It was like love. Perhaps it was the recognition of a wonderful truth deep within him” (Ninh 76). He was no longer a prisoner of his thoughts and had the ability to manage them on his own terms and preferences. From that moment on, he was in control of the situation. As far as Ninh was concerned, oppression was an understatement for his emotional state, but writing brought him the only joy he knew. In doing so, he discovered something he couldn't find anywhere else. He stated that "from this realization he felt that, day by day, his soul was gradually maturing, preparing itself for its task of fulfilling the sacred and heavenly duty of which the novel would become the earthly manifestation" ( Ninh 51). With each day that passed, Ninh felt like he was finally leaving all those painful memories behind and accepting his new identity, a survivor just like Kien. He hoped that the novel The Sorrow of War would open the eyes of those who are oblivious to the effects of war and at the same time help everyone who is in the same boat as him. By the end of the novel, Kien has regained his confidence and focuses more on improving his life in the future instead of dwelling on the past. The heartbreak of war ended in such an abrupt way that shocked most, if not all, readers. Ninh commented on this fact by saying that the only reason he chose this ending was to reflect on the