Moral Ambiguity In Fallen Angels

Since the beginning of human existence, people have debated what is right and what is wrong. Eventually, the human brain size must have increased substantially enough to figure out that it’s not as simple as right or wrong, good or evil; there is a grey area. Somewhere along the exploration of this grey area, the term “morally ambiguous” was coined, and so used to describe things that fall into the inescapable trap of human opinion, of which it will be argued for and against for eternity. The Vietnam War novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers explores not only the moral ambiguity of the Vietnam War and War in general, but does so through a character named Richard Perry, the narrator of the book. Perry is morally ambiguous because, in his …show more content…
On a pacification mission Perry is jumped by a Viet Cong. After wounding the VC in the leg, perry narrates: “I lifted the M-16 and started firing it in his face. I emptied the clip” (180). Perry didn’t have to kill the Cong. He could have had him captured. Instead he murdered the Charlie in a very brutal way, blasting off his face with a hurricane of bullets. While Perry did reflect on his kill with disdain, he did it. He can’t escape that fact. This was the first glimpse into the dark side of Richie Perry. Another example of Perry’s, and really the whole squad’s, darker side is when the ARVN point their guns at the squad so that they can be evacuated first and in turn the squad, including Perry, put their hands up to make it look like the South Vietnamese are about to shoot them. Consequently, the evac chopper sees this and mows down the ARVN troops. This is morally equivocal because the ARVN and US are supposed to be on the same side. While this may not be a reflection of Perry’s immoral side alone, he was still involved, and in this particular case he did not even review this moment with despair, or at all for that

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