In Dang Thuy Tram’s autobiography, “Last Night I Dreamed of Peace”, the young woman works as a Vietcong doctor in the Quan Ngai province during the Vietnam War. She endures many hardships during her stay at the medical clinics, which are situated in a free-fire zone. Surprisingly enough, Dang Thuy Tram does not let her circumstances discourage her from continuing on to fight the enemy. This essay will argue that Dang Thuy Tram successfully overcomes the obstacles that could possibly prevent her from fulfilling the role of revolutionary heroine by examining her strong hatred for the enemy, her optimism, and her will to sacrifice. She has a very strong feeling of hatred for the enemy (Imperialists/Capitalists), which fuels her will to continue …show more content…
When she and Tan are hiding from an American soldier wandering five meters away from their underground shelter, he says: “What if we must sacrifice our lives?”, and she responds: “Then that’s it, what else!” (128). She does not give it a second thought, and it almost seems easy for her to consider sacrificing her life for the Vietcong if the time comes. Despite her young age and the future that’s ahead of her, she would not mind dying for the freedom of her country. One month later, she writes in her diary, “I will not be here when they sing the victory song. I am proud to offer my entire life to the country” (134). This confirms that she wouldn’t mind letting go of her life, because she is proud of the effort that she and her comrades put into their fight against the Americans. She believes that the victory of the Communists is worth sacrificing her life for, even though she is still young. Later on, in February of the year 1970, she reflects on her three years of work in the clinic. She states, “I have volunteered, I have offered my entire youth to the nation. Even if I must sacrifice my life there is nothing to regret” (193). She knows that she lost her youth to the war, and that she cannot relive her days growing up as a young girl. Despite her loss, she does not regret concentrating all of her effort on the war against the Americans. She reveals that she would not regret sacrificing the rest of her life for her nation. The will to sacrifice is seen as a very important trait by Vietnamese Communist. Thus, she overcomes the loss of her youth, which could possible prevent her from becoming a revolutionary