, Research Paper

Born on the Fourth of July

Patriotism, courage, freedom, are all words to assist depict the qualities of the United States. As Americans, we all have a sense of trueness and regard toward our county. What happens when one comes to the realisation that our state stands for one thing, but in all world means something different? This is the trap that Ron Kovic was sucked into during his experience in the Vietnam War. Kovic started out like most Americans. He had great pride and love for his state & # 8211 ; likely more so than most people. Unfortunately, like many Vietnam War veterans, Kovic came to the decision that America is non all that it & # 8217 ; s cracked up to be. During and after the Vietnam War, Kovic & # 8217 ; s position of the war and of his state changed dramatically. Kovic was non proud of what he had done in Vietnam and felt nil but sorrow. Throughout the book, Born on the Fourth of July, Kovic describes the multiple events that caused him to go an antiwar militant. Kovic & # 8217 ; s position of the Vietnam War changed dramatically due his feelings of guilt, compunction, and rejection. Every traumatic event that Kovic experienced put more hatred in his bosom for the Vietnam War and for Americans.

As a immature kid, Ron Kovic, dreamed of the twenty-four hours he could fall in the Marine Corps. He and his friend would analyze keen booklets with really crisp looking Mariness on the screens, and reverie of the twenty-four hours that they excessively would go Marines ( 56 ) . During Kovic & # 8217 ; s adolescent old ages, his dream was to go person that people could look up to and esteem, and he felt that functioning the United States was a great manner to carry through his end. There had ever been a portion of Kovic that took great pride in the United States, and he hoped that one twenty-four hours he would be able to function his state. Kovic & # 8217 ; s dream eventually became world. In September 1964, the paperwork was completed and Kovic was officially registered to go a Marine ( 75 ) . Although Kovic was carry throughing his life-time dream, he could hold ne’er prepared himself for how his determination to go a Marine would impact the manner he viewed America and everlastingly change the manner he lived his life.

Kovic & # 8217 ; s first glance of a alteration in attitude towards the war occurred on the battleground in Vietnam. During a violent firefight, the corporal of Kovic & # 8217 ; s troop was shot and killed. Not merely was the bodily killed, but Kovic besides thought he might hold been the 1 who shot the corporal. It was at this clip that Kovic foremost questioned why he was in Vietnam contending for his state. This peculiar incident made Kovic recognize that guiltless people were being killed. Killing the corporal had a strong impact on him because for the first clip he had killed one of the & # 8220 ; good & # 8221 ; cats, and non the Communist enemy. After Kovic shot the corporal, he admitted to the major that he believed he was the 1 who killed the corporal. When Kovic did this, the major reassured him that it could acquire really confounding on the battleground and that most likely Kovic did non kill the bodily ( 193 ) . As a consequence, the major gave Kovic a 2nd opportunity and made him experience better about what happened on the battleground that twenty-four hours. In the book, Kovic states that after speaking to the major, his ideas of killing the corporal had begun to melt. That dark, Kovic wrote in his diary how lucky he was to be in Vietnam contending for America ( 198 ) . Although Kovic had begun to bury about killing the bodily and was once more experiencing about take parting in Vietnam War, he was merely in a province of denial. It would merely be a affair of clip before Kovic would once more oppugn the war in Vietnam. The violent death of the corporal would shortly get down to subconsciously eat away at Kovic.

Consequently, Kovic would non be able to barricade the violent death of the bodily out of his head for long. An incident far more terrible would ramble on his memory and once more do Kovic believe twice about the value of contending in the war. The tragic event took topographic point one dark when Kovic and his military personnels were out on patrol. On that peculiar dark, Kovic & # 8217 ; s lieutenant idea they had come upon an enemy campsite and he ordered them to blow up the campground. Kovic and his work forces carried out the orders merely to detect that they had killed a tent full of guiltless kids and an old adult male ( 204-205 ) . After this incident, Kovic was ne’er the same. He began to once more experience guilty about killing the bodily and contrite for killing the kids ( 210 ) . Kovic & # 8217 ; s lieutenant did non do him experience any better by stating military personnels to close up and halt shouting about what they had done. I am certain the fact that the lieutenant reacted that manner showed Kovic that American & # 8217 ; s did non care about aching other guiltless people because they merely wanted to win the war. It was at this clip that Kovic began to recognize that he did non desire to be in Vietnam contending for his state, and the lone thing he could believe about was how to acquire out of Vietnam alive.

The predating two events were the beginnings of Kovic altering his positions of the war. These two events lead Kovic to make up one’s mind that he did desire to set his life on the line for his state ( 210 ) . It was a combination of guilt and compunction that first influenced Kovic & # 8217 ; s alteration in attitude towards the Vietnam War. His attitude rapidly went from being willing to decease for America to deliberately seting himself at physical hazard. If he were injured, without being mortally wounded, he would hold an avenue for a medical discharge.

The twenty-four hours that Kovic had longed for eventually came. He was shot by the enemy and the earnestness of his lesions enabled him to have his coveted medical discharge. The first clip Kovic was shot, it went through his pes but he continued to fire at the enemy. Then it happened. The slug that would alter Ko

vic’s life everlastingly struck through his right shoulder, pierced his lung, and shattered his spinal cord ( 222 ) . As Kovic ballad in the fens, of Vietnam the lone thing he could believe about was that he might decease at that minute for nil ( 222 ) . While Kovic lay there believing it was the terminal, he was eventually able to voice what had been in bosom since the twenty-four hours he shot the bodily – contending in Vietnam was making nil make aid America. This was a major emotional turning point for Kovic because he was get downing to acknowledge to himself that he had a alteration of bosom. Although contending in the Vietnam War about took his life, Kovic began to recognize that he did non hold with the war.

After Kovic was shot and paralyzed from the chest down, his life turned upside down and his bitterness towards the Vietnam War grew vastly. It was in the infirmary that Kovic got his first glance of how Vietnam veterans were treated. In the VA infirmary, the physicians and nurses were ever express joying, shouting, and disrespecting the patients ( 41-42 ) . The infirmary was foul and the veterans were treated like they were worthless. At this point, Kovic was shocked to see how much discourtesy he received from the physicians and nurses. The neglect of the patients, greatly contributed to Kovic & # 8217 ; s alteration in attitude. However, the discourtesy that Kovic received in the Veteran & # 8217 ; s infirmary was merely a sample of what was to follow from his fellow American citizens.

Although Kovic was able to acknowledge to himself that he had begun to alter his positions on the war in Vietnam, he was still seting on a forepart for his household and friends by stating them that the hurting and agony was deserving it because he had helped America ( 41 ) . Kovic encountered more feelings of rejection before he is pushed over the border and to the full gained strong strong beliefs that the war in Vietnam was incorrect.

The disapproval towards Kovic did non halt in the infirmary, but continued to stalk him when he returned to his childhood town. It was upon Kovic & # 8217 ; s return place that he realized many of his fellow citizens did non see him as a war hero. Kovic and another injured veteran participated in a parade in award of those who fought in Vietnam. Kovic expected people to be beckoning and heartening for him since he had risked his life to contend for their state, but to his letdown, all he received was clean expressions from his fellow countrymen. Not merely was Kovic non welcomed place, but besides when his bodyguards tried to assist him out of auto, they heedlessly flung his paralytic organic structure around about dropping him ( 106 ) . The fact that Kovic was shown so much discourtesy and no apprieceiation continued to force him towards going an antiwar militant.

After the parade, Kovic had to sit and listen to concern work forces who knew nil about the Vietnam War. The work forces at the mike did non take part in the war, and had no right to be standing up and prophesying to the American people about what was traveling on in Vietnam. Kovic wanted to be the one relation people about what had gone on in Vietnam because he had witnessed it first manus ( 107 ) . This was another smack in the face for Kovic, and it deepened his hatred for the war in Vietnam.

Not merely did Kovic experience rejection from his state, but because he was paralyzed, he besides felt unworthy and rejected by adult females. Kovic was really frustrated by the fact that he was non able to hold sexual dealingss with adult females. Kovic had made many forfeits for the good of his state merely to come place as a beaten, paralytic warrior and feel rejected by adult females. Because of his paralyze, Kovic felt that adult females looked at him amusing and that they would ne’er desire to force him about in a wheelchair ( 112 ) . Kovic wanted nil more so to be near to adult females and because he couldn & # 8217 ; t do that made him ferocious. When people feel rejected by something that is of import to them, they will take their choler out on what they feel to be the cause of their hurting. This is precisely what Kovic did & # 8211 ; the Vietnam War made him paralytic, so because he feels rejected by adult females he is traveling to make everything in his power to revenge.

Unfortunately, Kovic was happening it really hard to cover with his war hurt. He was now turning to alcohol in order to get away his jobs. Kovic even went every bit far as Mexico to seek to bury about the war. No affair where Kovic went or what he did, nil seemed to do him experience fulfilled. Finally, when Kovic was sent the VA hopital a 2nd clip, he became 100 % certain that what he had done in Vietnam was non appreciated by anyone and it was clip to take a existent base against the Vietnam War. Kovic quotes, & # 8221 ; But the infirmary changed it all that. It was the terminal of whatever belief I & # 8217 ; vitamin D still had in what I & # 8217 ; d done in Vietnam. Now I wanted to cognize what I had lost my legs for, why I and the others had gone at all & # 8221 ; ( 134 ) . Kovic & # 8217 ; s strong belief all of a sudden put a intent back into his life. All the guilt, compunction, and disrespect that Kovic had encountered over the past twelvemonth had all built up inside of him and he was ready to stand up for what he believed in! The Vietnam War had caused Kovic so much hurting and agony that he was ready to stand up and demo Americans what was go oning over in Vietnam.

Kovic alterations in his attitude of the Vietnam War did non go on over dark, it was a serious of events that made him full of hatred. The fact that Kovic felt guilty, contrite, and rejected had a strong impact on him desiring to talk out against the war. The war in Vietnam did non travel the manner Kovic had hoped. He had killed a fellow American, took the lives of guiltless kids, and was disrespected by his countrymen. Kovic had gone into the Vietnam War ready to the people of America and got nil in return..wouldn & # 8217 ; t that make anyone go an antiwar militant?