In Country
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Bobbie Ann Mason's novel In Country is a war novel in that it deals with many aspects of the Vietnam War including the legacy of Vietnam. The novel, however, is more a coming of age story than a war story. Set in the summer of 1984 in a small Kentucky town, the novelÆs protagonist is an 18-year old high school student named San (Samantha) Hughes whose father was killed in Vietnam before she was born. Sam lives with her uncle Emmett, a Vietnam vet suffering from flashbacks, has a boyfriend she no longer likes, a pregnant friend she is trying to help, and basically is faced with growing up, making the transition from adolescence to adulthood. She is at the stage where she has to make choices about her future as well as deal with the present. Her solution is to explore the past, to try to understand the Vietnam War and the father she never knew. Like many other teenagers, Sam feels trapped in the social confines in which she lives. She is searching for meaning in life, a meaning and significance that will take her beyond the small town, rather banal life she leads. The opportunities she has are limited; her way of ôgrowing up,ö of reaching an understanding that will help her overcome her limited environment and find a future direction is to reach out to the past. Given the nature of SamÆs quest for identity and meaning in life, the setting and time of the novel is significant. The mid-1980s was the time of the ômeö generation, even in the middle America setting of th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnam War, Vietnam United, Born USA, Bruce Springsteen, Emmett Vietnam, Washington DC, TV Watergate, Vietnam Hollywood, Samantha Hughes, Ann Mason's, popular culture, vietnam war, understand war, meaning life, summer 1984, setting novel, try understand, born usa, bruce springsteen, fatherÆs death,
Approximate Word count = 843
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page)
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