Overall, I thought this book was really great. I would probably read it again if I ever feel in the mood for a war book. I would also recommend this novel to anyone who has an interest in the lives of soldiers. My mom, for example, was in the Navy. I told her about it and she asked me if she could read it when I am done. I am excited to see what she thinks of it.
I found it very interesting reading about the attitudes of the soldiers and their actions. I did not agree with how they treated the dead, like how they shook the hand of the old man by the pigpen (214). But that was just their way of dealing with death. If they treated dead people like they were still there, death was something that they didn't have to fear or be worried about.
I now look at wars and fighting in a whole new manner. I have a new, deeper respect for people who risk their lives for the well being of this country, especially the ones who don't even want to be there in the first place. I am glad I read this book. It was a great experience.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Linda
Although the part about Linda is very sad, I loved how the author incorporated the death of his childhood sweetheart into the book. It was fit in perfectly and related to the purpose of the book. To me, the novel was about loss, courage, and experience. Linda had it all. Tim needed to show courage in fourth grade to tell Nick Veenhof to stop messing with Linda's cap, but he didn't. He never stood up for her. Then at the beginning of fifth grade, Linda died of a brain tumor. We don't know for sure, but this probably was his first real loss. In Vietnam, he loses people close to him and able to cope with it. He had the experience of loosing someone close to him, someone who he truly loved (216). O'Brien also had the experience of creating stories to keep Linda with him. I think this is what he is doing to his fellow soldiers in Vietnam with this book and the others he had written.
Mood
The mood throughout the book was one that was kind of... I don't know how to describe it but the book made me feel like the war was never going to end and people would keep killing and keep getting killed forever. The author really made me feel like I was in the jungle with him and his troops experiencing and seeing the same things he did. The part where O'Brien described the man he killed really stuck out to me. It is like I can picture the man walking out of the fog and feel the adrenaline through my veins when he through the grenade (122).
The mood was one of sadness, too. I was sad to read about all the men who died, especially the ones in O'Brien's patroon. I felt like one of the group and was able to feel the loss of one of the men. Curt Lemon, Ted Lavender, and especially Kiowa. The mood was perfect for the book and does a great job of moving the audience.
The mood was one of sadness, too. I was sad to read about all the men who died, especially the ones in O'Brien's patroon. I felt like one of the group and was able to feel the loss of one of the men. Curt Lemon, Ted Lavender, and especially Kiowa. The mood was perfect for the book and does a great job of moving the audience.
Really?
I understand that O'Brien feels anger towards Jorgenson. I would too if I got shot in the butt and was lying there dying because the medic couldn't muster up the courage to come and help me out. Anger, bitterness yes. But revenge, probably not. Then again, I was never in that situation, I was never shot, and I was never lying on my back for a few weeks with bacteria eating away my flesh.
Although I think O'Brien's plan for revenge was awesome and very well thought out, I still think it was wrong. He could have done something else or handled the situation differently. He was pretty lucky that Jorgenson only shot at the sandbag (206) and didn't call in reinforcements. Azar and O'Brien would have been in deep trouble if that would have been the case.
Although I think O'Brien's plan for revenge was awesome and very well thought out, I still think it was wrong. He could have done something else or handled the situation differently. He was pretty lucky that Jorgenson only shot at the sandbag (206) and didn't call in reinforcements. Azar and O'Brien would have been in deep trouble if that would have been the case.
Down the Road
I've had family members in the military who have fought in combat. I don't know if they have ever killed anyone or if the memories of the war still haunt them. They don't seem to be bothered by that but then again, I've never asked them. I know my grandpa is proud that he served his country and is apart of the American Legion.
I find the fact that O'Brien wants to tell about his experiences to millions of people to be very interesting. He wanted to share his thoughts and personal feelings to people who he didn't even know. I am very appreciative for that because other readers and I have a new insight to what war is really like. Yes, we have movies too, but Hollywood can only take you so far. This book is a first-hand account of what really happened. A true war story.
I find the fact that O'Brien wants to tell about his experiences to millions of people to be very interesting. He wanted to share his thoughts and personal feelings to people who he didn't even know. I am very appreciative for that because other readers and I have a new insight to what war is really like. Yes, we have movies too, but Hollywood can only take you so far. This book is a first-hand account of what really happened. A true war story.
Characterization
The characters in the novel are really interesting. Most of them are flat and static characters, but on some occasions, like Rat Kiley, some are dynamic characters. Mostly, the author describes the characters by indirect characterization. For example, O'Brien does not come out and directly tell the audience that Azar is someone who is sneaky and loves the war. Azar says the words himself, "The Vietnam experience. I mean, wow, I love this shit" (202). The readers are able to form their own opinions about characters by what they truly are.
The most complicated character in this novel is, obviously, Tim O'Brien. Since this book is about his experiences in the war, it is critical that he has more dimensions to his personality. In my opinion, the book would be very boring if was not a round character.
The most complicated character in this novel is, obviously, Tim O'Brien. Since this book is about his experiences in the war, it is critical that he has more dimensions to his personality. In my opinion, the book would be very boring if was not a round character.
Ambiguity
When I first read the title of the chapter called Night Life, I thought about actual night life, like parties and what they do for fun in the night. But as I read on, I got the real meaning of night life. Before this chapter, I kept wondering what happened to Rat Kiley and why O'Brien didn't tell us about his story. Then, I realized why. The author did a really good job of explaining the "night life" and why Kiley was taken to Japan. Because the troops had to travel during the night and sleep during the day, their whole schedules were thrown off. In addition to that, there was a blackness in the night, almost like death. Nobody could see. They were "a bunch of dumb Cub Scouts chasing the phantoms" (210).
Ghosts
Tim O'Brien is not the same person he was at the start of the war, and even the person he was in the bush actually fighting the battles. Now he loads up helicopters and does work like a civilian on a base. He says the field took everything he was. There was a coldness inside of him. "I wasn't myself. I was hollow and dangerous" (197). Although in this book ghosts refers to the VC, it is almost like O'Brien turned into a ghost of a man. He doesn't feel part of his patroon anymore now that he is working at the base. It's like he's still numb from the morphine when he got shot in the butt. O'Brien seems like he is stuck in a cloud of negativity, wanting revenge on Jorgenson and feeling bitter that he's not in the bush.
Pun.
Field Trip. To me, field trip (in this context) has two meanings. First, it is a field trip like the ones school kids take to museums and apple orchards. In the book, O'Brien and his daughter took a sort of field trip to Vietnam. The field trip was the whole trip in general. He wanted to return to show his daughter his experiences in the war and wanted to "[offer] her a small piece of her father's history" (174). The second meaning is in a more literal sense. Literally field trip; a trip to a specific place, specific field. This field trip was to the place that "had swallowed so much" (176). O'Brien wanted to return to that little field where his friend had died and where he was changed forever.
Symbols
Up to where I am at in the book right now (pg 172), I have picked up on a few symbols that O'Brien uses, but two have really stuck out to me. Both occur in the chapter titled In the Field. To me, they are very similar and can be grouped together to mean the same thing. They are the monsoons and the rain. On page 155, the author states that "the monsoons seemed to be a lasting element of the war." The soldiers feel like the weather will never stop. They think that the monsoons will last forever. They are tired of the weather and just want to get out of it. Now substitute the word "war" for weather and monsoon. The soldiers feel like the war will never stop. They think that the war will last forever. They are tired of the war and just want to get out of it. Along with the monsoons is the rain. "The rain was the war and you had to fight it" (156). The soldiers were not only fighting the enemy, but also the rain, a two-front war. They are just tired of it all and seem like they want to go home.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Speaking of Courage
Norman Bowker wasn't necessarily a torchered soul, but he did have some issues readjusting to the normal way of life after the war. The story portrayed Norman as someone who had a lot of time on his hands and didn't know what to do with it all. So, he just drove around the lake for four hours a day and try to tell the time from just the light off the lake (pg 144). Nothing he did seemed satisfying and eventually, Norman ended up killing himself.
I understand culture shock; I've been through it. After seven weeks in Spain, coming back to the United States and normal life was not easy. I can only imagine what Norman and other soldiers had to go though after a long war. I wish that Norman would have picked something else than just killing himself. I just wish he would have done something different.
I understand culture shock; I've been through it. After seven weeks in Spain, coming back to the United States and normal life was not easy. I can only imagine what Norman and other soldiers had to go though after a long war. I wish that Norman would have picked something else than just killing himself. I just wish he would have done something different.
Conflicts
I've never been to war and I don't know what it is like to kill someone, but after O'Brien's reflection about the man he killed, I have a pretty good idea of what it is like. He used such detail and his diction that I was able to imagine the scene in my mind. I can see the fog in the daybreak with the man slowly emerging (pg 126). The details make me feel like I was almost there with Tim and watching him throw the grenade. Then afterward with him still looking down at the man he killed laying "with one leg bent beneath him, his jaw in his throat, one eye shut, the other was a star-shaped hole" (pg 124).
It is obvious that this scene still haunts him. He can't seem to forget what happened and why it happened. It is almost like it was yesterday that he was in the jungle with Kiowa on ambush. O'Brien can still remember all the detail from that day and still see the face of the man he killed.
It is obvious that this scene still haunts him. He can't seem to forget what happened and why it happened. It is almost like it was yesterday that he was in the jungle with Kiowa on ambush. O'Brien can still remember all the detail from that day and still see the face of the man he killed.
Explication
Although I am about half way thought the novel, I am still trying to understand the meaning and point behind it. Regardless, it is still a great book and I enjoy it, but I just don't get why. Why write this? Why share gruesome experiences and bring up the pain again?
This is a true story: After writing the paragraph above, I left the computer to get something to eat because 1. I was hungry and 2. I didn't know what to write next. When I get back to the computer to start typing again, I dropped my book and it opened up to page 78. There I looked and saw a sentence that I underlined. "Often in a true war story there is not even a point." So there is my answer. There might not always be a point to a story, but that doesn't make the story not worth telling. Maybe the author just felt like writing a book and thought his experiences in the war would be perfect. Who are we to judge what a person wants to write about? Maybe he felt like telling someone other than his friends and family. Maybe something else. I don't know. But what I do know is that there might not be a point to the story, but there is always a point to the book.
This is a true story: After writing the paragraph above, I left the computer to get something to eat because 1. I was hungry and 2. I didn't know what to write next. When I get back to the computer to start typing again, I dropped my book and it opened up to page 78. There I looked and saw a sentence that I underlined. "Often in a true war story there is not even a point." So there is my answer. There might not always be a point to a story, but that doesn't make the story not worth telling. Maybe the author just felt like writing a book and thought his experiences in the war would be perfect. Who are we to judge what a person wants to write about? Maybe he felt like telling someone other than his friends and family. Maybe something else. I don't know. But what I do know is that there might not be a point to the story, but there is always a point to the book.
Tie-Ins
The chapter Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong reminds me a bit of the movie Avatar. At first Jake Sully arrives at the base, unwanted and trying to fill his dead brother's shoes. Once his tour is done, he will rotate back home and forget about Pandora. Mary Anne is only in Vietnam for Fossie. Once the war is over, they will return home to lead the life they always wanted. Then Jake discovers a world that is completely different from the one he is used to. He loves his Avatar body and how he has his legs back (he was paralyzed on Earth and can't walk in his normal body). He falls in love with the forest and the native people who of one he is trying to become. Mary Anne loves the forest and the different way of life. It is like she never wants to return to normal life. Jake Sully is the same way. In the end of the movie, he completely abandons his human body and his original race to join the natives of Pandora. He has a whole new way of like now just like Mary Anne, ready for the kill (pg 110).
Tone
Although the tone is a major part of every story, I want to focus specifically on the tone of the chapter titled Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong. While reading this chapter, I was intriguing and very interested. I found the transformation of Mary Anne from a girl right out of high school to a woman of the forest fascinating. She was defiantly a dynamic character because when she first arrived at the base, she was a girl of innocence and sweet; but after a few weeks at the camp, she started to change dramatically. Mary Anne had almost no fear of anything. She wanted to learn about the war and how to survive in Vietnam. She learned to load, shoot, and clean a gun and was almost like one of the army guys. Mary Anne was not an innocent school girl anymore.
To portray this transformation, the tone of the chapter had to be happy and bubbly (like her personality pg 91) at the beginning when Mary Anne first arrived but with a slight dark feeling, a feeling like something is going to go wrong. Towards the middle, the tone shifts to one that signals independence and change. Mary Anne was becoming more self-reliant and less like the girl who first arrived at the base. Then finally, the tone shifts again to something more ominous and dark. Mary Anne leaves for a long time with the Greenies, and when she comes back, she is a completely different person. She became one with the land and the jungle. Her feelings changed from love of Fossie to love of the environment. I think I can say that Mary Anne went wild.
To portray this transformation, the tone of the chapter had to be happy and bubbly (like her personality pg 91) at the beginning when Mary Anne first arrived but with a slight dark feeling, a feeling like something is going to go wrong. Towards the middle, the tone shifts to one that signals independence and change. Mary Anne was becoming more self-reliant and less like the girl who first arrived at the base. Then finally, the tone shifts again to something more ominous and dark. Mary Anne leaves for a long time with the Greenies, and when she comes back, she is a completely different person. She became one with the land and the jungle. Her feelings changed from love of Fossie to love of the environment. I think I can say that Mary Anne went wild.
How to Tell a True War Story
1. A true war story is never moral. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. (pg 65)
2. You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you. (pg 66)
3. In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. (pg 67)
4. In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. (pg 68)
5. You can tell a true war story by the way it never seems to end. (pg 72)
6. In a true war story, if there's a moral at all, it's like the thread that makes the cloth. (pg 74)
7. Often in a true war story there is not even a point. (pg 78)
8. You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask. (pg 79)
9. You can tell a true war story if you just keep on telling it. (pg 81)
10. And in the end, a true war story is never about the war. (pg81)
While I was reading this chapter, I came across a few new literary terms. On page 66 after Rule 2, I found (what I think to be) an epanalepsis: "If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth; if you don't care for the truth, watch how you vote." I found this epanalepsis a bit humorous and very true. I understand that sometimes obscenity is necessary to tell the truth, and if you don't want to know the truth, then how can your actions (especially voting) be creditable?
I also found that Rule 4 is an antithesis. The subject of the sentence is "a true war story," obviously something that is valid. But the verb of the sentence is "cannot be believed." How can something like a true war story not be believed?
Another literary device is Rule 6 which is a simile. "A moral is like a thread that makes a cloth." It is necessary because with out it, there would be no cloth, no point to the story.
2. You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you. (pg 66)
3. In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. (pg 67)
4. In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. (pg 68)
5. You can tell a true war story by the way it never seems to end. (pg 72)
6. In a true war story, if there's a moral at all, it's like the thread that makes the cloth. (pg 74)
7. Often in a true war story there is not even a point. (pg 78)
8. You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask. (pg 79)
9. You can tell a true war story if you just keep on telling it. (pg 81)
10. And in the end, a true war story is never about the war. (pg81)
While I was reading this chapter, I came across a few new literary terms. On page 66 after Rule 2, I found (what I think to be) an epanalepsis: "If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth; if you don't care for the truth, watch how you vote." I found this epanalepsis a bit humorous and very true. I understand that sometimes obscenity is necessary to tell the truth, and if you don't want to know the truth, then how can your actions (especially voting) be creditable?
I also found that Rule 4 is an antithesis. The subject of the sentence is "a true war story," obviously something that is valid. But the verb of the sentence is "cannot be believed." How can something like a true war story not be believed?
Another literary device is Rule 6 which is a simile. "A moral is like a thread that makes a cloth." It is necessary because with out it, there would be no cloth, no point to the story.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Enemies and Friends
Some people were really messed up from the war. Some couldn't trust anyone, others weren't able to relax, and a few thought enemies were everywhere. This happened to Jensen, a man in O'Brien's group. He got into a fight with Strunk, another guy from the group, and broke his nose. When Strunk returned from the hospital, Jensen was paranoied that Strunk was going to shoot him. At one point he completely cracked (pg 60). After a while, the men became friends, and eventually Strunk was killed in battle. I'm not surprised that some men were like this. War did things to soliders. Even after the war, some people still have issues.
Internal Conflict
The internal conflict that Tim O'Brien goes through in this chapter is intense. He has no idea what to do now that he has been drafted. He has two options: stay and fight, or leave for Canada. O'Brien kept running both option through his mind: "Run, I'd think. Then I'd think, Impossible. Then a second later I'd think, Run" (pg 42).
While I was reading this chapter, I felt surprised about how much this situation was actually bothering Tim. I didn't really understand how much conflict he felt until he was standing in Elroy Berdahl's boat crying about the fact that he was in a moral freeze. Then he asks the rhetorical question "What would you do?" (pg 54). My response is that I honestly don't know. I understand the difficulty of turning your back on all your family and everything you are, but in that moment, with all those emotions of hatred and distress, I don't know what I would do.
Overall, I feel like he made the right decision. One should not run away from fear, but find the courage to face it.
While I was reading this chapter, I felt surprised about how much this situation was actually bothering Tim. I didn't really understand how much conflict he felt until he was standing in Elroy Berdahl's boat crying about the fact that he was in a moral freeze. Then he asks the rhetorical question "What would you do?" (pg 54). My response is that I honestly don't know. I understand the difficulty of turning your back on all your family and everything you are, but in that moment, with all those emotions of hatred and distress, I don't know what I would do.
Overall, I feel like he made the right decision. One should not run away from fear, but find the courage to face it.
Anecdotes
I grouped chapters 2 and 3 together for this post because they are very similarly structured. Both mention specific reflections on the war that O'Brien remembers and decides to share. For example, his meeting with Jimmy Cross many years after the war. They share a good conversation about memories from the war. Then in chapter 3, the author shares anecdotes and other experiences. Ted Lavender's puppy, for example, was a short story that was told to explain the fact that although these men were supposed to be tough and hard, they were still only 19- and 20-year-olds; still just kids. These anecdotes shed new light on the lives of the men and their experiences in the war.
The Things They Carried (Chapter 1)
Although I am only finished with chapter 1, I think I am able to say that I already like this book (at least better than The Sun Also Rises). The first chapter was sort of an introduction to the lives of the men and what exactly they carried. The author is very clever with the verb "carry" because he uses the word in more than just one way. It is used not only to describe the physical things the soldiers carried in different situations, but also the mental and psychological thoughts and burdens.
First, Tim O'Brien mentions the personal items the soldiers had with them, like chewing gum and letters from girlfriends. The anaphora used with explaining this adds to the weight of the things that are carried. O'Brien then goes on to explain the military weapons and how much each weighs. Along with this, the items used for missions are also included in the next section. After , the author shares the things the soldiers carried because of superstition, like a good-luck pebble or a rabbit's foot. Next are the things they shared; for example, the weight of memory, the weight of a comrade's body, or the extra gear that someone else couldn't carry. Finally, the author explains how the soldiers carried themselves: how they acted, how they lived. This adds a new depth to the novel, something other than just the physical things they carried, but the emotional things as well.
First, Tim O'Brien mentions the personal items the soldiers had with them, like chewing gum and letters from girlfriends. The anaphora used with explaining this adds to the weight of the things that are carried. O'Brien then goes on to explain the military weapons and how much each weighs. Along with this, the items used for missions are also included in the next section. After , the author shares the things the soldiers carried because of superstition, like a good-luck pebble or a rabbit's foot. Next are the things they shared; for example, the weight of memory, the weight of a comrade's body, or the extra gear that someone else couldn't carry. Finally, the author explains how the soldiers carried themselves: how they acted, how they lived. This adds a new depth to the novel, something other than just the physical things they carried, but the emotional things as well.
Pics!
Over the summer, I went on an excursion to Spain for 7 weeks for an IU Honors Program. While I was there, I was able to see and experience an actual bull fight like the characters in this novel. Also, one of the places my group and I stopped at one day was a little hotel/cafe/bar that reminded me of the place the characters stayed at while they were in Spain. I thought it would be cool to post the pictures I took while I was experiencing some of the same things Brett, Robert, Jake, and the other characters experienced.
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