Spoilers?
This has been driving me crazy for YEARS. The doctor says, "she wants the troops home for Christmas" and then she says, "the troops will be home for Christmas." WHAT is this a metaphor for? I feel like I'm making it more complicated than it is, but I am so confused by this line. Is this something about cancer or dying or what???
I always took it to me that she believed she was fighting the Cancer off. Even the doctor said that she just might make it but...now I'm going to have to watch that part again. You could also take it in a sense that she knew she wasn't going to make it and so she was bringing the troops home, stopping the fight.
"I don't understand" ~IMDB's Victoria Winters
This film was made when the US was still involved in Vietnam. She is making a political statement here. Her dying wish is for the troops to be home for Christmas - i.e. the war to be over.
shareoooh! Thanks for clearing that up.
"I don't understand" ~IMDB's Victoria Winters
For all the times I've watched this, I agree with you. And I wish now that our troops overseas also will be home for Xmas.
¤¤ Shared dreams are shared smiles ¤¤
The quote has nothing to do with Vietnam. It means Jennifer will be dead by Christmas. That's what she's asking the doctor.
shareNo, because when the doctor tells Oliver that the troops will be home for Christmas, Oliver says "So soon?" and the doctor answers "yes". It means that she's going to die before Christmas.
shareUh, no, it has nothing to do with Vietnam (maybe it would have been if it were Elaine Robinson, the Berkeley grad - hehe). "The troops" represent her body's agents fighting the cancer. She doesn't want to "fight" for too long.
shareIt means she'll be dead by Christmas. Nothing to do with Vietnam.
shareI thought it only meant she wanted their parents to be there for Christmas.
And that's why his father received a call and new about her condition.
She knows she is losing the fight against her cancer and thinks that she will be dead by Christmas. The reference has nothing to do about a protest over the war.
shareTroops come home when the war is over. She was saying that she knew she would soon be dead. Vietnam protest? Give me a break!
shareFor all those 12 years old morons who think that this is not a political statement - U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War did not end until the fall of Saigon in 1975. 1969 saw the introduction of the Nixon doctrine and the revelations of the Mai Lay Massacre which all occurred while this book was being written and the movie was being filmed.
I was alive back then. Believe me, her statement about troops being home for Christmas COULD ONLY have been interpreted at the time as a reference to the Vietnam War. Saying that her statements have nothing to do with the Vietnam war is about as dumb as saying someone referencing Hitler has nothing to do with World War II.
Sorry, children, learn your history.
I am over 60, not a 12 year old moron, and also remember the Vietnam war. Yes it was a major part of daily life but almost certainly had nothing to do with this quote. I believe she meant that she would be dead by Christmas and her support people (Oliver, Phil, hospital staff) would be back to the business of living their life without her.
shareA banal book, first envisioned for the screen, this is hardly an anti-war film. Still, there is no doubt this is a reference to the Vietnam War, which was nearly as much a part of daily college life as to the poor bastards that were serving there.
As sappy as the book and movie are, Erich Segal was no slouch. He knew the irony of this line. The war was then the longest in American history and many suspected they might die before the troops came home. In spite of Nixon's "secret plan" to end the war.
I'm not 12, either, and although the war was ever present in our minds, one has to look at the context of the statement. The woman is dying, so this is going to be uppermost in her mind. Secondarily, she was talking with her doctor about her condition. This is a metaphor, plain and simple.
As noted by another poster, the doctor tells Oliver, she "wants the troops home for Christmas." Oliver says she's "always running the show." The doctor grimly responds, "She may succeed." No jubilation or excitement about the prospect of actual returning troops. Then Oliver sees her and asks how things are going. She says, "Things are going. The troops will be home for Christmas." He says, "That's a little trite." She responds, "It's the -- truth." Shortly thereafter, she dies.
You've got it exactly right, Renata. While the expression about "troops home for Christmas" was a popular phrase at the time because of Vietnam, and while Jenny may have used the expression for that reason, plain and simple it expresses her opinion (and wish) that she will be dead by Christmas.
share