1. What ‘They’ were like is not a question that’s usually asked after a war.Structure: the poem is written as a series of questions and answers amongst 2 people; an innocent questioner and a speaker who ‘knows all’. Similar to the way a historian may interview a war survivor. This creates a portrait of a gentle, simple peasant people, living a dignified if humble life amid the paddy fields.Immediate focus on the people.What Were They Like?Denise LervatovBackwards/undeveloped. Quite superstitious, similar to Night of the Scorpion.Similar to swarms of flies from Night of the Scorpion.Long term bad luck.The effects of the American bombing will be felt for generations.Repetition – An insistence on memory.Descriptive writing here contrasts the effects of the war.A reference to their being no more growth. The war has demolished everything.Reflects the tone of the poemSarcastic tone.Ironic – They would now hold ceremonies to reverence them after death.The Vietnamese seem poor, backwards and often childlike in comparison to the Americans. Is this a fair portrayal? What are the dangers of this?Disturbing. The effect of being napalmed has made the people unable to laugh or move their mouth.Switch in attitude of the poem. What was quite a formal conversation turns into a rather horrific description of the charred bones and burned bodies of those who worked and lived on the rice paddies.Like the Odyssey, a huge poem with culture at the center.Very inappropriate considering the context of the poem.Did the people of Viet Namuse lanterns of stone?Did they hold ceremoniesto reverence the opening of buds?Were they inclined to quiet laughter?Did they use bone and ivory,jade and silver, for ornament?Had they an epic poem?Did they distinguish between speech and singing?Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.It is not remembered whether in gardensstone gardens illumined pleasant ways.Perhaps they gathered once to delight in blossom,but after their children were killedthere were no more buds.Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth.A dream ago, perhaps. Ornament is for joy.All the bones were charred.it is not remembered. Remember,most were peasants; their lifewas in rice and bamboo.When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddiesand the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces,maybe fathers told their sons old tales.When bombs smashed those mirrorsthere was time only to scream.There is an echo yetof their speech which was like a song.It was reported their singing resembled the flight of moths in moonlight.Who can say? It is silent now.<br />Solemn ending to the poem. Although fortunately, Vietnam recovered, other countries did not.<br />
