Perspectives

In this section, we will provide a few points related to several ways in which you can put the text “A Rumor of War” by Philip Caputo into perspective.

Time perspective

The text “A Rumor of War” deals with the Vietnam War, especially with the way in which the author’s platoon dealt with fighting the Viet Cong members in a village called Ha Na.

The Vietnam War lasted 19 years – from 1955 to 1975 – and it was based on the fight between North Vietnam (supported by the communist allies) and South Vietnam (supported by the US, among other states). The US lost almost 60,000 people in the war, besides the almost 300,000 people who were wounded. In the US, a large part of the population was against the US … 

Relevance today

Philip Caputo’s memoir A Rumor of War is still relevant nowadays, decades after the end of the Vietnam War. On the one hand, readers have the opportunity to learn about a piece of history … 

Societal perspective

The society depicted in the text is that of soldiers fighting for survival. On the one hand, the American soldiers are frustrated because they are fighting for a cause that does not belong to … 

Thematic perspective

The theme of the morality of war and the theme of loss of humanity have been explored by many other writers in different poems or short stories.

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