Analysis Of A Viet Cong Memoir And Last Night I Dreamed Of Peace

The Viet Nam war was among the most significant events that occurred in the 20th century. The recollection of the war through memoirs and diaries gives readers around the world a glimpse into these horrifying and personal events as well as the Vietnamese mindsets during the time. A Viet Cong Memoir by Truong Nhu Tang, The Twenty-five Year Century by Lam Quang Thi, and the diary Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram give intimate, yet differing perspectives of the conflict that shook the country. Each of these authors had different backgrounds, roles in the war, and experiences that influence their biases and perspectives on the war and the parties involved. Exploring each of these authors and their similarities and differences will

Tang’s memoir is from the perspective of a revolutionary whose goal was to convey the Communist Party’s perspective on the war; a perspective that many do not consider when learning about and analyzing the nature of the conflict. It is apparent that his memoir was written for a Vietnamese audience that could relate and reciprocate the revolutionary mindset at the time. Thi’s memoir leaned more towards a western audience. Although Thi had a strong sense of nationalism and wanted to better his country and the lives of millions in it, he had a western approach to his actions and ideologies during the war. He aimed to provide a view of ARVN and the South Vietnamese government from the perspective of a nation-loving Vietnamese man instead of from the typical American war-hero perspective. Tram’s diary, however, had no clear audience in mind. This was a personal account of her horrifying experiences in the war and puts less of an emphasis on the politics of the conflict; instead, she allows for a more human approach while conveying her emotions about the revolutionaries and her love of the country and everyone in

Nationalist ideals are portrayed, and although they had contrasting ideologies and perspectives, there was a shared desire when it came to the unification of Viet Nam. War-time Viet Nam was a hellish scene. The authors of the books each recount personal memories of their unimaginable hardships and suffering during the war. From torture to seeing loved ones be killed and entire communities burned to the ground, it implants this unshakeable emotion and empathy for all those involved in the war. Having these unique Vietnamese stories and experiences in the form of memoirs and diaries gives us a clear insight of what these people had to go through, and why they fought tooth and nail for the betterment of their country. Many do not truly grasp the amount of human suffering the Vietnamese had to face during this period of war. Hearing these stories from those who came face to face with the frontlines gives a new insight into what the war meant for everyone involved, and why it was fought in the first