Soldiers

Challenging the postcolonial studies focus on trauma, memory, and identity, this study instead draws on the concept of alienation in Marxist theory to analyze the ideological transformations of four representative soldiers in Duong Thu Huong’s Novel Without a Name (1995) and Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer (2015). This paper examines the different forms of alienation experienced by selected soldiers within the context of North Vietnamese society and its military system. It aims to analyze how these experiences of alienation influence their decisions and actions, and how the soldiers respond to the oppression that caused the alienation. Using a structural analogy method, the paper applies Marx’s four aspects of alienation—the product of labor, the process of labor, others, and self—within the socio-political context during the Vietnam War and its aftermath. This study finds that those loyal, patriotic, and innocent Vietnamese soldiers, driven by a sincere desire to rebuild their state, were exploited by the political ambitions of Viet Cong leaders and shaped by the long-term indoctrination of Vietnamese communist ideology, which led to their gradual alienation from their ideology. By highlighting ideological alienation rather than trauma or memory, this research offers a new critical lens on communist military narratives and expands Marxist literary criticism within postcolonial studies.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of chronotype on impulsivity and suicidal tendencies among soldiers. Methods: This study employed a cross sectional design. The statistical sample consisted of active soldiers aged 18 to 25 from various branches of the military. A total of 304 eligible participants were selected through convenient sampling. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires, including the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), and the Beck Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (BSSI). The research findings were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Bonferroni post hoc test. Results: The results indicated that participants exhibited moderate levels of impulsivity. Significant differences were found in impulsivity and its dimensions based on chronotype , with eveningness types displaying higher levels of non-planning impulsiveness, motor impulsiveness, and cognitive impulsiveness, as well as total impulsivity and suicidal ideation compared to intermediate and morningness types (p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were observed between intermediate and morningness chronotypes in these measures (p > 0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: The findings suggest that soldiers with an eveningness chronotype are more prone to impulsivity and suicidal tendencies, highlighting the importance of chronotype in mental health outcomes among military personnel. Further research is needed to explore underlying mechanisms and additional influencing factors.