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| Plot Summary of Buffalo Boy and Geronimo |
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"Buffalo Boy is Ngyen Luu Hai. He's 14 and lives in a small village near Cu Chi in Vietnam.
Geronimo, also known as “Meow Man,” is Antonio Lucio Conchola. He's a medic with an Army unit in Vietnam, a Mexican-American and something of a braggart. He tells people he was a football hero in high school, for instance, though he actually played second string.
Buffalo Boy hugs his bull buffalo, Great Joy, at night to escape the loneliness caused by the death of his father in the war. But one horrible night, the buffalo is blown up in an air strike.
Hai is in love with Le Minh Thien, his sister's best friend. He shows off for her, sings to her and dreams of her. She acts as though she is not aware that he is around.
Conchola is called “Meow Man” because he believes he was scratched by a tiger. His platoon did, indeed, come across a wounded tiger in the jungle, but most of his comrades think Conchola cut his arm on a tree while backing away from the tiger. Conchola, convinced he has a special relationship to the great beast, deserts and tries to find it. He brings his medical kit, thinking he can bind the tiger's wounds. He's caught, and only through fast talking and playing the fool does he escape a court-martial and punishment for desertion.
Meanwhile a traveling elephant drover turns up at the village. When he is killed, Le Minh Thien inherits the care of the elephant.
A bombing and napalm attack on Hai's village forces the peasants to evacuate. They move up the trail to an area the Vietcong guerrillas tell them has some undamaged farmland on which to grow their rice. As they near the new village site, Conchola, who has deserted again, turns up. The mistrustful Vietnamese face the soldier who deserted rather than fight them.
"
David Gordon, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Buffalo Boy and Geronimo |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians
Yes
Loss of...
- father
Conflict:
- War, Vietnam
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- farmer
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Other Asian
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- infantry soldier
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 (a fair amount)
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Southeast Asia
Jungles?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Unusual Style:
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
James Janko Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 David Gordon
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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