In the movie, The Deer Hunter, how is political strife, religious conflict, human suffering, and human triumph showed during the film?In depth...

POLITICAL STRIFE. Obviously, the
upheaval in Vietnam is the most glaring example. The story begins in 1968, when the trio ship off
to war; and concludes in 1974, when Michael brings Nick's body back for burial. Much has changed
in both Vietnam and America. A war that seemed so winnable in '68 is now an obviously lost cause
in '74. Vietnam is about to be overrun by the Viet Cong, and Michael returns home to a nation
that pities instead of celebrates its returning veterans. Additional aspects include life of the
Russian-Americans in a steel mill town; more conservative than many U.S. locales, Clairton
welcomes its returning soldiers, and the film ends with the singing of "God Bless America."

RELIGIOUS CONFLICT. All of the primary
characters are Russian-Americans working in the steel mill town of Clairton, Pennsylvania. The
elaborate wedding ceremony in the Russian Orthodox Church and the following reception (at a local
VFW) serves as a prologue to the film, a long (51 minute) series of scenes that illustrate the
two rites of passage: Steve's wedding and the trio's final days before shipping off to Vietnam.
It is both a real and symbolic example of the act of love and the horrors war that will soon
follow.

HUMAN SUFFERING. The games of
Russian roulette are among cinema's most memorable scenes. The horrors of war, the atrocities
commited by the Viet Cong, and the American hospitals that house the crippled vets are all
examples. Nick and Steve suffer different types of mental problems, and Linda has to deal with
her own type of suffering: waiting for Nick to return while falling in love with
Michael.

HUMAN CONFLICT. Michael's
conquest of the deer is symbolic of many things in the film. A deer, unlike a man, must be hunted
in a spiritual fashion; and some deer, like the magnificent buck that Michael refuses to kill,
are worthy of survival. The opposite of this is seen in the Russian roulette scenes where human
life is expendable and survival is by mere chance. There are many conflicts which face the
characters. Michael must decide whether or not to leave Steve behind after they escape from the
Viet Cong river cages. He must decide whether to return to Saigon to look for Nick, and later,
whether to play him in the deadly game of Russian roulette. Steve must decide how to cope with
life following his return as a paraplegic. Nick, through his drug-clouded haze, must decide
whether to live or die by his own hand. Linda, too, has to decide between her obligation to Nick
and her love for Michael.