Week 12 Open Topic

One thing I noticed throughout this book was the routine that Emmett did every day. Every morning he would wake up and go to McDonalds and then later in the evening he would watch MASH. Emmett’s life seems to be pretty structured even though he does not have a job or responsibility in his life. Emmett tends to find one thing and then becomes obsessed with it. During one part in the book, Emmett starts to work outside of the house digging underneath the house. He works very hard at trying to fix the foundation of the house. This is a little ironic because Emmett will not get a job or a car, but his work ethic for trying to fix the house contradicts his motivation for his ability to get a job. Emmett’s daily routine seems to be pretty consistent with his other Vietnam buddies. They also go to McDonalds every morning and tend not to have a steady every day. I find this very strange that these people are having such a difficult time with coming back to reality after war.

Week 12 Open Topic

Something that has been reoccurring throughout this book is Emmett's random actions. Throughout this book, Emmett has either said or done things that don't make sense at the time, or done things, that while reading, are unclear to what is going through his head.

One example of this is the instance when Emmett leaves Sam and goes to Lexington to see his sister. It is obvious that he loves same and would not do anything to hurt her, but he just leaves her at home by herself and does not even think about what she might be going through worrying about him not coming home. Another example of this is his obsession with finding the egret that he "saw" in Vietnam. It is almost as if this is his only goal now that he has come back from the war, and that the egret would complete his mission.

All of the examples throughout the book of Emmett doing random things seem to be a result of Vietnam. Upon Emmett's return home, he cannot figure out what to do with his life, and he is just living life day by day trying to make sense of it all.

Towards the end of the novel I found myself relating Sam to Frederick Henry from Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. Before this certain point in her life Sam seems to have lived a life that had no real meaning to it. They both came from broken families not really knowing what a loving and unending relationship felt like. Then, in both the novels they find something that they are truly passionate about and immerse themselves in that.

For Frederick Henry, it is more than definitely Catherine who shows him how to love. Before her introduction, Frederick is lost in life. He has no idea what he is doing or why he is participating in a war in a country he is not even a part of. His life had no true meaning and he kind of just floats around from place to place. However, after Catherine enters his life his every thought is consumed with her. He finally found something that he is attached to a cannot picture his life without.

I feel like Sam had similar experience in this time period of her life that the book takes place. It seems like she never really had an outstanding relationship with her mother and Emmett other than the fact that they used to watch movies together, but as a reader one can tell that she still yearns for something more in life. This is when she becomes consumed with Vietnam. The fact that her father was killed in Vietnam and she never got a chance to meet him gives her very good reasoning to want to learn everything about it. I think that by learning and knowing everything she can about the war makes her have a connection with her father. Her obsessiveness about Vietnam and Frederick's with Catherine remind me of one another, because they both find something that makes that connection of a loving and undying comfort.

Week 12 Open Topic

In my last blog post, I touched on escapism through popular culture. I'd like to go a little more in depth on that, and mention a couple more things I noticed, but didn't talk about in my last post.

Emmett's bird watching seems to be a major part of his escapism. He "watch[es] birds... to keep his mind from wandering" (Mason 139). He's always looking for one bird in particular, the egret. It's more of a carried over escapist way from Vietnam. He used to bird watch in Vietnam, so he says, and he saw an egret. He's been looking for the same kind of bird ever since.

As Sam is talking to Tom, they mention Emmett and his bird watching, but Tom says he never saw a bird over in Vietnam. "'Emmett talks about those birds all the time, but out in the jungle, around that time when we came up on that dead place, there weren't any birds, Maybe for miles, there weren't any birds'" (Mason 95). So now, we question Emmett and his hobby. Did he really bird-watch in Vietnam? Is he making it up? Or is he alluding to something else entirely?

Something really interesting to think about is Emmett's relationship with Anita, especially what he alludes to her as. "Anita had on a slinky pink dress and spike heels. She was smiling. 'You look like a flamingo," Emmett said" (Mason 99). He alludes to her as a bird. He does this again, at the veterans' dance. "Anita had on tight jeans and high heels and a bright red top with string straps.... 'She's not a flamingo tonight,' Sam said. 'No. She's a redbird. A Kentucky redbird" (Mason 114).

Emmett's obsession comes out in different aspects of his life. It's really interesting to think about exactly what's going through his head.

Week Twelve Open Topic

For my open topic this week I thought I would share this article I found on CNN talking about the newly created “virtual Vietnam wall.” The site was made public several days ago and it has already been viewed by a lot of Vietnam veterans. To create it, 6000 photographs of the wall were taken and put together, creating one giant image.

In the novel, Sam finds her own name, “Sam A Hughes” and it “feels odd” to touch it (244-245). I looked on the actual wall and there is a Sam Z Hughes but no Sam A. I have to say I was completely taken back by the size of the wall, there seems to be an endless list of names. I found 121 Brian’s and 76 Banks’, which I was shocked by. I’ve only heard of one or two other people with my last name my whole life so it was really strange seeing so many people with it.

I highly recommend everyone checks this out and looks around the site for a few minutes; it’s very impressive how much information they seem to have about each soldier. I’m interested to see if you all find it as remarkable as I do.

Week 12 Assigned Topic

Alright, well I think I am going to follow the trend and pick characterization too. The way Mason characterizes Sam is very interesting. Throughout Sam’s life, she does not actually have any “normal” relations ships. She basically serves as the caretaker for her uncle, her mom moved away to a different city with her new husband and baby, and she never had the opportunity to meet.

I believe that it is because of these relationships or lack there of, that causes Sam to have difficulties developing long-lasting true friendships. For instance, Sam and Lonnie’s relationship was nothing normal. Basically it seemed to revolve around them doing sexual things or smoking and drinking. Also, her relationship with her friend Dawn seems as if all they do is gossip about what is going on in their life. Perhaps the reason that she wants Emmett and Anita to get together so bad is because of her personal longing to have a relationship like that. It is almost as if she is living vicariously through Emmett and that she will not be happy unless he is happy.

Basically Sam cannot find something in her life that is constant and stable due to the past and current relationships she has with those who are supposed to be closest with her. This can also be associated with the after affects of war, in that war can cause changes in people’s relationships, not just directly but indirectly as well.

One of the main themes for “In Country” was the reversal of roles Sam and Emmett play. In a normal situation Emmett would play the role of the father, but in this book Sam the teenager seems to be the caretaker of Emmett. Universally, this theme represents the irresponsibility of many parents in today’s society. In particular, this theme goes along with how a traumatic event in one’s life can damage their ability to grow as a human and be forced to be taken care of by somebody else.

The literary element associated with this theme is irony. Throughout this book, Sam is the parent figure in Emmett’s life since his return from war. This is very ironic considering Emmett is supposed to be the father figure in Sam’s life. One specific scene in “In Country” deals with Sam and Emmett going to a dance for Vietnam veterans. After the dance Emmett does not come home from the dance and Sam once again plays the parent role. Even though Sam is in dire need of a father figure, she is forced to take that role on herself for Emmett. This scene represents irony which can be seen throughout the book.

Week 12 Assigned Post

I think an important theme in In Country is escapism. Throughout the book, Emmett and Sam are continually seeking escapism in many ways. The main way Mason illustrates the ongoing thread of escapism is by alluding to pop culture.

The most prominent pop culture reference throughout the book is that of television. Instead of being a responsible adult and getting a job, Emmett watches M*A*S*H. This show, in particular, seems to have a resonating effect on Emmett. He never misses it, even though all of the episodes are now re-runs. The fact that this series is about war shows us a lot about what is going on in Emmett's head. He is similar to Krebs in "Soldier's Home." Emmett used to tell Sam war stories when she was little, but Irene stopped Emmett, hating the constant reminder of the war (Mason 51). Likewise, Krebs "felt the need to talk but no one wanted to hear about it" (Hemingway). Watching M*A*S*H is his way of dealing with what happened in the war. He sees similar situations and is able to think through them and accept them, which he was unable to do while in Vietnam. He is also able to see the resolution, which helps him cope.

The main way that Sam copes with her life is with music. She is always looking for certain songs on the radio. "[Sam] turned the radio on, hoping to hear Bruce Springsteen. Somehow, there was a secret knowledge in his songs, as though he knew exactly what she was feeling" (Mason 138). She always alludes to songs to explain certain situations. "That was like an old song, the Beatles singing 'I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in/And stops my mind from wandering.' That's what Emmett was doing with his hole, trying to stop the rain" (Mason 139).

Another way that both Sam and Emmett use to escape is drinking and getting high. At the beginning of the book, Emmett spikes his and Sam's Coke with whiskey to "feel better" as Emmett puts it (Mason 18). This is not unlike Frederic Henry's habit to turn to alcohol. The alcohol makes him "feel civilized" (Hemingway 245). It makes him forget that he is a soldier and he is at war. Emmett is the same way. It makes him forget. Sam gets high after her night with Tom. She feels the need to block out the things she didn't do right. "She would say the right things this time" (Mason 137).

There are so many allusions to escapism through pop culture in this book. It's really incredible how many connections you can make. There are so many more, but I'm going to have to save that for another post. I'll continue with escapism in my open topic post for this week.

The main literary element that I thought about the most while reading In Country was characterization. The way Mason introduced his characters is totally misleading to their actual personalities throughout the novel. He starts this story with a road trip in which leads the reader to believe that Sam and Emmett have a normal uncle and niece relationship; by describing how Emmett had to drive through the city because Sam was not experienced enough, and teaching her how to keep track of the gas mileage. It seems, just as it should, that Emmett is Sam's protector.

It isn't until a reader gets to the point in the novel where Sam is reflecting on the past when they can really see the true characters and their unusual relationship. The real situation is that Sam is Emmett's protector, and she is very concerned with his well being. Ever since his return from Vietnam, Emmett has had the worst difficulty in readjusting to life after war. He has not taken the ideal role of a parenting figure that is expected from an uncle. Sam rather has taken on a "mother" role on Emmett in her growing concern about her curiosity of the idea that he may have been exposed to Agent Orange. She is confronting anyone and everyone she knows, planning doctors appointments, and never really gives up on the issue.

However, I don't feel like Emmett's scars n his face are what Sam is really concerned about. I think she uses this problem to talk to others about Vietnam and what the war was like. Sam's father died in Vietnam and I think that this bothers her more that her character really reveals until the end of the book. I think she cares about Emmett's face, but she has a hidden agenda within her investigation of how he got these sores.

Emmett is very interesting to me because its almost as if the war has shut him completely out of the outside world other than his few Vietnam friends. He does not like to talk about the war at all and he does not like to be around a lot of people. This directly relates to the soldier who returned home in The Red Convertible. These two reflect each other perfectly, in they ways they were affected by the war.

The way these characters were brought into this story was very misleading, but also gave the story an extra twist and I think that worked very well for Mason.

Week Twelve Assigned Topic

One important theme in Bobbie Ann Mason’s In Country is that Emmett has a very hard time adjusting to life back in America after the war and without the support of his family and his fellow veterans he would have had even more problems. Veterans were affected by the war in ways never seen before and people simply didn’t know how to react. Friends and families expected their sons and husbands back just as they left but sadly they were forever changed by what they had seen during their time in Vietnam. Emmett, like most veterans, was not able to function in society as he was expected to and only a few people could really understand how he felt.

The characterization of Emmett throughout the novel gives the reader a very clear picture of how life was for him back in America after the war. One important part of characterization is what other characters say about the character, and the consensus on Emmett is that he’s lazy and not willing to work for anything anymore. His father even asks him when he’s “going to get a job like everyone else and stop fooling around” (45). This is an example of how veterans simply could not adapt back to home life, and how their parents were desperate for them to just snap out of it and act like they did before the war. Emmett is also someone people care about, Anita asks about how his pimples are doing early in the book (61) and Pete says that Emmett “takes the cake” (133). Most people who were able to understand the Veterans were people who had also served in the war or people of the same age, who were also directly impacted by the war.

How a character acts also plays a large role in their characterization, and Emmett has plenty of strange habits. The most obvious one is his obsession with digging around the house and trying to fix the foundation. He says “It’s digging-in-the-ditch time” (65), borrowing a line from M*A*S*H*, at the start of Chapter 8 and he continuously works on the house for much of the novel. It is clear that digging is something that reminds Emmett of his time in Vietnam but he does it simply because it’s something he can do well. After his time at Vietnam doing things he used to before the war seem less important, but digging is something he can do a good job with and he doesn’t have to relate to anyone or pretend to care about the lives they’re living that he can no longer relate to.