The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

From 1955-1975, the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam was the site of a proxy war between the capitalist US and communist Soviet Union forces. What were some of the repercussions of this conflict? How did war violence affect soldiers and civilians who lived in the region?

Teaching Suggestion: Ninh’s text focuses on the latter half of the Vietnam War as he explores the repercussions of the Soviet-American-Sino influence on the Southeast Asian region. Ninh writes from the perspective of Kien, a soldier in the North; the author removes the political ideologies from war and instead focuses on the atrocities and accompanying sorrow, sadness and loss that are common for all who are involved. Overall, the war in Vietnam had devastating effects on local populations, with mass casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and the beginnings of a “domino effect” of subsequent refugee flows from the region and conflict in neighboring Cambodia. Students with background knowledge of this conflict may be able to connect what they have already learned; those with limited knowledge regarding the Vietnam War might be coached to think more generally about other historical conflicts and list likely repercussions for those who experience war.