Purpose of Flashbacks

Throughout the novel, "The Sorrow of War", flashbacks are utilized by Kien quite often. I believe he uses flashbacks as a way to illustrate his disconnection from the war. Although he is physically in the war, he is never fully, mentally present. By constantly referring back to past experiences and memories, Kien emphasizes just how often he thinks of better times before the war- and often he thinks of worse times before the war. Very rarely is Kien describing his experiences or emotions in the present time. And I think this is a useful technique in illustrating his lack of emotional connectivity to his actions in the war.

Moreover, it might be more difficult for the reader to follow along with the chronological order of events in the novel but that could possibly be the author's reason for including these flashbacks. By constantly switching from present tense to past tense, the instability of Kien's emotions during the war is illustrated. Kien is constantly referring back to memories and then back to present time, then back to the past once again. Kien is rarely fully present and this is emphasized by his tendency to reminisce on past experiences rather than focus on the present.

Personally, I don't like the use of flashbacks throughout the book because it makes the novel very hard to follow. Although, I suppose that is the author's reasoning for such a technique. During the war, it was frustrating for Kien to constantly reminisce rather than live in the moment. As it is frustrating for the reader to constantly have to read in different tenses. The reader feels Kien's confusion and frustration in the war through their frustration and confusion with the novel's structure.