Brief Summary Of Philip Caputo's A Rumor Of War
Madeline A. Lee
Professor Mustachio
ENG 111-W04
27 July 2014
A Rumor of War: A Literary Analysis Philip Caputo’s memoir, A Rumor of War, depicts the life altering experience of the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a young man who has only just graduated from high school. After serving his time in the war, seeing all of its horrors, and losing several comrades, Caputo returns home a changed man who has narrowly escaped dying in a war that he believes was fought for no reason. Throughout the course of this work, he describes numerous scenarios that are the makings of a mentally unstable man. Caputo’s journey into the depths of insanity is best represented by the parallel of his journey into the dense, mysterious jungles of Vietnam. …show more content…
He, like every boy his age, is intrigued by the concept of going to war to fight the Vietnamese and return home a hero that will be welcomed back with applause and appreciation. "We went overseas full of illusions, for which the intoxicating atmosphere of those years was as much to blame as our youth." (Caputo xii). This false sense of the romanticism of war contributes to his initial lean towards instability because it allows Caputo to begin the war in a world that still protects him from the harsh realities that have yet to be witnessed as he enters Vietnam.
Caputo’s journey into his mind’s jungle continues as he completes basic training and actually enters the war. While he and his fellow soldiers do not see much action initially, the skirmishes with groups of Viet Cong set them on edge. There are casualties and deaths that come of this, but Caputo feels only the mere beginnings of the effect of this traumatic stress after one of his closer friends, Sullivan, is killed by sniper fire. This lingering sorrow for Sullivan and the new family that was awaiting him back home weighs on Caputo as he takes on his new post as casualty
Professor Mustachio
ENG 111-W04
27 July 2014
A Rumor of War: A Literary Analysis Philip Caputo’s memoir, A Rumor of War, depicts the life altering experience of the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a young man who has only just graduated from high school. After serving his time in the war, seeing all of its horrors, and losing several comrades, Caputo returns home a changed man who has narrowly escaped dying in a war that he believes was fought for no reason. Throughout the course of this work, he describes numerous scenarios that are the makings of a mentally unstable man. Caputo’s journey into the depths of insanity is best represented by the parallel of his journey into the dense, mysterious jungles of Vietnam. …show more content…
He, like every boy his age, is intrigued by the concept of going to war to fight the Vietnamese and return home a hero that will be welcomed back with applause and appreciation. "We went overseas full of illusions, for which the intoxicating atmosphere of those years was as much to blame as our youth." (Caputo xii). This false sense of the romanticism of war contributes to his initial lean towards instability because it allows Caputo to begin the war in a world that still protects him from the harsh realities that have yet to be witnessed as he enters Vietnam.
Caputo’s journey into his mind’s jungle continues as he completes basic training and actually enters the war. While he and his fellow soldiers do not see much action initially, the skirmishes with groups of Viet Cong set them on edge. There are casualties and deaths that come of this, but Caputo feels only the mere beginnings of the effect of this traumatic stress after one of his closer friends, Sullivan, is killed by sniper fire. This lingering sorrow for Sullivan and the new family that was awaiting him back home weighs on Caputo as he takes on his new post as casualty