Nhu Quyen Trinh
The Civil War in Hell
There are three major arguments that I found interesting after reading this story. The first one is the contract picture between the life of Liberian citizens and Prince Johnson’s life. While the citizens are dying because of starvation and cholera, Prince Johnson is enjoying his life with Budweiser and Kool cigarettes. While the citizens are living an unsettle life under gunfire at Mamba Point, Johnson is singing and watching TV in his room with air condition. Second, another strong and bizarre picture of Taylor’s fighting factions dressing in wedding gowns and women’s wigs spraying bullets. It means they consider themselves as women in their wedding day _ happy and enjoyable_ while they went out and killing people. It’s such an atrocious and violent personality, and it’s even sadder when it happens inside all the boys who are only eleven to fifteen. The third argument is the scene when Samuel K. Doe, president of Liberia, is forcing to eat his own ears. Ten years ago, in order to suppose his pretending, Doe made his men eat General Quiwonkpa’s flesh, and now it’s his turn to experience the feeling of being a cannibal by tasting his own ears. Beside, we need to pay attention about the real purpose of John’s action by torturing Doe. What is his real motivation by talking to a man without ears? It’s obvious not about what the president did with Liberian’s money. It’s simply because he loves and enjoys playing with blood and human flesh. Therefore, we can see clearly Johnson and Taylor and also their factions are no more human being. They enjoy killing and tutoring people from their same kind. That’s also the theme that Denis Johnson has already succeeded to create _ a virtual hell in our world.