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Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Analysis

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Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Analysis
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is a novel written by Ben Fountain, which illustrates the disconnect between war and the citizens of the United States. This story supports journalist, James Fallows argument in the January/ February 2015 issue of the Atlantic Monthly that America has become a “chickenhawk nation”.
Fountain takes us through the sources of disconnect between the soldiers and the people they interact with during one day. The novel focuses on 19-year-old Billy Lynn and his squad Bravo, made up of seven other men that are being honored for their actions in the Iraq War. Throughout the course of this Thanksgiving Day the soldiers are being used to revive support for the war during a Dallas Cowboys football game. With each passing chapter of the book, we gain a greater knowledge of Billy’s perceptions of the war and how American people lack an understanding of the military. …show more content…
For example, he feels that some moments are filled with citizens praising him for his duties overseas, while at other times he feels ignored. “Being a Bravo means inhabiting a state of semi celebrity that occasionally flattens you with praise and adulation. … you are apt at some point to be loving mobbed by everyday Americans eager to show their gratitude, then other times it’s like you’re invisible, people just see right through you, nothing registers” (page 28). During “ America’s Team Proudly Honors American Heros”, fans are cheering patriotically and Billy seems to know exactly how people want and expect him to act as a soldier. The routine of being paraded around for public events of patriotism to support the war seems to upset and annoy him. “ We pray, hope, honor-respect-love-and- revere
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