Fallen Angels occurs in 1968 during the Vietnam War. The narration talks about the journey of Richie Perry, an African American from New York City. Perry is not sure of what he wants to do with his life since graduating from high school. His mother is a single mother hence she cannot afford to take him to college. For this reason, Perry decides to join the army for answers where he is deployed to Vietnam even though he is suffering from a knee injury.
Perry and his squad mates are given the task to hand out medical supplies and food to the Vietnamese civilians while spreading the message that Communist defectors can join the American side. However, Sergeant Simpson informs Perry that Captain Stewart who is he Alpha Company’s commander is vying for a promotion to major by attempting to increase the body count of the company. This piece of information makes Perry to begin questioning the moral reasoning for the American intervention in Vietnam. Following Sigmund Freud, the superego functions on the morality principle and it usually motivates us to be behave in a socially acceptable and responsible manner. Therefore, this indicates that Perry’s superego is demanding him to behave in a socially acceptable manner when he begins to question the moral reasoning of Americans.
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In addition, Perry mirrors Carl Jung’s archetypes, more specifically the Shadow. According to Jung, the shadow is part of the unconscious mind is mainly composed of repressed weaknesses, ideas, instincts, desires, as well as shortcomings. Perry displays the archetype of the shadow when he shoots a VC soldier in the face. This was his first point blank kill. He displayed aggression by shooting the soldier. As noted by Freud, our childhood events greatly influence our adult lives, thus shaping our personality. Perry witnessed the events of Vietnam War as a teenager which made him complete his psychological transformation from the innocence of a teenager to the worldliness of maturity. Hence, he was able to reconcile with his mother and show love to his brother. Also, it eventually enables him to comprehend and accept himself.
