Le Ly Hayslip Analysis

    Le Ly Hayslip was a strong young girl that dealt with a long of pushback from several conflicts she encountered. From the young age of 15, she was arrested many times based on her values toward the Viet Cong. She said when talking about being arrested and questioned, “Besides, as I already learned, the questions and answers were always the same” (p. 363). This is important because she had been through this process before, and her responses stayed consistent. She would use the fact that she was a young girl that did not know anything, but when really, Le Ly knew more than she led on in these situations. When Le Ly got released, she was praised by her community for her bravery. Then, she got into more trouble, was arrested for being on the battlefield by soldiers, and put into a prison camp. Each day she was brutally tortured and interrogated, but still stayed true to her values toward the Viet Cong. Her story reminds me of another woman we read about Nien Cheng. She was a woman that was also tortured each day that dealt with the constant mental burden of staying strong to her faith and not confessing to anything. Both these women were mentally able to stay strong and withstand the horror torture they endured.

    In the last paragraph, she talks about how she will never be able to return to her praised position in the Viet Cong. She states, “The same ‘facts’ were there for everyone to see and the truth, in this war, was whatever you wanted to make it” (p. 375). She escaped that prison camp within three days, and she was not able to tell her community why. She felt that she had betrayed them in such a horrible way, and no one would listen to her side of the story anyway. She endured this torture all because she did not listen to her superiors. But I feel that even though Le Ly was not able to be a part of the community, while she was in there, she knew she had stayed true to her values. I believe she was a brave girl that went through a lot from a young age and remained strong just like her father taught her to be, a warrior.

Word Count: 384

Comments

  1. Maddie PrillamanMarch 1, 2021 at 8:09 AM

    I think the first quote you used really showed her experience working for the Viet Cong as a female warrior. I related this text to Nien Cheng as well, as you mentioned, they both experience such mental and physical abuse as they stood up for their innocence and freedom. The last quote you mentioned I think describes the ideology of war for may people, it’s common to accept the things that you want to and take them as fact.

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