What Were They Like Flashcards
(10 cards)
“sir their light hearts turned to stone. it is not remembered “
(if they used lanterns of stone)
formal address – speaking to someone of seniority even though they do not have knowledge of Vietnam
ignorance of other cultures?
conflict: destruction of culture
“sir their light hearts turned to stone. it is not remembered”
(if they used lanterns of stone)
play on words: lantern in question but “light” in answer
referring to how the vietnamese were peaceful and happy people but war destroyed that
stone used to light their paths, but now dims their worlds
conflict: suffering & war
“sir their light hearts turned to stone. it is not remembered “
passive voice: universal destruction of culture
conflict: destruction of culture
“Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth”
formal address: irrate speaker
takes the words of the question and reconstructs them to a more destructive end
infuriated by the ignorance of his superior
conflict: destruction of culture
“Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth”
plosive alliteration: harshness
“bitter” – questioning to why superior is asking about the joys of lives they have destroyed
“burned” – allusion to Agent Orange
Agent orange had a corrosive nature, with lasting consequences of suffering for many, just like the grief from the war
conflict: suffering/destruction
“when peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies…
when bombs smashed those mirrors, there was time only to scream”
long stanza = “epic poem” referenced in the question; epic poem is “reflective” of their culture – when poem destroyed, so is the culture
peaceful/lyrical tone broken with violence
PEACE: personification of “clouds”
VIOLENCE: “smashed” = total obliteration; extended metaphor of mirror
conflict: destruction
“when peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies… when bombs smashed those mirrors there was only time to scream”
“when” = adverbial of time
movement of time: there was a time of peace but then there was war
sequence of events
conflict: destruction/violence/suffering
“It is not remembered. Remember,
Most were peasants”
repeated passive construction
anadiplosis of “remember”: reminder – infuriation with superior’s ignorance/naivity
factual information – innocence? sympathy
conflict: war/suffering
“it was reported that their singing resembled the flight of moths in the moonlight”
passive constuction: not definitive?
analogy of moths image: light/happy/joyful OR fragility/vulnerable/drawn together through greif/searching for light
nasal alliteration: “moths in the moonlight” – the peace in which we are supposed to remember their language
“who can say? it is silent now.”
very last line
rhetorical question: there is nobody to answer as they have all died at the hands of the US Army
hypophora (answer own question): answer does not give closure
warning? : if war continues, there will be no
