Colonialism in American Literature of Vietnam War Essay

Colonialism in American Literature of Vietnam War - Essay ExampleThe involvement of the American government in the war judged by critics slash historians as taking the nature of colonialism renders the bulk of American literary works on Vietnam War as largely colonial in structure, content and focus. Michael Adas in his article, A Colonial War The United States Occupation of Vietnam argues and historically proves the colonial incli nation and interest of America in Vietnam claiming that America veered away from its earlier anti-colonial position under Roosevelt then proceeded to support the continuance of French colonization in Indochina ( 29). In Adass own wordsIn the next decade, three American presidents presided over an escalating semipolitical and military involvement in Indochina that had most of the main attributes of colonial interventions in the preceding centuries of European spherical domination. Defying the decidedly anti-colonial rhetoric of the Roosevelt years, they committed the United States to a massive colonial occupation in a postcolonial era. (29)Since the Vietnam War is the result of Americas efforts to participate in the colonization endeavor of Europe in an era of decolonization, the attendant literary product is essentially and categorically colonial. A colonial literary productions tackles and examines the issues arising from Imperialism such as the object lesson dilemma(s) of the colonizer or the imperialist as shown in the render Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell. In the essay Orwell recalled how as a sub-divisional officer of the town he shot an elephant in Burma to earn the approval of the Burmese and to avoid looking a fool (Hunt & Perry 295) even though he thought it wrong to advisedly kill the beast. George Orwells personal essay demonstrates how an imperialist system morally confuses the colonizer or the member of the colonizing nation who believes that imperialism is an evil thing (289) but on the one hand because of a grit of nationality is forced to chat up his or her part as the oppressor. One of the defining characteristics and key quality of a colonial literature is its denunciation of colonialism and its negative impact both on the colonizer and the colonized. It is highly critical of the system of imperialism, noting the fairness in the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed with the oppressor receiving most of the gains while the other party suffers and gets traumatized. Colonial literature discusses the social, economic and psychological implications or consequences of colonialist experience. In structure, colonial literature is characterized by a strong sense of ambiguity uncertainty about the morality of imperialism about the nature of humanity, and about the continuing viability of European civilisation (Colonial Literature 1). Through its form, colonial literature exposes the contradictions, paradoxes and ironies of imperialism. American Literature of Vietnam Wa r is Colonial in theme, content, structure and focusNovelsA.) Robert Olen Butler (The Alleys of Eden) 1981This fictional narrative centers on Clifford Wilkes, an American soldier trapped in Saigon at the closing of the Vietnam War. In part, it is a romantic tale with Lanh, a Vietnamese lass, serving as his love interest and partner for nearly five years. Cliffords love for Lanh is keeping him from seeking refuge in the United