Seth Mulder

Rhetorical Analysis

English 105

January 29, 2005

The Ultimate Protest

The Vietnam War was a conflict which divided people of the same country in two. The United States consisted of those in favor of the war, and those strongly opposed. Those opposed protested regularly and made it quite apparent that they were in strong opposition of the conflict. Civil unrest, however, wasn’t isolated to the United States alone. Vietnam itself experienced frequent protests from regular citizens, but more commonly from the Buddhist population. One protest in particular left a lasting impact on the world and showed the true effect of the injustice that the Vietnamese people were being put through. The photo that I’m speaking of is of a sixty- seven-year-old Buddhist monk that is being consumed with flames. However, this wasn’t a homicide; it was a conscious, premeditated act that he had planned for weeks in advance. It was June 11, 1963, and Thich Quang-Duc, along with two other monks, arrived at a busy intersection in Saigon. The three stepped out of the vehicle with a container of gasoline in hand. Thich Quang-Duc proceeded to walk to the center of the intersection and assume the meditative lotus position. While he was sitting there, the other two monks poured gas over his still body. He then struck a match, and the inferno ensued. The people of Saigon were in a complete state of awe. One eye witness reporter from America said, “I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think…. As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.”( www.buddhistinfo.com). This image that I have described is in the form of the original photo, and also on the cover of an album for a band entitled Rage Against the Machine. Both photos containing Thich Quang-Duc have interesting elements within the photos that supplement the meaning which he intended to convey.

The image containing the Buddhist in flames with the Saigon intersection landscape in the background is very moving. As Thich gives himself to the consuming flames, the gas container lies only a few feet to his left showing how planned this act actually was. The passersby line the street in the background helplessly watching as the committed Buddhist is taken. To me the crowed watching helplessly signifies the Vietnamese government at the time, and Thich represents the Vietnamese people that were dying on a daily basis as their government stands idly by doing nothing. This photo was intended to shock the viewers on how ruthless the world can be at times. It shows that the lives of others are so unjust that they are willing to sacrifice themselves to shed light on a situation which otherwise may be overlooked to a certain degree. By doing this, he somewhat ensures that his message will not go unheard. The smoke that is being emitted from his fiery body is appears to be slowly drifting upward into the atmosphere to drift on. The smoke is symbolic of his message as it slowly drifted outside of Vietnam and continued to travel around the world to inform the people of the civil unrest that was being overlooked by many. The message itself may be easily overlooked, but the image that conveys the message is far too powerful to be tossed to the wayside. This photo was intended for those who are ignorant to how life can actually be. Most Americans take this life that we have for granted and fail to realize that the American way of life is far more “plush” than those of other countries. This piece does an phenomenal job of conveying the message because the image of a human being burned alive under his own will surely evoke an overwhelming amount of emotion in most every human being.

The second source which this picture is displayed is on the self-titled album by a band called Rage Against the Machine. This version, however, only contains the Buddhist’s image with a small portion of their vehicle in the background. Across the bottom of the album cover lays the name of the band in all lower case lettering. Each word looks as if it was made on a label maker and pieced together to form the name of the band. The message that I seem to gather from the album cover is one of defiance. The Buddhist in flames accompanied with the phrase “rage against the machine” gives one the feeling to take a stand against what you feel is wrong. Stand up for what you believe is right and take the necessary measures to make your voice heard. The Buddhist embodies all that is peaceful and right in the world, and the flames consuming him represent the evils that posses our society today. The destruction of mankind due to greed and hatred can clearly be seen in the image. The text looks like it could very easily be seen in a ransom note or a hostage note of some sort; such as a ransom note for mankind. Hatred for one another is somewhat holding “hostage” the peace that has the potential to exist between each other. This potential peace can be seen going up in flames by the Buddhist’s self-immolation. I realize that this is an unrealistic view, but one can only hope that someday the machine, or the “man” if you will, will no longer hold us down. I take this image as a sign that something needs to change. For if we continue on the path that we are currently traveling, we may very well meet our imminent demise.

What I have gathered from this piece of visual text is surely subject to much skepticism. However, I feel that it is a fairly accurate interpretation of the message being conveyed. Thich made the ultimate sacrifice to open the eyes of the world about the injustices that go unheard. The image that he provided us is one that will surely stoke the flame of change for years to come.

Last Updated: March 2, 2005

Questions? Concerns? Feel free to contact me at mulders@iastate.edu.

©2005 Seth Mulder