"In Country"

Paper Summary:

Analysis of Bobbie Ann Mason's novel as a coming-of-age story. Aspects of the Vietnam War that inform the plot and characters. Discusses novel's 18-year old protagonist who needs to exploe her past to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Role of popular culture in the novel.

From the Paper:

"Bobbie Ann Mason s novel In Country is a war novel in that it deals with many aspects of the Vietnam War including the legacy of Vietnam. The novel, however, is more a coming of age story than a war story. Set in the summer of 1984 in a small Kentucky town, the novel s protagonist is an 18-year old high school student named San (Samantha) Hughes whose father was killed in Vietnam before she was born. Sam lives with her uncle Emmett, a Vietnam vet suffering from flashbacks, has a boyfriend she no longer likes, a pregnant friend she is trying to help, and basically is faced with growing up, making the transition from adolescence to adulthood. She is at the stage where she has to make choices about her future as well as deal with the present. Her solution is to explore the past, to try to understand the Vietnam War and the father she never knew. Like ..."

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• Analytical Essay # 49662 : "The Need of Being Versed in Country Things"
• Comparison Essay # 2249 : "Less Than Zero" and "In Country"

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