amlit338
amlit338
The "Collegues" portion of "dispatches" is by far the most poignant, accessible chapter of the book. Accessible in that it tells the story of Herr and his fellow correspondents during their time in Vietname, which is in truth, the only story that Herr, or any other journalist, has the right to tell.
The opening of pt. II begins with a Bob Dylan quote: "Name me someone who's not a parasite, And I'll go out and say a prayer for him."
The concept of parasitism has such a profound presence in the story. Two specifically, that I took notice of, were the parasitism between the war itself and its correspondents, and the parasitism that occurred between the correspondents themselves.
The image of the soldier with the busted lip that gave Herr the "hateful" look stands out in my mind as an instance of the fore-mentioned parasitism. Herr talks of the stares that he had sometimes received from soldiers, stares that "weren't judging me...were'nt reproaching me.... didn't even mind me, not in a personal way. They only hated me." The soldiers in Herr's account are constantly amazed that the journalists don't have to be there, but choose to be. I think that Herr feels a sense of guilt because he's using his freedom, in the midst of all these men who don't have a choice, to put himself smack in the center of the danger. In a way, it communicates a certain degree of the diminished value he has for his life. Whether Herr feels these looks are warranted, he is definitely aware of their legitimacy.
Herr also seems self-conscious of the nature of his work. His work is of a parasitic nature in the sense that his whole being and experience in Vietnam comes courtesy of the killing and murder of men. He talks of the stats and euphemisms constantly being fed to the press and states what the war really came down to was "men hunting men"
It puts him in a weird place, because, as close as he can get to "grunts" or the higher ups, I think he doesn't quite feel a complete affinity toward them. It's as if his own self-consciousness prevents it.
Having said that, this is what makes his relattionships with other journalists so profound; the idea that they are the only ones who truly understand Herr, and what it's like to be a journalist covering the war. In reference to the relationship he shared with his collegues he says; "I doubt... anything else could be as parasitic as that, or as intimate."
Within this simply stated line, Herr conveys the neccessity of having people around who understand, of the neccessity of having people around to share something, whatever it was, with. At the same time, out of this neccessity were framed lasting and meaningful relationships.
For me, this chapter, more than any sums up the book the best. It stands as a reporter's experience in Vietnam. The importance of this statement lies in the specificity of the experience, because as Herr is well aware, especially as explained in the experiences of Vietnam as experienced by the "grunts and conversely the officers, each and every experience is all its own.
The "Collegues" portion of "dispatches" is by far the most poignant, accessible chapter of the book. Accessible in that it tells the story of Herr and his fellow correspondents during their time in Vietname, which is in truth, the only story that Herr, or any other journalist, has the right to tell.
The opening of pt. II begins with a Bob Dylan quote: "Name me someone who's not a parasite, And I'll go out and say a prayer for him."
The concept of parasitism has such a profound presence in the story. Two specifically, that I took notice of, were the parasitism between the war itself and its correspondents, and the parasitism that occurred between the correspondents themselves.
The image of the soldier with the busted lip that gave Herr the "hateful" look stands out in my mind as an instance of the fore-mentioned parasitism. Herr talks of the stares that he had sometimes received from soldiers, stares that "weren't judging me...were'nt reproaching me.... didn't even mind me, not in a personal way. They only hated me." The soldiers in Herr's account are constantly amazed that the journalists don't have to be there, but choose to be. I think that Herr feels a sense of guilt because he's using his freedom, in the midst of all these men who don't have a choice, to put himself smack in the center of the danger. In a way, it communicates a certain degree of the diminished value he has for his life. Whether Herr feels these looks are warranted, he is definitely aware of their legitimacy.
Herr also seems self-conscious of the nature of his work. His work is of a parasitic nature in the sense that his whole being and experience in Vietnam comes courtesy of the killing and murder of men. He talks of the stats and euphemisms constantly being fed to the press and states what the war really came down to was "men hunting men"
It puts him in a weird place, because, as close as he can get to "grunts" or the higher ups, I think he doesn't quite feel a complete affinity toward them. It's as if his own self-consciousness prevents it.
Having said that, this is what makes his relattionships with other journalists so profound; the idea that they are the only ones who truly understand Herr, and what it's like to be a journalist covering the war. In reference to the relationship he shared with his collegues he says; "I doubt... anything else could be as parasitic as that, or as intimate."
Within this simply stated line, Herr conveys the neccessity of having people around who understand, of the neccessity of having people around to share something, whatever it was, with. At the same time, out of this neccessity were framed lasting and meaningful relationships.
For me, this chapter, more than any sums up the book the best. It stands as a reporter's experience in Vietnam. The importance of this statement lies in the specificity of the experience, because as Herr is well aware, especially as explained in the experiences of Vietnam as experienced by the "grunts and conversely the officers, each and every experience is all its own.
posted by Spencer at 1:52 PM
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