APO 96225 by Larry Rottmann
SITUATIONAL IRONY: takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen
Wow, blunt much? I believe that the poem has situational irony because it is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what really does happen. The mother kept thinking that there was something wrong and wanted her son to tell her everything. He would continue to put it off because he wanted to keep his mother from knowing the pain of what he was actually doing. Finally he is like, "Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children" (Rottmann 846). I can only imagine the mother's expression when she read that: priceless. It is no joking matter though. War is not easy for anyone and I think this story ties in with the American people's feelings about Vietnam because I think they only wanted to know everything that was going on until it made them feel uncomfortable. Deep down they wanted to know, but on the surface level, I believe it was better off to keep some things a little more secret.
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