Kien, a Vietnam veteran, struggles to readjust to life after the war. Kien experiences alcohol dependence, depression, and shows signs of antisocial personality disorder. According to the National Vietnam Veterans’ Readjustment Study, these disorders are among the most common of Vietnam veterans. It is not surprising to note that the study acknowledged war-zone exposure as a leading cause of postwar disorders. In other words, soldiers that had frontline and battlefield experience were much more likely to develop postwar disorders than civilians with no war-zone exposure. This theory is easily recognizable in Kien, the protagonist of The Sorrow of War. Despite the great amount of luck that helped Kien survive the war, he had a lot of struggles after the war was over. Kien had many flashbacks to events before and during the war. For him, drinking became a coping method for dealing with these constant flashbacks. As the study suggests, this was a common coping method among war veterans.
One question the study analyzed was whether or not it was possible for veterans to successfully readjust to postwar life. Although many of the study’s participants were successful, not everyone was as fortunate. Kien is a good example of the inability to successfully adjust to postwar life. Despite Kien’s alcohol problems and depression, he also become quite antisocial and was considered a ghost to his neighbors. Flashbacks to events before and during the war become a major part of Kien’s life. Kien began writing down these events, hoping it would let him cope with the war, but it was not as successful as Kien had hoped. For many Vietnam veterans, Kien’s postwar disorders are very common. Sometimes, as in Kien’s case, it is not possible to overcome these disorders, which can be very difficult for the surviving soldiers.
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/vietnam-vets-study.asp
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