Essay Questions

Explore the character traits of Michael Herr as brought out in the work, Dispatches.

Michael Herr is brought out as a rather courageous and brave individual following his decision in covering wars from the front lines as opposed to traditional journalists who only report from the sidelines. Additionally, he is respectable and trustworthy. Not only do the soldiers trust him but they also respect him following his decision to stay in the war even when it was not compulsory for him to stay. Also, Herr stays in close propinquity to the soldiers. Herr’s carefree and fun-loving side is brought out as he partakes in the culture of rock and roll with his friends Sean Flynn and Tim Page, smoking marijuana and listening to music.

Michael Herr and Sean Flynn are more similar than not as individuals. Is this assertion correct?

Michael Herr and Seam Flynn are both courageous as they both reject the traditional processes by reporting the war in the front lines as opposed to the sidelines like other journalists—Herr as a journalist and Flynn as a photojournalist following his choice to quit the acting industries. Also, because of his handsomeness, Flynn is well-liked by soldiers and journalists as well. On the other hand, Herr is also a well-respected journalist. Both Herr and Flynn are fun-loving individuals as presented by their similar involvement in the culture o rock and roll, smoking marijuana and listening to the music of Hendrix and Franka Zappa as well as Mothers of Invention. From this, it can be argued that both these characters are more similar than not.

Show how war and its effects are portrayed in Michael Herr’s Dispatches.

In Dispatches, Herr provides an account of war as well as the effects that the same has on people. Herr provides the traumatic experiences that the men in this work suffer as a result of their experiences in the war. Through this portrayal of events, it becomes apparent that physical anguish is not the only effect of war as most of the men are mentally tortured. Some look even older than they really are. Herr notes that some of these men, as a result of the experiences that they had in war, might never be able to integrate into society in the desired way.