The Gift in Wartime - Tran Mong Tu (Translated by Vann Phan) - Summary & Analysis

 The Gift in Wartime

           Tran Mong Tu (Translated by Vann Phan)

Tran Mong Tu was born and grown up in Hai Dong, North Vietnam in 1943. She frequently contributes poems and short stories to Vietnamese literary publications in the US and other countries. “War is a terrible thing,” says Tran, who has first-hand experience of the Vietnam War (1954-1975). According to Tran, “The Vietnam War is a shameful experience, for both Vietnamese and Americans.” Many people in both countries felt the terrible tragedy of the war. Losses in the war were heavy; more than two million Vietnamese and 57,000 Americans died. In the poem 'The Gift in Wartime', Tran addresses an absent person (a loveable person). For example, as she says, “I offer you roses,” the person to whom she is speaking is not present and can neither hear nor understand what she is saying (because he is no more).

The theme of the poem is the consequences of the war amongst the humans. War never brings peace, happiness and prosperity. The only thing that war guarantees is disparity and the dark future. Death, blood, pain, loss, sorrow, destruction, downfall, etc. are the only things that war brings to us. The poetess has used literary devices like: irony, metaphor, apostrophe, anaphora and imageries to bring impressions upon the readers through this poem.   

In the poem, the speaker, who has to face the death of her beloved in a war, speaks directly to him, contrasting what she has to offer him – her lost youth and her lost dreams – to what he has to offer her, his death, his grave, his medals, and his shrapnel (the small pieces of bomb).

There are altogether seven different stanzas here in this poem. The main theme of this poem is the inhuman aspects of war and its effects over humans. The speaker has presented a terrible picture of war which has snatched all her happiness of her life. The Gift in Wartime tells of Tran Mong Tu experiences during the Vietnam War. The author writes that war is a terrible thing that widows young brides. She writes of how young troops return with medals and silver stars unused and still shining in their motionless bodies. The poem is written in a dramatic monologue form, where the speaker (a widow) addresses an unknown "you", who is in fact her (dead) husband. On the surface level it is only an account what gifts she gave to her husband, and in return what he gave her. She has offered rose on his grave and has covered it with her wedding gown. She has offered him her youth, her prime time, her love, and pleasant spring. In return, the husband's gifts are: his medals, badges, his uniform (war dress), stained with his blood and smell of his enemy's blood. He is dead now, so his dead body also has been a gift to her. She ends her saying hopefully to meet him in their next life. She will keep the shrapnel as a token, which will help them know and recognise each other in next life.

Structure of the Poem:

• There are seven stanzas
• Every stanza consists of four lines
• Every other stanza starts with "I offer" and "You give me"
• Every line starts with a capital letter
• The poem follows a particular pattern. Their gifts are mentioned in alternative paragraphs. For example, in paragraph one, three, and five she talks about the gifts she gave him. On the other hand, in paragraphs two, four and six, she talks about the gifts her husband gave her: in the last paragraph she promises to meet him again in their next life.