Phuong is a very distinctive character in the book. Phuong is loving, real, optimistic, and pure. Phuong and Kien’s memory with her appear several times in the book at various stages of Kien’s life. Phuong is the thread of the book. She is the character that reflects Kien’s psychological change. To Kien, Phuong is his hope. In the different stages, Phuong and Kien’s memory with Phuong have been a significant part of Kien’s life. Phuong is Kien’s happiness in youth, his mental support during the war, and the reason that supports Kien to carry on living after the war. Even though Kien lose Phuong in the end, their memories become the shining light of his life and provide him with hope to carry on. This paper discusses the role of Phuong that reflects Kien’s psychological change based on three different times – before the war, during the war, and after the war –and how the theme is developed by the character of Phuong.
Before Kien went to the war, Kien was hopeful about the future. Phuong represented pure and brought joy to Kien’s youth. She was the motivation for him to chase a bright future. When they were sitting together by the lake, Kien could not help himself and kissed Phuong. Then Kien felt struck by a strong sense of guilt (Ninh 133). Kien stopped because he wanted to protect Phuong, who is the most beautiful and pure woman in the world to him. During the conversation with Phuong by the lake, Kein expressed his hope about the future. He was hoping that the end of the war will bring peace and joy to the country and his life after the war. Compare to Kien’s positivity, Phuong said that “war, ruin, destruction” was what was going to happen (Ninh 134). Kien replied, “Maybe. But we’ll rebuild.” The conversation reflects Kien’s positive images about the future, which contrasts his thought after the war later. 
The war brought several devastating moments to Kien. Kien’s memories with Phuong supported him to carry on. The beauty of the memory with Phuong contrasted the pain in the war. But Kien was still hopeful about the future. He dreamed about Phuong and the lake now and then (Ninh 13). When he dreamed of “crazy, twisted things, distorted apparitions of loneliness and sorrow”, the memory with Phuong is his comfort and support him to carry on (Ninh 70). She was the reason that supports him in the darkest moments. When Kien returned to Hanoi, Kien thought that now came the good times and happy days (Ninh 81). The war was over, and he thought he finally got to meet his lover Phuong again, which he has been dreamed thousands of times. The description in the book about Kien on the train and meeting Phuong is fulling of joy and hope.
However, life after the war was painful. Life did not turn out like he once dreamed. Phuong and Kien were not the same as before anymore. When Phuong left Kien, Kien felt that “false spring faded and real winter returned” (Ninh 69). The hope Kien had for the future before is ruined by the reality and the war brought endless pain and sorrow to his life. Kien’s hope about the bright future was broken. There was no era as he expected. The reality gave him the opposite (Ninh 47). The only thing left was pain, sorrow and devastation, which is a large contrast to his reply to Phuong in the beginning – “We’ll rebuild” (Ninh 134).
      The conversation and memory between Kien and Phuong have been throughout the book. The character of Phuong helped reflected the Kien psychological changes – how the war changed his hope to sorrow. The changes did not happen suddenly. For instance, before Kien went to the war, Phuong was raped on the train. It implied that war would bring irreversible pain to their life. What happened on the train destroyed Phuong and Kien – her "curiously unfamiliar and vacant look" made Kien collapsed (Ninh 203). Phuong's conversion with Kien is very provoking. She said, "It's not a wound! It can't be bandaged! "(Ninh 204). It not only speaks about Phuong, but it also talks about Kien. He survived the war. He went home alive, and there is no wound on his body anymore. However, the trauma and sorrow could never be "bandaged". The book describes a lot of contrast between Phuong and Kien. During the conversion by the lake, Phuong did not believe there would be a beautiful life after the war, which contrasts Kien positive hope about the future. Meanwhile, Phuong asked Kien why he had to go to the war, and she tried to persuade him not to go. Nevertheless, Kien was very determined. It reflected his choice between the love for lovers and the love for the country. 
The war brought several devastating moments to Kien. Kien’s memories with Phuong supported him to carry on. The beauty of the memory with Phuong contrasted the pain in the war. But Kien was still hopeful about the future. He dreamed about Phuong and the lake now and then (Ninh 13). When he dreamed of “crazy, twisted things, distorted apparitions of loneliness and sorrow”, the memory with Phuong is his comfort and support him to carry on (Ninh 70). She was the reason that supports him in the darkest moments. When Kien returned to Hanoi, Kien thought that now came the good times and happy days (Ninh 81). The war was over, and he thought he finally got to meet his lover Phuong again, which he has been dreamed thousands of times. The description in the book about Kien on the train and meeting Phuong is fulling of joy and hope.
However, life after the war was painful. Life did not turn out like he once dreamed. Phuong and Kien were not the same as before anymore. When Phuong left Kien, Kien felt that “false spring faded and real winter returned” (Ninh 69). The hope Kien had for the future before is ruined by the reality and the war brought endless pain and sorrow to his life. Kien’s hope about the bright future was broken. There was no era as he expected. The reality gave him the opposite (Ninh 47). The only thing left was pain, sorrow and devastation, which is a large contrast to his reply to Phuong in the beginning – “We’ll rebuild” (Ninh 134).
      The conversation and memory between Kien and Phuong have been throughout the book. The character of Phuong helped reflected the Kien psychological changes – how the war changed his hope to sorrow. The changes did not happen suddenly. For instance, before Kien went to the war, Phuong was raped on the train. It implied that war would bring irreversible pain to their life. What happened on the train destroyed Phuong and Kien – her "curiously unfamiliar and vacant look" made Kien collapsed (Ninh 203). Phuong's conversion with Kien is very provoking. She said, "It's not a wound! It can't be bandaged! "(Ninh 204). It not only speaks about Phuong, but it also talks about Kien. He survived the war. He went home alive, and there is no wound on his body anymore. However, the trauma and sorrow could never be "bandaged". The book describes a lot of contrast between Phuong and Kien. During the conversion by the lake, Phuong did not believe there would be a beautiful life after the war, which contrasts Kien positive hope about the future. Meanwhile, Phuong asked Kien why he had to go to the war, and she tried to persuade him not to go. Nevertheless, Kien was very determined. It reflected his choice between the love for lovers and the love for the country. 
战争毁了许多事情。但是这本书寄予了希望。奥斯卡·王尔德（Oscar Wilde，44岁）曾说：“我们所有人都生活在水沟中，但我们中的一些人正在看着星星。”美好的回忆给肯恩带来了希望和力量，为他的未来生活生存。 Phuong曾经是他的明星，战争期间黑暗的日子里却闪耀着光芒。他的明星们被认为是光明的未来，鼓励他尽一切努力。战争可能使这些星星褪色了。正如Ninh在接受《纽约时报》采访时所说，即使在今天，他仍然可以感受到一生中的战争痛苦。悲伤永远不会消失。但是美丽的记忆已成为他一生中的新星。正如Ninh（227）所写，即使他们没有一起走向光辉灿烂的未来，爱仍然会存在。他的心中仍然有爱与希望，随着时间的流逝，它将支持他。
The war ruined many things. But the book ends in hope. Oscar Wilde (44) once said that “We all live in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” The beautiful memories gives Kien hope and strength to survive for his future life. Phuong was his stars in the past, shining lights in his dark day during the war. A believed bright future was his stars, encouraging him to fight with all his efforts. The war may have made these stars faded. As Ninh said in his interview with the New York Times that he could still feel the pain of war in his life even today. The sorrow may never be gone. But the beautiful memory has become new stars in his life. As Ninh (227) wrote that the love would still be there even though they were not moving to a glowing future together. There is still love and hope in his heart, which will support him as time heals.
 
 
Works Cited
Ninh, Bao. “The First Time I Met Americans.” The New York Times, 5 Sepember 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/opinion/vietnam-war-writers.html. Accessed 18 March 2020.
 
Ninh, Bao. The Sorrow of war: a novel by North Vietnam. Translated by Phan Thanh Hao, edited by Frank Palmos, Martin Secker & Warburg Limited, 1993.
 
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. Oxford University Press, 1995.

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