Point of View

Fortunate Son is an autobiography written by author Lewis Puller, Jr. While the narrative remains in the first person throughout, the point of view actually changes frequently, as the author's personal viewpoint on the war shifts in response to the circumstance. Puller documents his indoctrination as a child, into the military mindset. From his father, a devoted and eminently successful Marine officer, Puller learns a conservative, militaristic view of the world, as well as a blind faith in authority.

After his devastating injury, Puller returns to an America which rejects the Vietnam War and its participants, and his point of view begins to mirror the shifting viewpoint of the American public. Puller feels betrayed by the authorities who enmeshed his country in a war which he came to see as pointless. Not only does his point of view on the war shift, but his new viewpoint...