Preview

Born On The 4th Of July Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
991 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Born On The 4th Of July Analysis
Born on The 4th of July is a film based on the true story of Ron Kovic, a young, naïve man who went to Vietnam in the noble efforts of serving his country - once there, he was shot in the chest and was forever paralyzed. He returned to a United States which didn't believe in the war, and didn't believe in him. He soon grows embittered with life, losing his chances to be a man, condemned to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He eventually joins the anti-war movement, gets thrown out of the Republican Convention where Richard Nixon is speaking, and finally is allowed to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 1976.
The idyllic 1950's to the turbulent 1960's represented a dynamic shift in American culture. The end of World War II prompted a booming economy and the American dream of your own house with the white picket fence was born. Although the 50's were picturesque in some respect the end of WWII entrenched a deep fear of Communism. As America entered Vietnam the conservative ideals of the WWII generation clashed with the rising student and youth awareness. This movie represents a modern view of the Vietnam War era and the transformation that occurred throughout the country with varying degrees of historical accuracy. The opening scene of the movie pictures the mood of the country in the mid to late fifties. It romanticizes
…show more content…
Even though this number paled in comparison to the 100,000 South Vietnamese and more than 500,000 North Vietnamese who had died, many Americans thought the number far too high for the mere defense of a strip of jungle on the other side of the world. Morale had fallen to an all-time low both for the families at home and for the men in the field. Veterans’ protest groups such as the Vietnam Veterans Against the War became increasingly vocal, attacking U.S. policy after they came home. Kovic eventually joined this group emerging as a strong voice against the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Eventually the exhausting war escalated into guerilla warfare, and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese civilians were killed in the close fighting. Although the Viet Cong were responsible for some of these deaths, American forces in the area also were responsible for the killings unbeknownst to the American public. American soldiers during the war were sent on search and destroy missions in which they would ravage villages killing and destroying everyone. Americans were taught that the Vietnamese were not human, and…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People were afraid of going to war and the effects it could have on our country. In Alan Rohan’s How Much Did The Vietnam War Cost? he states “Among all the wars the United States had fought, Vietnam War is ranked 4th in casualties just below the Civil War and the two World Wars. Out of 2,594,000 personnel who served in Vietnam, there were 58,220 Americans dead, 153,303 wounded and 1,643 missing. More than 23,214 soldiers suffered one hundred percent disabled. Even when it already ended, the war continued to cost many American lives. It’s estimated that 70,000 to 300,000 Vietnam Veterans committed suicide and around 700,000 veterans suffered psychological trauma,” and continues with the cost of the war “The Department of Defense (DOD) reports that the United States spent about $168 billion (worth around $950 billion in 2011 dollars) in the entire war including $111 billion on military operations (1965 – 1972) and $28.5 billion on economic and military aid to Saigon regime (1953 – 1975).” (Rohn). The United States lost thousands of young adults and had to pay a high political cost for the Vietnam War. Parents were afraid of losing their children. There were thousands of American casualties from age 17 to…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They felt that they were being targeted and that this was a case of blatant racism from the U.S. and they felt that was the case with Vietnamese as well. The anti-war movement was no longer just about the U.S. involvement in the war, it was about the arbitrary actions the U.S. were taking against…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The war had left Vietnam in ruins, the state of both the north and the south were miserable and almost uninhabitable. Those who chose to stay in the country where…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the dense hot jungles of vietnam thousands of Americans took their last breath and disappeared into history. Most of them paid the full price of war but will forever be known as just a tally on a number of losses in a dark gruesome war. Brothers, fathers, uncles died everyday to protect the citizens of South Vietnam from the brutal North Vietnamese. Like all wars there's no easy way out; blood will always be shed and family chains will forever be broken. Vietnam was a terrible but necessary war. When the Vietnam soldiers returned, they were treated badly by their fellow citizens, by people who protested the war calling them child killers and monsters. It was not the soldier’s fault that their government drafted them into war. The real monsters…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The statement, “The 1950’s were an era of conformity and complacency”, is untrue to a certain extent. Though it is true that the post WWII America has the highest standard of living that no other countries can match, the 1950s, backed by the Second Red Scare, really had been a time period of tension and anti-communism.…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many Americans believed it was important to prevent South Vietnam from falling to Communism. Others believed the country should not get involved in the region's affairs. In addition, many Americans were opposed to the government's authorization of required enlistment as a way to mobilize troops for the war. By the mid 1960s, public protests against American involvement in Vietnam were becoming more common. Perhaps nowhere was this objection more evident than on U.S. college campuses. Students staged rallies and marches. They penned essays and songs to express their opinions. Many of these protestors expressed their opposition to the war by practicing a strategy of passive…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frederick Douglass’ purpose of writing “Fourth of July Oration” was to show the failure of America not living up to it’s core of liberty for all men. Douglass focuses on the aspect that the Fourth of July celebration not able to truly be celebrated by all citizens. Some stylistics choices made by Douglass, I believe, made his piece successful. However there were choices he made weakening his argument.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the potentials and roles of the characters in their society. Set in America’s 1950s, Fences focuses…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” Those were words from an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, but overcame that along with other obstacles to be the great man that we read and hear about today. What to the Slave is the 4th of July was a speech Douglass said in New York, explaining how the fourth of July was nothing to the slaves, as it was for the white Americans. In this speech there are examples of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. He starts off in a very humble manner saying how he is trusting their “patient and generous indulgence.” Which is a smart small move in pathos. Audience member will…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States during the 1950s can be characterized by mass conformity. The nation was unified through the vast prosperity of the economic boom that resulted from WWII. The post-war period featured a nation of citizens sharing similar accomplishments, ideals, and lifestyles. The nation was comprised of myriad families cut from the same cookie-cutter shape. Few chose to challenge the demands of the conformed society. Among the opponents of society were youth and Civil Rights activists, who expressed and represented their demographic through practices that would shock and alienate them from the nation.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fourth Of July Analysis

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Meaning of Fourth of July for the Negro by Fredrick Douglass is one of Douglass’s most famous speeches. In his speech, Douglass speaks about what Fourth of July is like for an African American, and argues points that are still relevant today on why African Americans are equal to the white man.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Fourth of July is an American tradition/ritual that comes from the original thirteen colonies declaring independence from Great Britain, but now let me tell you in more detail. On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies claimed their independence from England, an event which eventually led to the formation of the United States. Each year on July 4th, also known as Independence Day, Americans celebrate this historic event. Conflict between the colonies and England was already a year old when the colonies convened a Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. In a June 7 session in the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall), Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution with the famous words: "Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How does the film explain the development of the "middle class" n the mid-20th century? What conditions saw the improved standard of living for many working class people? What contradictions existed at the same time?…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Born on the Fourth of July

    • 2037 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Some of the most popular pictures are those of soldiers running up to their families right after getting off of the plane from a tour of duty, crying, and thankful that they are back home and safe. But how many of us actually care about those soldiers beyond knowing that they are home and safe? Ron Kovic’s autobiography, Born on the Fourth of July, is out to prove that going through a war has an affect beyond what most of the population sees; there are life-long effects, especially for those who come back injured and maimed. Every aspect of Ron Kovic’s life changed when he came back from the war and couldn’t move over half of his body and, for the most part, he had to deal with all of these changes on his own.…

    • 2037 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays