Psychological Trauma In Vietnam War
1.0 Introduction
‘War does not determine who is right – only who is left.’
Bertrand Russell
War never ends quietly; while the battlefield tells the most immediate brutal stories, it is the aftermath that shows the greatest tragedy. The Vietnam War is not an exception; it resulted in countless damages, the worst being the psychological trauma suffered by its participants. This therefore becomes a recurring subject explored by many Vietnam War authors, who wrote of an experience they lived first hand. The depiction of psychological trauma in their works heightens the brutality of the war and criticises its tragic futility.
This paper examines the literary presentation of American soldiers’ psychological trauma in the context of the Vietnam
‘War does not determine who is right – only who is left.’
Bertrand Russell
War never ends quietly; while the battlefield tells the most immediate brutal stories, it is the aftermath that shows the greatest tragedy. The Vietnam War is not an exception; it resulted in countless damages, the worst being the psychological trauma suffered by its participants. This therefore becomes a recurring subject explored by many Vietnam War authors, who wrote of an experience they lived first hand. The depiction of psychological trauma in their works heightens the brutality of the war and criticises its tragic futility.
This paper examines the literary presentation of American soldiers’ psychological trauma in the context of the Vietnam