Vietnam war stories : innocence lost / Tobey C. Herzog.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Herzog, Tobey C.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Literature and the war.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

American literature--20th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

War stories, American--History and criticism.

War stories, American.

Innocence in literature.

Physical Description:

xi, 238 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 1992.

Summary:

The Gulf War and its aftermath have testified once again to the significance placed on the meanings and images of Vietnam by US media and culture. Almost two decades after the end of hostilities, the Vietnam War remains a dominant moral, political and military touchstone in American cultural consciousness. Vietnam War Stories provides a comprehensive critical framework for understanding the Vietnam experience, Vietnam narratives and modern war literature. The narratives examined - personal accounts as well as novels - portray a soldier's and a country's journey from pre-war innocence, through battlefield experience and consideration, to a difficult post-war adjustment. Tobey Herzog places these narratives within the context of important cultural and literary themes, including inherent ironies of war, the "John Wayne syndrome" of pre-war innocence, and the "heavy Heart-of-Darkness trip" of the conflict itself.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-232) and index.

ISBN:

0415076307

0415076315

OCLC:

24792299