The Novel Dispatches by Michael Herr - Book Report/Review Example

Dispatches by Michael Herr (Vietnam) Introduction The novel, Dispatches, by Michael Herr belongs to the genre of non-fiction. It is a historical account of the bone-jarring events on the battlefield, as war raged in Vietnam, pitting the United States and the North Vietnamese Army. Herr, a journalist working for the Esquire Magazine, steps into Vietnam as a war correspondent. The Esquire Magazine attaches him to the US battalion in a concept known as imbedded journalism. The novel was first printed in 1968 and has undergone several reprints since then, the last being 1977. The Vintage International edition came to the public in 1991. The novel was produced and published in New York, United States. Herr tells the harrowing tales of war from the perspective of the marines. He exposes the disjoint between the marine’s image of war and the real situation on the ground. Marines are young men nurtured on a false nostalgic concept of war. Having fed on Hollywood movies that glamorize war, the marine arrive on the battlefield already wiped out. They soon learn that war does not produce any heroes. He explores the themes of death and mayhem, extreme fatigue and the trauma resulting from the war. Herr’s Dispatches as a Historical Document Herr’s rendition of the war in Vietnam underscores a number of historical issues that were prevailing at the time. One such issue was the question of race. During this time, America was still struggling with race relationships, with African Americans suffering from the brunt of racism. However, on the battleground, soldiers operate on loyalties rather than based on skin color. In the novel, Herr observes the relationship between white and black soldiers and notes that there is no sign of racial tensions between them. He listens to Day Tripper, who is black, jokingly excusing the character of his white friend: “That’s Mayhew. He’s a crazy fucker, ain’t you, Mayhew?” (Herr, 116). This is a clear indication that the blacks on the war-front are shielded from the harsh racial realities at home. Herr seems to be suggesting that the Vietnam War provides a fertile ground for individual to forge bonds that go beyond race. In fact, the military setting hardly provided room for racial prejudices, instead it bases everything on competence. If one was competent, then it did not matter which skin color they were. On this point, Herr finds support from another author, “Only thing you can do is to be so goddamn good that it don matter” (Webb, 378). Some characters even go to the extent of making fun of race: “No casualties?” “No, sir. Because I’m black, the shells couldn’t see me” (Caputo, 273). Nevertheless, regardless of the situation, Dispatches shows that it is not possible to dispense with the question of race. Herr makes a point of mention the skin color of the men he meets on the war-front in Vietnam, especially if they are black. When they learn about the death of Martin Luther King, Herr has to report that a certain “black staff sergeant in the Cav who had taken me over…” (Herr, 168). This possibly shows that at the time of the war in Vietnam, racial issues were too complex to be wished away. Herr also seems to be suggesting that the best way to deal with racial tensions is to confront them, not escaping from. By mentioning the skin color of the men he comes across, he shows that people can live and work together regardless of the color of their skins. The novel, Dispatches, also shows that war does not produce any heroes. In fact, there are no clear losers or winners of the Vietnamese war. Most of the soldiers that Herr meets in Vietnam are a disillusioned lot. They see no sense in the war they are waging. To them, it does not matter whether they win or lose. They just want the war to be over and head back home, sentiments that Herr captures quite vividly when the black sergeant staff tells him “This war gets old” (Herr, 169). The ultimate goal for the marines in Herr’s novel is to leave Vietnam alive, regardless of the consequences of the war itself (Diezyn, 24). The novel also pointedly mentions the death of Martin Luther King. King was a key figure in the fight for racial equality and an inspiration for the blacks in the US. It is no wonder; therefore, that the shockwaves of his death spill out of the US borders and reverberate in Vietnam. It further serves to weaken the resolve of the black soldiers, who are afraid they may be turned against each other. One quips: “But dig it. Am I gonna take ‘n’ turn them guns aroun’ on my own people? Shit!” (Herr, 169). Herr emphasizes that all the blacks on the battleground took a hit from Luther’s death: “…there was hardly a black NCO anywhere who wasn’t having to deal with that.” (169). This is a clear indication the Luther’s death had a devastating impact on the black population. The question of gender inequality also rears its ugly head in Herr’s novel. Conventionally, war is a masculine endeavor. At the time of the Vietnam war, gender politics had engulfed most parts of Europe and America. This was the period of time women faced great adversity in a male-dominated world. In Herr’s novel, there are various instances that attest to the subjugation of women in a war situation. First, the society despises women in a war situation. Most war stories do not feature women in combat gear fighting alongside their male counterparts. They usually relegate the female gender to oblivion. The few that feature women do so in a negative light. Concerning women, Herr comments, “Very few of the women really liked Saigon, and the rest became like most Western women in Asia: bored, distracted, frightened, unhappy and, if left here too long, fiercely frantic” (Herr, 233). This description implies that women can do no better than being hysterical at the battlefield. Herr’s novel also treats women merely as sex objects. This view of the female specie is further aggravated by the lack of voice and choice for them. Herr says that the correspondents shared many things “including girls” (Herr, 233). This thought that women could be “shared” effectively turns women into objects without the ability to make decisions of their own. Perhaps, war robs women of the ability to make choices, including the type of men they want. Consequently, the correspondents, and even soldiers, just “share” them out as if they were items. Moreover, the women who take part in the war are assigned minor roles. They work as nurses, maids or simply sex workers. Most are no more than prostitutes whose role is to submit to male fantasies. This is because the males on the battlefield are a subverted lot. The eroticize everything they come across. When a helicopter is spitting fire into the Laos, a watching captain remarks, “That’s pure sex” (Herr, 170). It is this insane feeling that drives soldiers to sexually harass females they come across. Author’s Opinion To analyze the author’s opinion on the events that were taking place at the time, it is important to know his reason for undertaking the dangerous venture. Why did Michael Herr decide to go to Vietnam to work as an impeded journalist? At an interview, Herr says, “Lots of journalism, but it wasn’t saying what was happening there or at least what I felt, my hunch’ (Schroeder 33). To put it succinctly, Herr had begun to doubt the authenticity of the reports coming out of war-ton Vietnam. It is; therefore, possible that western media was misrepresenting the facts in Vietnam. If not so, then Herr, quite rightly, discovered another angle to the war tale that had eluded the media. Consequently, he sets out to tell the story from the viewpoint of the marines and soldiers. While the media was busy analyzing the war in terms of who was winning and who was on the losing end, Herr needed to bring to the attention of the public the feelings and lives of the combatants. These people fought a war they understood nothing about it. The country had forced young men onto the battlefield. The media was showing pictures of jubilant soldiers, but the situation on the ground was stark. The soldiers did not care whether they were winning or not. All they wanted was to get back home alive. Herr does not see the essence of this war – the war was senseless. It led to massive death and destruction of property, all for a cause nobody cared to understand. Herr uses vivid imagery to paint the picture of death at the battlefield. Every soldier lived one day to the next, not knowing when or in which form death would strike. The enemy laid out booby traps at night, there were mines in some places, incessant rocket attacks, friendly fire…..the list was endless. The author; therefore, writes this book with the purpose of enlightening the world on what transpired in Vietnam. The point he seems to be putting across is that war, regardless of why it is being waged, is utterly senseless. There are no clear winners or heroes from war. At the end of the novel, Herr notes that one could not differentiate those who had fought in Vietnam from ordinary American citizens on the streets. The author has also made a commentary on the critical issues that were affecting the society by then. These are racism and gender inequality. He has integrated them into the war tale by depicting them exactly as they were on the ground. By doing so, he manages to draw attention to these social problems, calling for a re-evaluation of the way people interact with each other. Conclusion The novel Dispatches by Michael Herr is one of the most compelling non-fiction works in the genre of journalism literature. He sets out to tell the war story as it was, with all the gory details that the media was glossing over. The massive death and destruction of property renders any rationale or the war meaningless. Other socio-political issues form the backdrop of the Vietnamese war. Racism and gender politics make their impact at the war front. Essentially, Herr accomplishes his mission: to let the world appreciate the real picture at the war front. From the novel, it is clear that nothing can justify war. The soldiers are thoroughly disillusioned such that it no longer matters whether they win the war or not. This is a great text. Works cited Caputo, Philip. A Rumor of War. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1996. [1977]. Print. Diezyn, Caroline. “Time is on my Side”: Tiem, Masculinity,and Trauma in Michael Herr’s Dispatches. Master’s Research Project. 16 July 2012. Print. Herr, Michael. Dispatches.New York: Vintage International. 1991. [1977]. Print. Schroeder, Eric James. Vietnam, We’ve All Been There. Westport: Praeger, 1992. Print. Webb, James. Fields of Fire. New York: Bantam Books. 2001. [1978]. Print. Read More