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.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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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