Lecture Notes: Sorrow of War Assignment

Introduction

• Professor: Charlie Evans
• Topic: Sorrow of War assignment
• Book: The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
• Context: Vietnamese War

Related Books & Novels

• All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (WWI)
• Sebastopol stories by Leo Tolstoy (Crimean War 1850s)
• The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad by Harrison Salisbury (WWII)
• Soldat (Memoir of a German soldier on the Russian Front in WWII)
• The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (US Civil War)
• To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy (WWII, Memoir of the most decorated US serviceman)
• The Face of Battle by John Keegan (Soldiers' experiences from medieval times to WWI)

The Sorrow of War

• Author: Bao Ninh
• War: Vietnamese War
• *Characteristics:
  • Non-linear narrative structure (similar to All Quiet on the Western Front)
  • Describes universal soldier experiences during the Vietnam War
• Assignment Requirements:
  • Length: One-page (sometimes two)
  • Focus: Answer the specific question in the prompt
    • Avoid writing a broad history of the Vietnam War
  • Content:
    • Include quoted material from the book
    • Use structured paragraphs
• Purpose: Understand the soldiers' experience during the Vietnam War on both sides
• Advice: Don't look for a straightforward chronology; understand it reflects how memories surfaced for the narrator

Conclusion

• Remember to stay on topic and follow instructions
• Good luck with your paper!