On Distant Ground: Analysis of Major Characters
"On Distant Ground" explores the complex relationships and moral dilemmas faced by its characters against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. Central to the narrative is David Fleming, an Army intelligence officer on trial for aiding the enemy after he forms an unexpected bond with a Vietcong prisoner, Pham Van Tuyen. This connection leads David to risk his career and safety to help Tuyen escape, prompting a journey of self-discovery intertwined with familial themes, as David grapples with the existence of his son, Khai, born from an affair with Vietnamese woman Suong.
The story delves into David's emotional struggles, highlighting his disconnect with those around him, including his wife, Jennifer, who supports him despite her fears. Tuyen, who becomes a figure of respect and understanding for David, illustrates the potential for solidarity across cultural divides. Other characters, like Carl Lomas, David's attorney, and Wilson Hand, a soldier under David's command, add layers to the narrative, showcasing the complexities of loyalty and the consequences of war. The intertwined fates of these characters reflect profound themes of identity, love, and redemption in a time of conflict.
On Distant Ground: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Robert Olen Butler
First published: 1985
Genre: Novel
Locale: Baltimore, Maryland, and Saigon, Vietnam
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: 1975
David Fleming, an Army intelligence officer on trial for aiding the enemy. Aloof and incapable of closeness, David finds his life changed irrevocably one day in Bien Hoa when he enters a six-by-six-foot cell that recently had held an important Vietcong prisoner, Pham Van Tuyen. Moving aside the rice stand to find “Hygiene is healthful” scratched on the wall, David feels an inexplicable bond with the man courageous enough to write these words, a bond that becomes an obsession. David searches for Tuyen, eventually finding the newly escaped prisoner and escorting him to safety, jeopardizing his own career and even his life. Despite David's otherwise spotless record, he is court-martialed, though not imprisoned. During his trial, David and his wife Jennifer have a baby, David, Jr. David's physical and spiritual connection with the baby is so strong that he intuitively realizes that he has another son in rapidly collapsing South Vietnam. This recognition overshadows the trial, now merely an obstacle to his discovery of that son, the offspring of an affair with a wealthy and influential Vietnamese woman, Suong. With the help of Central Intelligence Agency operative Kenneth Trask, David is able to enter Saigon as Canadian David Crowley shortly before the city's fall. In the final days of Saigon, he discovers not only his son but also the answer to who he really is and why he saved the life of Tuyen. Refusing at first to believe that he is the father of a child who bears no physical resemblance to him, David comes face to face with his own egocentrism, an echo of his own father's distance from him. His rejection of this child becomes linked with his bond for Tuyen, now merely a reflection of his own mind, its detachment and its irony. David's redemption comes in his acceptance of the child of Suong on the night they try to escape and more clearly the following day, when he and Tuyen, who is now in charge of all Saigon-Gia Dinh security, meet alone for the first time since David helped him escape. He discovers that his connection with Tuyen had been erroneous, that Tuyen had not written those words in the cell; however, in their mutual respect for the brave man who had, the Vietcong and the American understand each other. Tuyen gives David and his son safe passage out of the country, and David and Tuyen embrace as they part. All along, David had felt that his link with Tuyen had enabled him to break down the barriers he had placed between himself and other people and had allowed him to leave himself vulnerable to loving Jennifer. During the trial, he had once again become distant. His reunion with Tuyen and his union with his child Khai break through those obstacles, reuniting him with Jennifer and with his son David.
Pham Van Tuyen, an important Vietcong prisoner whose escape is aided by David Fleming. Tuyen later becomes director of security for Saigon-Gia Dinh and enables David and his Vietnamese son to escape. Although Tuyen did not write the words that influenced David's decision to help him, his respect for the man who did reestablishes his bond with David. The unsuperstitious communist reluctantly admits to beingthesonofafatherwhowouldhaveseenDavidasamagical being who appears in one's life in the most unusual times and in the most unusual ways, and his embrace with David upon the American's departure confirms their spiritual connection.
Jennifer Fleming, David's wife. The daughter of a wealthy but indifferent father, Jennifer stands by David during the trial and, despite her fears of losing her husband to the Vietnamese woman and her child, begs her father for money so that David can go to Vietnam to find his child after the trial is over.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Suong, an influential Vietnamese woman with whom David has a brief affair. As a strong opponent of Thieu's regime, Suong is put into prison and killed before David returns to Vietnam to find their child, four-year-old Khai.
Carl Lomas, an Army attorney assigned to represent David after he had dismissed the civilian attorneys supplied by his father-in-law. Frustrated by David's refusal or inability to defend himself, Lomas does his best. He brings the news media into the trial, saving David from a prison sentence or possible execution.
Wilson Hand, a soldier captured by the Vietcong while serving under David. He testifies about his dramatic rescue by David, in which David killed three Vietcong without remorse.
Clifford Wilks, who defected to the Vietcong while serving under David.