The Gift in Wartime

In the poem "The Gift in Wartime", Tran Mong Tu addresses an absent person. She is speaking to someone unable to hear or comprehend what she is saying. She laments the pointlessness of life lost in conflict. Her view of war is resentful and contemptuous.

The speaker offers roses and a bridal gown to an unknown "you" in the first stanza of this poem. In the second stanza, this "you" responds by awarding the speaker medals, silver stars, and a badge. These goods appear less significant and intimate than those offered by the speaker.

This pattern—where the speaker gives up significantly more than the "you"—continues throughout the poem. In the third stanza, the speaker expresses his youth. In exchange, "you" provides them with the "smell of blood." Indeed, as the poem progresses, it appears that the speaker's offers become more abstract, whereas those of the "you" become more violent and indifferent.

In the fifth stanza, the speaker offers "you" clouds and a sacrifice. They give up their enjoyable "springtime" for the misery of "cold winters." However, these services do not affect the "you". The "you" offers the speaker "lips with no smile" and "arms without tenderness." Dead.

In the final verse, the speaker emphasizes the ferocity of the "you" by mentioning the "shrapnel"—that is, bomb fragments—that the "you" has delivered them.

Given this explanation, it appears that Tran Mong Tu's poem is primarily about the items that a war victim is compelled to give up. Perhaps the "you" in the poem represents war itself. That could explain why the "you" responds to the speaker's gifts with a combination of violence and apathy.

Some Important Questions

1. An apostrophe is a literary device in which a writer or speaker addresses an absent person or an abstract idea in such a way as if it were present and can be understood. Discuss the poem concerning the apostrophe.

ans: Apostrophes are literary devices that allow a writer or speaker to address an absent person or abstract notion as if it were there and understandable. In the poem, the speaker addresses the dead body as if he understands her, using an apostrophe. She presents him with red roses and her bridal attire at his tomb. Her youth ended with his death. His badge, bravery medals, and the blood on his clothes make her sad. Her eyes are full as summer clouds, and her life has transitioned from spring to winter. She wants to demonstrate her profound love and respect for her spouse through her sacrifice. Using the apostrophe, this poem expresses the speaker's bitterness of war.

2. What imagery from the poem made the greatest impression on you? Why?

ans: The poet employs various stunning pictures in this poem. I preferred the shrapnel image the most. It demonstrated the benefit that combat may provide for humans. The shrapnel broke not only the soldier's body but also the beloved's life. That is the fatal gift of conflict.

3. What is the theme of the poem?

ans: The poem's focus is the terrible and inhumane nature of war, as well as its harmful effects on humans. The poem discusses the tragedy brought by war. One life ends, but many others are impacted. Following the soldier's terrible demise, his family and loved ones will suffer. Life is priceless, so there is no way to compensate for such a big loss.