Harsh Reality of War in The Novel Without a Name - Book Report/Review Example

Novel “Without a analysis The novel without a is based on the Vietnam War. The novel opens with the glimpse of the protagonist called Quan, whose personal beliefs are different from the government’s ideology. The government’s ideology was to fight to the death for communist reign over the Marxist ideas introduced from the west. The communist party that was in rule had promised humanity’s paradise after the conclusion of the Indochinese war. Quan was influenced by the government’s ideology to join the war and fight for the idealist views of the leaders at the time.

However, after many battles and death surrounding his fellow comrades, he notices that the fighting is not significant. Furthermore, he realizes that many had perished for a worthless course. After fighting for ten years, Quan learns to distinguish between rhetoric and reality. He is convinced that he spent his precious life fighting for an unworthy ideology of freedom and glory the communist party had promised. He develops beliefs that were against the ideology that had convinced him to join the army in honor of the communist rule.

The lots of injuries and gruesome deaths encountered while in combat take a sensitive toll on the protagonist Quan. He remembers about his innocent childhood days and friends; Bien and Luong. Luong had completely embraced the war and had raised high in the Vietnamese army. On the contrary, the war had taken away Bien’s sanity and was locked away in the jungle. Emotions overwhelm him because he and his friends are no longer innocent and thus his idea on the war is in contrast to that of the government.

This is because death and suffering was not the paradise the communist government had promised (Huong 33). Moreover, as Quan embarks on the journey to find his friend Bien gone mad, he is hit by a series of flashbacks which were in contrast to his earlier perfect village life to a current life of war, death and destruction. Furthermore, discovery of piles of dead bodies totally changes his ideology and confirms that indeed communism philosophy was a failure and the war was not worth it. He is successful in finding Bien and his only mission is that of fighting for survival.

He therefore rests and no longer worries about the war anymore. They embark on a journey back to their village where they had grown up before being lured into war by the communist philosophy (Huong 50). Upon their arrival in their village, Quan is quick to discover that the perfect village, he at once remembered had changed. His father had grown old and his wife had been impregnated by another man. Adding insult to injury, the death of his brother had become a stab in his heart because memories engulfed him.

It hurt him more because his brother was the last remaining hope because he was a brilliant scholar destined to a better future. However, he had paid the ultimate price of death. From that point in the novel, it was crystal clear that Quan had completely lost faith in the communist government and his willpower to fight for a false ideology was no longer (Huong 110). In conclusion, Without A Name is a novel that explains the harsh reality that happened in the Indochinese Wars. The communist government had lured many young men to fight for the ideology including Quan for a better tomorrow.

However, the harsh reality of the war; losing his brother, his friend Bien losing his sanity and destruction changed Quan’s idea and thus he becomes the main protagonist in the novel. His philosophy changed and he no longer valued the government’s ideology anymore. Summing it all, Huong portrays the harsh reality of fighting in the war front and the impacts it has on human beings. According to Quan, his life had changed forever due to war and false ideology (Huong 148). Works cited Dương, Thu H.

Novel Without a Name. New York, NY: W. Morrow, 1995. Web.