The questioner
No details are given about the questioner except that he is called “sir.” He may be an official, a military person, or perhaps an anthropologist. He has a number of questions that he asks the responder about the everyday life and cultural practices of the people of Vietnam. He speaks in a formal tone and asks his questions one by one as if reading from a list or notebook.
The responder
The responder may be a survivor of the war or else someone who has studied the life-ways of the Vietnamese people. He or she repeatedly stresses that it is impossible to know anything about the people for certain since they are now gone. The responder emphasizes the bloody cost of war and how it destroyed a civilization.
The people of Vietnam
The people of Vietnam (spelled "Viet Nam" in the poem) are described as mostly peasants who lived a peaceful life among rice paddies and water buffaloes. While little is remembered about their culture, they told stories, sang beautiful songs, and lived in harmony with nature.
