The Novel the Red Earth, Essay Example

In the novel The Red Earth, author Philip Eagle writes about the horrors of the Vietnam War and the experiences and personal challenges of Native American Indians that served on the front lines. The title “Red Earth” obviously symbolizes the American Indian as a “Redman” and the American blood that was spilled on the battlefield while fighting the Viet Cong. The main character and first-person narrator is Sergeant Raymond Crow who gives his personal account on the war and his experiences related to enlisting in the US army and being sent to fight in Vietnam. According to Eagle, most Native American Indians that fought in Vietnam were ill-prepared for the horrors of war, much like other Americans who experienced “culture shock” once arriving in Vietnam. Some of these young recruits suffered from serious mental conditions like depression which was greatly increased by the terrible environment of Vietnam, fighting hand against hand in the jungles. This “culture shock” tends to drive the plotline of the novel, especially concerning the disparities related to American society and the traditional culture of South Vietnam.

Interestingly, Raymond Crow takes the reader of this novel on a journey through time, going back as far as his childhood when his male relatives would talk about their own war experiences and how war negatively affects soldiers, particularly Native American Indians who are brought up to practice ancient Indian rites and ceremonies as a form of religious belief. The psychological effects upon young Raymond from listening to the conversations between his uncle, father, and grandfather greatly influenced his own personal opinions on war, some of which were tossed to the side after arriving in Vietnam where Raymond discovered the true horrors of war.

Once he enters the war as a soldier, Raymond quickly comes to realize that his Native American Indian beliefs and traditions are going to be put to the ultimate test related to courage and bravery and being a man in the face of death and destruction. In one important scene in the novel, Raymond prays to his Native Indian gods for strength and to Mother Nature which American Indians have long held as sacred and as the creator of their world. Psychologically, Raymond is also put to the test on the battlefields of Vietnam, caught in a sort of dilemma related to his Native Indian beliefs and what he is required to do as a soldier, namely to kill the enemy.

Raymond’s first-person narrative in The Red Earth also helps the reader to appreciate the sacrifices made by every American soldier on and off the battlefield. After reading Eagle’s novel, it became apparent that one of his inspirations was Stephen Crane’s novel The Red Badge of Courage which tells the story of a young Union soldier through his experiences in the Civil War and how he found renewed courage to continue fighting his Confederate enemies. Taken as a whole, Eagle is attempting to define what courage is and that sacrifice is a necessary part of war, sometimes voluntarily but more often simply to allow others to survive.

In addition, The Red Earth informs the reader that national governments like the US federal government are guilty of neglecting the needs of soldiers returning from the front lines. Like so many other wars, Vietnam made a huge impact on the efforts of returning soldiers to fit back into the mainstream of American society, just as they were before going to war. A good number of returning soldiers from Vietnam suffered from PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder which often makes it impossible to return to a normal civilian lifestyle. For Raymond, fitting back into his Native American culture was made even more difficult, due to the fact that the lives of many Native Indians on the reservations in the West are full of disillusionment and broken promises.

Overall, Philip Eagle’s novel The Red Earth is a must read for those who have an interest in the Vietnam War experience and how American soldiers cope after returning home from the battlefields. Readers who are from Native American Indian backgrounds should find Eagle’s novel a true eye-opener because of its stark depictions on how a young American Indian came to appreciate his own native culture and how war holds the power to not only alter lives but also to destroy them.