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solver, Donald must face the fact that his wife is afraid of him<br />
and that he must change something about his life.<br />
Another function of the Big Bertha Stories is to find a way<br />
for Donald to legitimize the violence he witnessed in the<br />
destruction of Viet Nam, a place he thought was beautiful, and<br />
the violence he witnesses each day in strip mining. They are a<br />
way for his side to win the war much the same way movies such as<br />
"Missing in Action" and "Rambo" allowed American to claim a<br />
fictitious victory over the Viet Cong by allowing heros to<br />
return to Viet Nam and defeat the communists. When this all-<br />
powerful legend is connected with the war in Viet Nam it always<br />
in a context of winning the war, and doing so without blowing up<br />
all of the beauty of the country. The stories serve as a way<br />
for Donald to share the carnage and violence with his son,<br />
without sharing the experiences.<br />
Because Bertha is a strip mining machine, the thematic<br />
element of strip mining pays a major role in the story. This<br />
element is tied together by the way Jeanette refers to the V.A.<br />
psychiatric unit as "strip mining" and further tells Donald<br />
"That's what they'll do to your head. They'll dig out those<br />
ugly memories" (668). Her view is the opposite of Donald. He<br />
sees what he does as "reclaiming the land" which relates more<br />
fittingly to what the VA seeks to do(665). Jeanette would have<br />
her husband altered, like a cat, or like the strip mines, which
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