Closure at the wall an analysi
Closure at the wall an analysiClosure at the Wall
In the novel In Country, Bobbie Ann Mason writes about a young woman and her uncle searching to heal their scars caused by the Vietnam War. Sam Hughes, the young woman and Emmett Smith, her uncle, travel to Washington D.C. in the summer of 1984. Their destination is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial or the Wall, possibly one of the nation's most dramatic monuments. Some come to the Wall in dedication, while others need to find answers or lay something to rest; Sam and Emmett venture there for the latter.
Emmett Smith returned from the war, but it never really ended for him. He didn't come home with gun shot wounds or list limbs, but according to Sam; he shows the effects of Agent Orange. The chemical, Agent Orange, was sprayed on the dense jungles in Vietnam to make the leaves fall off of the trees. American troops often got sprayed and later suffered from various conditions, such as, skin rashes, painful headaches, breathing problems and even cancer. Sam is very concerned with Emmett's symptoms. She constantly asks him to go to a doctor and she even tells him to write into the newspaper medical columnist, Dr. Dobbs. "Why don't you write and ask him about those firecrackers in your head? And ask him why that pimple on your nose hasn't healed in two months? And why you've got pimples creeping down the back of your neck? He'll say it's Agent Orange, I bet you money" (53-54).
The war mentally upsets Emmett as well. Most veterans returned from the war and readjusted well, but this is not the case with Emmett. "After his discharge…Emmett could not adjust" (23). At first, he lived with his niece Sam, and his sister Irene, who babied him. He attempted to go to college and worked odd jobs, but neither lasted. He is left unemployed, despite the fact that he owes the V.A. over five hundred dollars for checks he continued to collect even after he quit college (28).
Since Emmett does not work, he spends his time doing various nonproductive things. For instance, many mornings he meets fellow veterans at McDonald's. During the rest of the day, he watches M*A*S*H, plays Atari, obsesses over killing the fleas that his cat, Moon Pie, brings in, and he soon begins to dig around the base of the house. Emmett says he digs because there is a leak, but really the house and its foundation symbolize the stability of his life and family. Sam is concerned with Emmett's behavior and confronts him; "You know what you're doing? You're just digging yourself a foxhole to hide in. Like the enemy was all around you. But it's not. There's a whole wide world out there. There's plenty...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.