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Essay / Depiction of the US military involved in the Vietnam War
As the Vietnam War progressed, the US military was sent to help prevent the spread of communism. In Amy Phan's short story collection We Should Never Meet, many Americans view their flight to South Vietnam to fight alongside the Vietnamese and save the Amerasian babies as an act of heroism, as seen in " Bound.” In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese viewed Americans as "arrogant who expected to be treated like kings" (Phan 222) for their service and wealth, while harboring resentment toward Vietnamese born to soldiers Americans in their “homeland”. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When Bridget leaves her family to help those affected by the war, she realizes how damaged the people are. It is necessary to care for Amerasian babies. During "Bound", Bridget must care for the children using her medical knowledge and repeatedly refuses to return home to her husband and young daughter. Her husband, Ronald, initially understands Bridget's reason for staying, as the children "have no one else" and considers her a brave woman for helping the children in a war zone, especially with the Vietnam War considered “unpopular”. (Phan 191). As time passes, Bridget feels more and more responsible for caring for the children, not only to serve as a doctor, but also because the children are "children of the United States military... products of [the Vietnam War]” and “rejected by their culture,” while Ronald begins to resent Bridget for “leaving her family for strangers” (Phan 194, 197). When Ronald again tells her to go home, she responds by stating that she has to take care of the Amerasian children, but angrily states how many of the children were part of the war "because of the American soldiers who couldn't keep their pants on.” lit” (Phan 200). Bridget's view of the Vietnam War is that of an American volunteer seeing the destruction that the American military brings to the citizens of Vietnam. She sees herself as the one who can save the Amerasian children from the destruction of a controversial war. Bridget's desire to save young lives is especially evident when she wishes to adopt a young Vietnamese boy, Huan, saved during Operation Babylift. When told that she cannot adopt Huan, Bridget is furious because she had already "claimed" Huan as her own and believes that her adoption would soothe and rebuild her family in America (Phan 204). Bridget's naivety in viewing Huan as fixing her family is comparable to how the US military was naively seen as the flavor of Vietnam, but only brought destruction and heartbreak to Vietnam and its people. Following the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Phan addresses the impact of the war. on the Vietnamese in “Motherland”. When Huan arrives with his adoptive mother in Vietnam to learn more about his history, he is angry at the country that "didn't want him...wishes he didn't exist" and expresses his hatred towards the country that made him an outcast (Phan 233). Her anger is expressed even more after being harassed by a Vietnamese officer. Huan's friend Mai explains: "If they can say you're at least part Vietnamese, they're going to have problems with you." » (Phan 222) Although “Homeland” takes place twenty years after the war, Phan illustrates how the pain of the Vietnamese and the state of the villages of the..