14. Analogy

“The war was as remote to her as cavemen and dinosaurs” (pg.., O’Brien). This analogy not only reflects Kathleen’s view of the war, but a much larger population that includes O’Brien before he was a part of the war. At the time, the Vietnam War was a very complex event to grasp, and would especially be for a ten year old girl. Even after U.S. history, some forty years later, I find it one of the most complicated events of our country; it is like trying to wrap your mind around the origins of the earth, or mankind. As I learned in U.S. history, citizens at that time did not understand the war, so they did not accept it. We were fighting a war against communism, miles and miles away in the small country of Vietnam, once a French territory. If Vietnam would have been left alone it would not have directly affected the US. Yet, the United States was involved in the Cold Warm and a devout follower of the domino theory. However, all people could understand was we were losing, and the blood and gore was oozing into the family room on the television set.