Essay Questions

Deconstruct Caputo’s outlook after returning from the war.

Caputo explains, “I came home from the war with the curious feeling that I had grown older than my father w, who was fifty one. It was as if a lifetime of experience had been compressed into a year and a half. A man saw the heights and depths of human behaviour in Vietnam, all manner of violence and horrors so grotesque that they evoked more fascination than disgust. Once I had seen pigs eating napalm charred corpses-a memorable sight, pigs eating roast people.” Caputo’s assertions sanction that he is wholly traumatized. The upset makes him feel that he has aged more than his father. The cold-heartedness which he observes at the war elicits trauma which is uncontainable. All the things he observed are chronicled in his unconscious.

Elucidate the instinct which stimulates Caputo verdict to enlist.

Death Instinct: “That is what I wanted, to find in a commonplace world a chance to live heroically. Having known nothing but security, comfort and peace, I hungered for danger, challenges, and violence.” Manifestly, Caputo is enthused by the yearning for ferocity which would empower him to corroborate his masculinity.

Provide a psychoanalytic assessment of the drilling.

Caputo elucidates, “The purpose of the drill was to instil discipline and teamwork, two of the Corps’ cardinal virtues. And by the third week, we had learned to obey orders instantly and in unison, without thinking.” The drilling is grounded on classical conditioning which facilitates the officers to conform to commands punctually. Throughout the drilling, the officers learn to associate the directives with explicit movements. Rigorous conditioning contributes to the officers’ meticulousness.