As the Vietnam War progressed, the US Army was sent to help prevent the spread of communism. In Amy Phan's short story collection We Should Never Meet, many Americans see their flight to South Vietnam to fight alongside the Vietnamese and save Amerasian children as an act of heroism, as seen in "Bound". In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese viewed Americans as “arrogant people who expect to be treated like royalty” (Phan 222) for their service and wealth, while harboring resentment toward Vietnamese born to American soldiers in “ Homeland". to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWhen Bridget leaves her family to help those affected by war, she sees the extent of how damaged people are. It is needed to care for Amerasian children. Over the course of "Bound", Bridget must take care of the children with her medical knowledge and refuses to return home to her husband and young daughter on several occasions. Her husband, Ronald, initially understands that the reason Bridget stays is that the children "have no one else" and sees her as a brave woman for helping children in a war zone, especially with the Vietnam War seen as "unpopular". (Phan 191). As time passes, Bridget feels more and more responsible for caring for the children, not only to serve as a doctor, but because the children are "children of the U.S. military...products of the [Vietnam War]" and "rejected by their culture,” while Ronald begins to resent Bridget for “leaving her family for strangers” (Phan 194, 197). When Ronald again tells her to go home, she responds by stating that she is needed to take care of the Amerasian children, but angrily states how many children were part of the war "because of the American soldiers who couldn't keep their pants on." lit” (Phan 200). Bridget's view of the Vietnam War is that of an American volunteer who sees the destruction that the US military is bringing to the citizens of Vietnam. He sees himself as someone who can save Amerasian children from the destruction of a controversial war. Bridget's desire to save young lives is especially seen when she wants to adopt a young Vietnamese boy, Huan, saved during Operation Babylift. When told that she cannot adopt Huan, Bridget is furious because she had already "claimed" Huan as her own and feels how his adoption would appease and rebuild her family in America (Phan 204). Bridget's naivety in seeing Huan as fixing her family parallels how the US military was naively seen as Vietnam's pleasure, but only caused destruction and pain to Vietnam and its people. Following the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Phan addresses the impact the war had on the Vietnamese in “Motherland.” When Huan arrives with his adoptive mother in Vietnam to learn about his story, he is angry at the country that “didn't want him…he wishes he didn't exist” and expresses hatred toward the country that made him an outcast (Phan 233). His anger is further expressed after being harassed by a Vietnamese officer in which Mai, Huan's friend, explains, "If they can tell you're at least part Vietnamese, they'll have problems with you." (Phan 222) Although “Homeland” is set twenty years after the war, Phan illustrates how raw the pain is for the Vietnamese and the state of the Delta villages where many live in poverty “worse than that of the homeless [Huan and Mai ] have seen in the past. city” (Phan 236) causing the reader to sympathize with the Vietnamese and others..
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