Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary
devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Race
The 1960s
were a time of great racial tension in the United States. The African-American
civil-rights movement was gaining momentum, and anxieties were growing
on all sides. This tension immediately finds its way into the bunker
of Richie’s squad. The American soldiers frequently trade racial
slurs, both about the black soldiers in their midst and about the
Vietnamese, who are of a different race than most of the American
soldiers. Both manifestations of racism lead to physical violence,
with some of the soldiers fighting one another instead of the Vietcong.
Yet, as the squad members bond, the prejudices begin to evaporate.
Living and fighting very closely, they begin to depend on one another
and become able to look past superficial differences. The soldiers
come to appreciate one another for their fundamental qualities,
and they learn to value each other’s humanity and fear for each
other’s lives. By the time the squad is faced with Sergeant Dongan—a
racist who endangers black soldiers because he considers their lives
less important—it has come so far that most of the white members
are outraged by Dongan’s unfair treatment and even offer to risk
their own positions by taking a stand against him.
Heroism
Though the soldiers often talk about heroism, it is almost
always part of an effort to denigrate or deflate the concept. Peewee
calls heroism stupid and Richie calls it empty. They express the
sentiment that a soldier should not try to be heroic and never needlessly
risk his life. Nonetheless, the soldiers clearly respect heroism
when they see it. When Lieutenant Carroll risks his own life to
save a few of his men, the soldiers beneath him revere him more
than ever. They admire his heroism but avoid referring to it in
noble-sounding terms, saying, “When the chips were down, he put
his ass on the line for the guys.”
At the same time that they belittle overblown concepts
of heroism, the members of the squad also display heroism. Richie
repeatedly stresses that he is not a hero. Yet, when given the opportunity
to save himself by bowing out of combat duty, he refuses the offer, knowing
that his absence would leave his squad short a man, putting them
in more danger. Peewee warns Richie not to be “no fucking hero,”
but when Richie asks Peewee what he would do in the same situation,
Peewee admits that he would do the same. Though the squad members
have lost any illusion that they are fighting for patriotism or
freedom or any other high ideals, they still fight for one another.
In putting each other’s interests ahead of or on equal ground with
their own, they are heroic, despite their protests.
Friendship
As the members of Richie’s squad become disillusioned
with noble and abstract ideals such as patriotism, heroism, and
freedom, they find a simpler and more powerful virtue in friendship.
Rather than fight for ideas they hardly understand, they simply
fight for one another. As Richie reflects, they learn “something
. . . about trying to keep each other alive,” which supersedes any
other reason for fighting. Friendship between the men impels them
to incredible acts of bravery. When the squad members are warned
that they will be sent on more frequent and more dangerous missions
unless they agree to split up, they ignore the warning and stay
together. The bond among the squad members grows so strong that
they are willing to face greater risks as a team rather than face
smaller risks fighting separately. Richie reflects on this bond,
because it is this squad of friends that they are really protecting.
Without these friends by their side, the squad members have no reason
to fight. For them, the war has come to revolve around the squad
members.
The growing friendship among the members of the squad
also helps them overcome their personal prejudices. When faced with
the racist Sergeant Dongan, the squad bands together on the side
of the black soldiers. When Dongan questions Johnson about Lobel’s homosexuality,
Johnson does not respond, later explaining to Richie that he could
not care less whether Lobel is a homosexual because any man fighting
by his side is equally an ally, regardless of the nature of his
personal life. By living and fighting so closely together, the men
are able to overcome their petty biases and appreciate and support
one another.
