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READ THIS
Sonmy or Son My is a district in Vietnam which is divided into four villages, My Lai being one
of them. "Pinkville" refers to a military description of the My Lai area.
In March 1968, American soldiers embarked on a "search and destroy" mission to
uncover communist fighters, or "Vietcong" as they were known.
The American troops were landed by helicopter. Within three hours, between 350 and 500
Vietnamese civilians were killed in cold blood.
Hand grenades were thrown into civilian homes and the fleeing people were bayoneted. Others
were grouped and executed by machine gun.
Victims were also beaten and tortured, and bodies were mutilated. Women and young girls
were gang raped. Everything was burned, including houses, crops and livestock.
There was, however, no enemy fire and no Vietcong communist fighters were found. The
soldiers were told to keep quiet about the incident.
Nevertheless, many soldiers did eventually speak out. The My Lai massacre thereupon caused
a public outcry and led to a turning-point in American public opinion about the war.
This poem reflects the horrors of war, the deaths of innocents, the guilt at having participated
and the loss of values.
The poet also conveys the bitterness and anger felt by the soldiers, using the style of an actual
conversation, filled with the soldiers' jargon.
A NOTE ON ROBERT LOWELL
Robert Lowell was born in the eastern United States city of Boston in 1917. He attended
Harvard University for about two years before transferring to Kenyon College where he
graduated in 1940.
He suffered from bi-polar disease -- which has been described as a mental disorder that is
characterised by periods of mania and depression.
He volunteered for military service during World War II but he was deeply shocked by the Allied
bombing of German cities, with so many civilian deaths. He thereupon became a conscientious
objector, for which he was jailed for several months and then had to do community service.
He later became an outspoken critic of American involvement in the Vietnam War. To highlight
his opposition to this war, he even publicly refused President Lyndon Johnson's personal
invitation to a prestigious Arts Festival held at the White House.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"It was at My Lai or Sonmy or something."
- Does the use of "or" imply that the soldier has become indifferent to what he is
doing? (4)
[Need help?]
No, not in this case. It may sound as though the village is not important to him since he has
forgotten its name but then, in the rest of the poem, it is clear that the incident has deeply
affected him.
The name is not important to him. It is what happened there, together with his own role in the
massacre, that are what has stuck in his mind. The massacre itself overrides the remembering
of the name.
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A "colloquialism" has been described as "characteristic of spoken or written
communication that seeks to imitate informal speech".
- This poem contains many colloquialisms. Quote examples of at least
FOUR. (4)
[Need help?]
Here are four examples of colloquialisms:
- "this afternoon" and "these orders" (line 2);
- "cracked me up" (line 13).
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- Why does the poet use these colloquialisms? (3)
[Need help?]
The colloquialisms help to reinforce the idea that this is a conversation. A soldier would not use
formal language in conversation. The persona that the poet uses is that of a simple, ordinary
man, just like many of the readers. One is able to identify with the man since he speaks our
everyday language. Poetic language, on the other hand, would distance the reader from the
man and the situation.
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"Jargon" has been described as "the language -- and especially the vocabulary --
that is peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group", e.g. medical jargon or computer
jargon.
- Quote an example of jargon in this poem and say why the poet has chosen to use
it. (4)
[Need help?]
Two examples of jargon are: "hopped the choppers" (line 6) or "Pinkville" (line 8)
which is military jargon representing the area they were in?
The poet uses it to remind us that it is a soldier who is telling the story. It is the language of the
soldier. It makes it more believable if the poet uses language that is typical of a soldier.
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The poet uses "ellipsis" throughout the poem.
[Need help?]
"Ellipsis" has been defined as "the omission from a sentence or other construction
of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction".
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- How does the use of ellipsis contribute to the poem and the poet's
intention? (4)
[Need help?]
The ellipsis shows that the soldier is thinking and remembering while he is talking. The poet's
intention is to remind us that this is a real soldier who was involved in the massacre. It is not
merely the poet expressing an opinion on an event in which he played no part. The story is
being told by an actual eyewitness. We are listening to him as though he is in conversation with
someone.
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"women, children, babies, cows, cats . . . "
- What is the effect of the ellipses in this line? (2)
[Need help?]
The reader is left to fill in the other things which needed to be destroyed. The poet implies that
the list just goes on. There was no end to the destruction. By breaking off his sentence, the
soldier also conveys that he does not want to think about everything they destroyed. He would
rather not name everything.
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"we had all night to think about it."
- What would the emotional impact of this have been on the soldiers? (4)
[Need help?]
It must have been traumatic. The soldiers would have had so much time to think about the
senseless killing which was to follow the next day. They would have imagined themselves killing
innocent women and children and destroying the livelihood of the village. They would imagine
themselves with machine guns, mowing down women and children. It is not easy to see for a
normal, stable person to be placed in the position of destroyer. It would have had a definite
psychological impact.
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"You shoot her, I don't want to shoot no lady."
- Why do you think the poet speaks of "lady" and not
"woman"? (2)
[Need help?]
Note: When a question is asked in this way, you must comment on both words: i.e. you must
say why one is suitable but the other is even more suitable.
The poet does not use "woman" because it is a very general term, like "female".
By using "lady" the soldier is showing respect. This then makes his killing of an innocent
woman even more poignant.
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Why is it appropriate for the poet to use free verse in this poem? (4)
[Need help?]
If the poet had used a rhyme scheme it would have been more formal and precise. The poet
wants us to remember that this is an ordinary man who is telling us a story. The free verse
makes it sound less like a poem and more like a story that is being told through a conversation.
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