Blog Post 4 Topic 2

“Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich is a free verse poem that is about a diver who explores a wreck in the ocean. Although the poem may seem to be on a diver’s experience, the poem uses this experience as a conceit, or an extend metaphor, on the Vietnam War.

Before her dive into the ocean, the narrator loads a camera and wears “body armor.” The body armor she talks about can be a wetsuit for diving. However, the way she refers to the suit as “body armor” implies that this armor may be the flak jackets soldiers wore during the Vietnam War. The narrator also mentions loading a camera, which indicates that the narrator may be a photographer. With a camera and body armor, the narrator may be a war photographer sent to Vietnam, to record the events of the war. She then descends “a ladder” into the ocean. Assuming this poem is related to the Vietnam War, the ladder can be the ladder on a helicopter that allows soldiers to dismount the helicopter when the helicopter cannot find a suitable area to land. Upon descending the ladder, she reaches the ocean.

The “ocean” the narrator refers to is Vietnam because the ocean is often associated with the vastness and the unknown. Likewise, Vietnam is a foreign place filled with vegetation and lurking threats. Another reason the narrator may be referring to Vietnam is that the narrator describes the place as “First… blue… then green, and then black.” This can refer to the scenery of Vietnam. The narrator first sees the blue sky, then the green vegetation, and then the black smoke from all the battles and fires. She then talks about a mask pumps her blood with power, which can be referring to the rush of adrenaline she experiences as she witnesses the events of the war. The narrator then adds that “it is easy to forget what I came for among so many who have always lived here” Perhaps the narrator can be criticizing the pointlessness of the war.

As the narrator arrives at the “wreck,” she mentions that she came for “the thing itself and not the myth.” In the beginning of the poem, the narrator reads “the book of myths,” which can symbolize the misconceptions that the Vietnam War is the fight for democracy in Vietnam. The narrator is looking for the truth of the war. She soon realizes the truth that the war is pointless and is just a blood bath. The narrator illustrates the scene before her, “the drowned faces always staring toward the sun… the ribs of disaster.” She then says that “we circle silently about the wreck… I am she: I am he,” The narrator may be saying that both men and women are united in opposition to the war. Finally, the narrator ends with “the one who find our way back to this scene… our names do not appear.” The narrator talks about how no one in the future will remember the terrible things that happened during the war and history will repeat itself. With numerous parts of the poem symbolizing aspects of the Vietnam War, it is likely Adrienne Rich uses “Diving into the Wreck” to express her stance on the war.