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Source: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Who-Won-the-Vietnam-War

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The novel The Sympathizer written by Viet Thanh Nguyen and was Published in 2015. In addition to being an author Nguyen is a professor at the University of Southern California.
Interestingly he has won numerous awards for his works such as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence for Fiction.
Website:https://vietnguyen.info/

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Source: https://vietnguyen.info/author-viet-thanh-nguyen

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Grove/Atlantic publisher's of Nguyen's works is a publishing company of more than a 100 years of experience. This company has published some famous literary works throughout its history such as The Autobiography of Malcom X.
Website:https://groveatlantic.com/

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This story takes place during the Vietnam War in the 1970s and is from the perspective of a captain the South Vietnamese Army who is actually a spy for North Vietnam. The novel is focused not only of the political struggles around him but his personal ones as well. His struggles with his conflicting loyalties between his friends that support South Vietnam and his northern commanders. Finally his struggle for identity that resulting from his mixed heritage of French and Vietnamese and his mistreatment he faces from others.

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Link: https://www.macmillanhighered.com/BrainHoney/Resource/6696/digital_first_content/trunk/test/hewittlawson1e/asset/maps/26_1.html

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2) "Many once commanded artillery batteries and infantry battalions, but now they possessed nothing more dangerous than their pride, their halitosis, and their car keys, if they even owned cars." The narrator notes about the ex South Vietnamese soldiers and that of them are "collecting both welfare and dust" (Nguyen Ch.6). For me why this quote stands out to me is that when often studying about the Vietnam I often think about the perceptive of the U.S their North Vietnamese enemies, not the South's point of view. The shame and humiliation that was help by these people about their now extinct nations must almost be unbearable.

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1) The narrator describes himself as "a spy, a sleeper, a man of two faces. Perhaps not surprisingly, I am also a man of two minds. I am not some misunderstood mutant from a comic book or horror movie, although some have treated me as such. I am simply able to see any issue from both sides" (Nguyen Ch.1). Although the narrator is a spy for North Vietnam he still genuinely cares for his American and South Vietnamese friends. The reason why he can empathize with his "enemies" is because of his own poor treatment by his fellow countrymen simply because he is half French.

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The Sympathizer has many messages and arguments that can be interpreted throughout the story. I believe one of the most major one is about how the war never really ended for those who experienced it. Many became traumatized by their experiences and struggle to live a normal life. Beyond just the trauma the feelings of anger and loss plague all those who experience war, no matter is soldier or civilian. All the characters in the story, especially the Vietnamese were forever changed. Secondly the stories second real question is: what is the American Dream?
Thousands of people come every year like many South Vietnamese refugees did to make a better life. However many struggle and have to live in worse conditions and lower paying jobs than compared to their homelands. In addition the differences of culture and the difficulties to integrate into American society. The General is a great example of this, in Vietnam he was respected, while he was in the U.S he had a low paying job and cannot integrate with American values.

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3) After the narrator's capture by the Vietnamese he is placed in a prison so he can be "quarantined". Finally when the Commandant one of the men in charge of the prison is asked by the nameless narrator why is he in prison the Commandant responses "You have traveled to strange lands and been exposed to dangerous ideas. It wouldn't do to bring infectious ideas into a country unused to them" (Nguyen Ch.19) . Despite the loyalty to the revolutionary cause shown by the narrator when he returns the his government does not trust him because of his long time away from home. What is shown is how the faction the narrator supported does not treat him well and furthermore distrust him. He realizes that he cannot be loyal to any cause but only to his survival.

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The Character that I found the most intriguing is the General. What fascinates me about this man is that he is what I imagine many South Vietnamese felt after the fall of Saigon. The General is bitter about the defeat of his nation in the war and wants revenge. His depression and heavy drinking are a result of him not being able to come to terms with the defeat in the war and is often reminiscing about his life in South Vietnam.

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What I Learned About the Vietnam War From The Sympathizer (F)

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What I Learned About the Vietnam War From The Sympathizer (F)

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As a American I found that this book reveled to me the perspective on how the Vietnamese viewed American culture and America's involvement in the war. Throughout the story the narrator makes observations about American life. One such example he noted how ironically "in a society that values freedom above all things, things that are free are not valued" (Nguyen Ch.9). Beyond just the narrator The Sympathizer explores how other Vietnamese and those from other Asian countries. The Commandant explained that American ideals are "dangerous" because it encourages materialism and individuality unlike Communism that is focused the collective.