An aspect I found interesting in "The Sorrow of War" is the extended metaphor of the river. The text even though has a non-linear time frame is tied together by Bao Ninh in other ways like the use of extended metaphors.

The extended metaphor of the river is telling the audience about how turbulent war is and like a river there are twists and turns. It is used to show the audience that life after the war is changed.

The River is ever present throughout the piece after war has occurred. This is showing the audience that war will be ever present in your life. The River is also in the background which could be representing the river in the background of your mind and life affecting all that you do.

If we look at the metaphor at the beginning of the book we see Kien sitting on the river bank fishing. The river in this scene shows Kien thinking about the war. Even in this beautiful moment the war is still ever present. It doesn't matter where you run or push the thoughts in your mind the war always haunts you.