Vietnam vs. Greek Mythology

Dr. Shay is a genius.

Two totally different civilizations. Two totally different time periods. Two totally different battles. And yet, Shay is still able to successfully merge together the two seemingly different wars. By making references to Homer's classic story, the Iliad, Shay reveals the timeless themes within all wars. Obviously there was no Athena or Hera or even Zeus in Vietnam, but the search for meaning within the chaos of war proves to be present in both Vietnam and in Troy. The total destruction and the lack of morality brought about by war is emphasized through the comparisons to this Greek literature. The overly dramatic and fantasized scenes in the Iliad help pin point the abstract struggle within the Vietnam soldiers.

Other then exemplifiing the univerisal themes within war, examples from the Iliad also serve as a good reference for the reader. Although his books were written 3000 or so years before our time, Homer's works are among the most widely read pieces of literature (other then Shakespeare and the Bible). Chances are that most people, at one time or another, have been introduced to the famous story of the Trojan War. Sure, we may not remember all the detials... something about a guy named Achilles and his foot and he was friends with Zeus and all those gods on Mount Olympus, and there was some girl named Helen, she was pretty... Sure, we might not know all the detials but we have a basic idea. There is a much higher probability that more people would understand references to the Iliad rather then ones to, lets say, A Tale of Two Cities. Both deal with war, but Shay purposely makes the comparison to the Iliad instead because readers are more likely to make the connection between the references and the Vietnam War. Which in turn leads to a better understanding of the struggle that the Vietnam soldiers endured.