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Rhetorical Analysis: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

720 Words3 Pages

In The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Maya Lin employs rhetorical devices in order to elucidate, the gross cost of the Vietnam Conflict in U.S. lives.

The minimalist design used in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial emphasizes the overwhelming amount of human lives lost.On the Wall, a small diamond is depicted next to the names of people confirmed dead, if a person is MIA(Missing in Action) they get a small cross next to their name. The cross can easily be carved into a diamond if the person is confirmed dead ,or turned into a circle, a symbol of life, if they are found alive. To this date no circles appear on the Wall. The simplicity of the crosses and diamonds is very morbid because every visitor knows that each small mark, of which there are thousands, …show more content…

Lin described the slight V formed by the branches of Wall, while viewed from above as,”like two hands opening to embrace people." She said she "wanted to describe a journey--a journey which would make you experience death" yet lead away from violence to serenity.”(Linden). The architect behind the monument described the V as open hands because she believed that the monument should help heal the wounds of War. Open hands were chosen for this purpose because they are used for embracing and comforting people.She also describes how wishes the Wall to assuage people. She says that her monument will console not by denying the horrible truth of the war, but by acknowledging it through peace and serenity. Moreover, when viewed from the sky the wall resembles a closing wound.It has sometimes been referred to as “The Black Gash of Shame” by Critics. This symbolizes how as a country this memorial has helped us close our wounds that were opened by the Vietnam War. This emphasis on healing is important because it creates the idea that the Wall is a symbol for healing. By representing mending the Monument comforts those who lost people in the war and closes their metaphorical wounds by giving them some closure about their fallen loved ones. By being a symbol of healing the Wall expresses the large amount of lives lost in the

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