can empathize with, for it is an experience that will eventually affect everyone. By telling stories of Linda, O'Brien is attempting to keep her memory alive, just as he does with the members of the Alpha Company. Through these stories O'Brien is immortalizing the memories of the deceased, ensuring that they will never be forgotten.
- The Dead, Dainty Young Man: the figure of the young man that O'Brien kills in battle symbolizes the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people who died at the hands of American soldiers. These people are faceless, all blending together and without personal identities. Their own individual stories are never heard, which makes it easier to kill them every day.