Trouble in Paradise
By Alyssa Cadue, with comments by William Doherty and Matthew Holley
[1] Now that Ron is living at home and coping with life in a wheelchair, his anger and frustration leads him to find solace in drinking. He goes to bars with some of his friends who still live in the neighborhood like Timmy, who is also a Vietnam veteran. Since he returned from Vietnam, Ron’s experienced more and more resentment from the public because of his participation in the war. He lacks a job, a relationship, and even the sympathy of other veterans. It seems that the entire world is against him. As his drinking increases, tensions rise in the Kovic household, and Ron is viewed by his family as a nuisance and inconsolable drunk. In this climatic scene, Ron comes home from the bar and finally breaks down into a screaming, crying rant. He realizes that all of his beliefs concerning the Marines and the Vietnam War have been lies and his sacrifices were in vain. From this moment on, Ron changes his outlook on life from an idealist to a realist.
[2] Keep in mind that this scene is significant to the film for several reasons: Ron confesses his role in killing innocent bystanders in Vietnam; he confronts his mother for pressuring him to enlist; and he admits that the government and military leaders lied to the country and the soldiers about the threat of Communism.
"Our son is drunk again"
[3] Depressed and drunk, Ron compares himself to the crucifix hanging on the living room wall. He renounces his belief in God and in the War and wishes that he was dead like Jesus. Unfortunately, he has to live everyday with the tormenting memories of Vietnam. While his parents and siblings try to calm him down, Ron continues to scream and criticize the Marines. He’s torn apart emotionally from the pain that he inflicted upon other people, even though he was following orders. Unlike the many arguments that he’s had with his siblings because they didn’t support the war, Ron is now instigating a fight with his mother because she was a supporter. We’re seeing a darker, jaded side of Ron who is fighting a war within himself.
"To hell with you"
[4] While Ron is screaming about the injustices that he’s living with, his parents, more importantly, his mother, show no remorse. Mrs. Kovic is ashamed of her son and wants to dismiss his problems and ignore the facts that he shares with her. Even when Ron admits that he killed women and children, Mrs. Kovic tells him that he didn’t do those things and that he needs to get help. Her cold reaction serves as an example of a national mentality against the veterans. Rather than listen to Ron and try to understand his grief, Mrs. Kovic and the majority of the United States prefers to disregard the truth. The veterans, of course, must suffer alone and are expected to move on and return to normal life. Mrs. Kovic, with her deep religious values, only acknowledges that Ron is cursing and drinking in the house and worries what the neighbors will think of her family, not the blatant cries for help that are coming from her son.
Day and Night
[5] Looking back at Ron’s return home after his stay at a veterans’ hospital, we see that Ron attempted to get around without the help of others. There was a sense of independence and yearning to live a normal life. In this scene, however, Ron doesn’t attempt to stop his parents from taking care of him. They literally wheel him away into his room so the rest of his family can’t see him crying and thrashing about. Ron has also let his appearance slip away from him. Usually his hair was brushed and cut, face shaved, and neatly dressed, unlike this man who practically looks homeless. Perhaps the greatest indication of Ron’s demise is his lack of respect while speaking to his mother. Though the pair where never extraordinarily close from his teenage years on, Ron always maintained a level of decency with Mrs. Kovic. That relationship has deteriorated, and Ron feels no regret when he curses at his mother and says “f*** you!†at the top of his lungs. Sadly, all of the peace that previously existed within the Kovic household and even the neighborhood drifts further away from with each drunken episode.
Strings attached
[6] The connection between masculinity and war is very complex, and many scholars have explored this topic as it relates to the Vietnam War. Ron, an alpha male who entered the war at the peak of his physical performance, is sentenced to life as a paraplegic after several gunshot wounds to his spinal cord. The hardships that he faces with simple bodily functions are displayed in various scenes from the veterans’ hospital; however, Ron rarely mentions his frustration with limited mobility. At the end of this painful scene, Ron addresses the fact that he can’t use his penis anymore and never had the chance to experience sexual pleasure before he joined the Marines. He sits in front of his mother with the catheter tubes in both hands and regrettably says: “It’s gone in some jungle over in Asia.†Like Ron, many other soldiers lost both their innocence and masculinity in the war. How can society possibly expect these veterans to function normally when they’re missing basic instincts? The Vietnam veterans were the “lost boys†of the 1970s, and Ron’s overwhelming sense of hopelessness shows the severity of the epidemic.
"Who’s gonna love me?"
[7] After several minutes of intense fighting between Ron and his family members, Mr. Kovic carries his drunken son into bed. While he adjusts the sheets, Mr. Kovic asks his son what he can do for him and what he wants. Sadly, Ron only replies that he wants to be a man again and cries that no one will ever love him. The Vietnam War has stripped Ron of his body, mind, and heart. The man we see before us is barely recognizable. (see comment by William Doherty) (see comment by Matthew Holley)
Comments
While much time in the film is spent on the loss of Ron Kovic’s ability to walk, this portion of this scene poignantly brings home the harsh reality that Ron’s sexuality was a casualty of the war too. Ironically, Ron went to war to become a man, to blossom from teenager into one of those real-life heroes that he saw walk in the parade to cheers of the crowd at the annual Fourth of July parade in Massapequa. Instead, Kovics came home without his manhood in a sense, as he had lost his ability to father a child in addition to losing his innocence and his ability to walk. No wonder he went on a bit of a drinking binge, because that’s quite a lot for a young man to lose.
From a first-hand account, I can attest to the hopeless feeling that Ron felt when he questioned whether he would ever be a man again and whether anyone would love him. War is an experience that takes something from every one of its participants. Throughout my time serving overseas, we were continually instructed to suppress our anxiety and our issues. Having been blessed and not stripped down physically like Ron was, I relate much closer to the struggles that Tommy depicts. There was an ideal then, and there is still an ideal now that the true man fights for his country and our way of life. But how quickly society turns a blind eye to these idolized men when they return less of themselves and less of those myths they associated with us. The decay of the human condition is something that people want to shy away from, and it seems cruel that Mrs. Kovic couldn’t empathize with her son as he clearly calls out for help. Calls are often cried out, but the ebb and flow of things are thrown off when too much attention is paid, and people would rather live in ignorance of the damaged soldiers. If this were a Disney production, perhaps Ron’s high school sweetheart would be lovingly pushing his chair around, but in real life many soldiers would return home to find their loved ones gone and unwilling to deal with the gruesome reality that came back with these soldiers.
