I'm not gonna lie, this chapter threw me for a loop. It was remarkably philosophical, but at the same time barely made any sense. Just as I would start to catch on to what he was saying he would start talking in a completely different direction and I'd be lost again. He kept rambling about generalizing war and would follow these statements with conflicting (or antithetical, if you're feeling ambitious) thoughts. Perhaps him writing these accounts down is his own way of trying to make sense of his confusion. The war clearly affected him and changed him as a person, so I feel like writing this novel was more for himself than for his readers.
His repetitive nature was what reminded me of parallelism.
"War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead." (page 76)
Clearly, the second part is where the parallelism is in his description of war. It is entirely balanced. The first part was just an incredibly long run-on. All I'm saying is that O'Brien better watch out with sentences like that or he'll get an automatic D+ on a Roncalli writing assignment.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Foreshadowing
When the author started talking about Jensen and Strunk's agreement, I automatically got a sense of foreshadowing of a detrimental event approaching. Their pact basically said that if one of them should ever get mortally injured, the other would have to find a way to put them out of their misery and end it for them. I found this highly unsettling. I mean, I don't think I'd ever agree to kill one of my friends if they were in immense pain. Should they get injured, I would think that I would want to try everything to save their life rather than take it. Injury or not, being alive is being alive. Those soldiers had families and wives and children and friends waiting back home for them. No matter what appendages were missing, I can guarantee that a soldier's mother would want their son back rather than a flag.
Sure enough, soon afterwards Lee Strunk stepped on a rigged mortar round and blew off half of his leg. When it came down to it, he realized he didn't want to lose his life at all. I'm sure Jensen felt pressure to honor their contract but was probably even more panicked at what had happened. I'm sure neither of them actually counted on ever having to do that to each other.
"For a time there was some question as to whether Strunk was still alive, but then he opened his eyes and looked up at Dave Jensen. 'Oh, Jesus,' he said, and moaned, and tried to slide away and said, 'Jesus, man, don't kill me.'
'Relax,' Jensen said.
...'Really, it's not so bad. Not terrible. Hey, really - they can sew it back on - really.'" (page63)
I'm quite certain that I wouldn't like to be a soldier at war. Watching a friend of mine die before my eyes would be something I don't know that I could handle.
Sure enough, soon afterwards Lee Strunk stepped on a rigged mortar round and blew off half of his leg. When it came down to it, he realized he didn't want to lose his life at all. I'm sure Jensen felt pressure to honor their contract but was probably even more panicked at what had happened. I'm sure neither of them actually counted on ever having to do that to each other.
"For a time there was some question as to whether Strunk was still alive, but then he opened his eyes and looked up at Dave Jensen. 'Oh, Jesus,' he said, and moaned, and tried to slide away and said, 'Jesus, man, don't kill me.'
'Relax,' Jensen said.
...'Really, it's not so bad. Not terrible. Hey, really - they can sew it back on - really.'" (page63)
I'm quite certain that I wouldn't like to be a soldier at war. Watching a friend of mine die before my eyes would be something I don't know that I could handle.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Dramatic Irony
Regardless of the short length of the chapter, I feel like the outcome of the brief story was filled with dramatic irony. The story demonstrated just what the war did to people, turning them against their own side and making enemies with those who should be trusted. In the army, all they had was themselves and their men. Nothing else. It was them against the enemy and that was all there was to it. It's sort of a scary thought, actually, considering there wasn't opportunity to fight with the ones who were fighting along with them. If soldiers on the same side couldn't even be friends, then there was no chance of winning the war at all.
This chapter also showed how short soldiers' tempers could become. Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk got into a meaningless fight over a missing jackknife, and Dave ended up breaking Lee's nose because of it. Afterwards I think he felt so guilty that he felt the need to make up for it somehow. In the end, he decided to break his own nose as a way of apologizing. Strunk went along with it and said that there were no hard feelings anymore.
That was where I saw the dramatic irony. Dave Jensen inflicted pain on himself to be freed of the guilt he felt for hurting Lee Strunk about his missing jackknife when he thought he was actually innocent. What he didn't realize was that Lee really had stolen it and he hadn't been crazy for accusing him in the first place.
"Strunk nodded and said, Sure, things were square. But in the morning Lee Strunk couldn't stop laughing. 'The man's crazy,' he said. 'I stole his fucking jackknife.'" (page 61)
Poor Dave. He broke his nose for no reason after all.
This chapter also showed how short soldiers' tempers could become. Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk got into a meaningless fight over a missing jackknife, and Dave ended up breaking Lee's nose because of it. Afterwards I think he felt so guilty that he felt the need to make up for it somehow. In the end, he decided to break his own nose as a way of apologizing. Strunk went along with it and said that there were no hard feelings anymore.
That was where I saw the dramatic irony. Dave Jensen inflicted pain on himself to be freed of the guilt he felt for hurting Lee Strunk about his missing jackknife when he thought he was actually innocent. What he didn't realize was that Lee really had stolen it and he hadn't been crazy for accusing him in the first place.
"Strunk nodded and said, Sure, things were square. But in the morning Lee Strunk couldn't stop laughing. 'The man's crazy,' he said. 'I stole his fucking jackknife.'" (page 61)
Poor Dave. He broke his nose for no reason after all.
Antithesis
Although this is not normally a literary term I pick up on, I thought that this chapter was full of an ongoing antithesis between Tim being brave and cowardly. For the first time, he really opens up about what emotions he felt when he got his draft letter and what was going through his mind at that age.
"I was bitter, sure. But it was so much more than that. The emotions went from outrage to terror to bewilderment to guilt to sorrow and then back again to outrage. I felt a sickness inside of me. Real disease." (page 43)
Allowing the reader to enter his thought process makes the story that much more realistic and meaningful. It makes me start to wonder what kind of emotions I would be feeling if I had just received a draft letter in the mail. My dad told me once that he had been lucky while in college and they hadn't drafted him at the time. Unfortunately, his brother wasn't so fortunate and got sent to Vietnam instead. Luckily he survived, but at times I've wondered if it would have been the same circumstance for my father. I consider it fortuitous that he never had to go.
I think Elroy Berdahl is a significant character in this novel. In my opinion, O'Brien probably would never have gone back to Minnesota if it weren't for his presence. He gave him the opportunity to leave his responsibility and allowed him to choose to stay. That way, Tim wouldn't spend his life wondering whether he should travel to Canada or not; he knew what his decision would be. The antithesis I found intriguing was when he came to his final decision.
"I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to." (page 57) And then once again later.
"I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war." (page 58)
I thought that him going to war would make him decide that he was brave rather than a coward. However, since he wasn't going for the right reasons, I suppose he condemned himself as a coward thereafter.
"I was bitter, sure. But it was so much more than that. The emotions went from outrage to terror to bewilderment to guilt to sorrow and then back again to outrage. I felt a sickness inside of me. Real disease." (page 43)
Allowing the reader to enter his thought process makes the story that much more realistic and meaningful. It makes me start to wonder what kind of emotions I would be feeling if I had just received a draft letter in the mail. My dad told me once that he had been lucky while in college and they hadn't drafted him at the time. Unfortunately, his brother wasn't so fortunate and got sent to Vietnam instead. Luckily he survived, but at times I've wondered if it would have been the same circumstance for my father. I consider it fortuitous that he never had to go.
I think Elroy Berdahl is a significant character in this novel. In my opinion, O'Brien probably would never have gone back to Minnesota if it weren't for his presence. He gave him the opportunity to leave his responsibility and allowed him to choose to stay. That way, Tim wouldn't spend his life wondering whether he should travel to Canada or not; he knew what his decision would be. The antithesis I found intriguing was when he came to his final decision.
"I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to." (page 57) And then once again later.
"I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war." (page 58)
I thought that him going to war would make him decide that he was brave rather than a coward. However, since he wasn't going for the right reasons, I suppose he condemned himself as a coward thereafter.
Anecdote
To illustrate the point that not every memory of the war was a bloody one, the narrator shared a few quick anecdotes of peace or happiness that he remembered as well. They weren't necessarily stories of great significance, but they were stories nonetheless. One line in particular that stood out to me in my reading was this:
"I guess, she's right: I should forget it. But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget." (page 33)
To me, that was a powerful statement. I'm a person who always remembers little details, and I find that the more I try to forget something the more difficult it becomes to let it go. Forgetting events in one's past only happens when the person himself doesn't realize it happening. So if the event was something worthwhile or memorable, the odds of forgetting it are rather low. Something like the Vietnam war would be impossible to forget I think.
Also, I found that my suspicion of the author being the narrator was correct. It was revealed in dialogue between himself and Norman Bowker.
"I'll tell you something, O'Brien. If I could have one wish, anything, I'd wish for my dad to write me a letter and say it's okay if I don't win any medals. That's all my old man talks about, nothing else." (page 34)
This made me like the book even more. I feel like it's more than just made up stories now, it's real. What I'm reading are the accounts of real men, with real families and real personalities. These were the men who chose to serve our country when they were only a year or two older than myself. That's a pretty scary thought. An even scarier thought is imagining the horrors they had to face - like killing the enemy.
"A slim, dead, dainty young man of about twenty.
Kiowa saying, 'No choice, Tim. What else could you do?'
Kiowa saying, 'Right?'
Kiowa saying, 'Talk to me.'" (page 36)
I don't know how I would deal with the guilt if that were me.
"I guess, she's right: I should forget it. But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget." (page 33)
To me, that was a powerful statement. I'm a person who always remembers little details, and I find that the more I try to forget something the more difficult it becomes to let it go. Forgetting events in one's past only happens when the person himself doesn't realize it happening. So if the event was something worthwhile or memorable, the odds of forgetting it are rather low. Something like the Vietnam war would be impossible to forget I think.
Also, I found that my suspicion of the author being the narrator was correct. It was revealed in dialogue between himself and Norman Bowker.
"I'll tell you something, O'Brien. If I could have one wish, anything, I'd wish for my dad to write me a letter and say it's okay if I don't win any medals. That's all my old man talks about, nothing else." (page 34)
This made me like the book even more. I feel like it's more than just made up stories now, it's real. What I'm reading are the accounts of real men, with real families and real personalities. These were the men who chose to serve our country when they were only a year or two older than myself. That's a pretty scary thought. An even scarier thought is imagining the horrors they had to face - like killing the enemy.
"A slim, dead, dainty young man of about twenty.
Kiowa saying, 'No choice, Tim. What else could you do?'
Kiowa saying, 'Right?'
Kiowa saying, 'Talk to me.'" (page 36)
I don't know how I would deal with the guilt if that were me.
Point of View
The first thing I noticed about this chapter was that it completely switched point of views from omniscient to first person. It became apparent in the opening sentences as the narrator discussed a personal story between himself and another character the audience has already been introduced to. Consequently, this brought many questions to my mind. Who is the speaker? Have we, the audience, already met him? Why is the author flash-forwarding all the way after the war when so far there has only been one chapter?
Perhaps the narrator is the author himself, Tim O'Brien. After all, he did say that he wished to write a story about their experiences.
"At the end, though, as we were walking out to his car, I told him that I'd like to write a story about some of this. Jimmy thought it over and gave me a small smile. 'Why not?' he said." (page 28)
I mean, isn't that what this book essentially is? As of right now, I suspect the novel might be a recollection of Tim's own personal war experiences as a soldier.
Perhaps the narrator is the author himself, Tim O'Brien. After all, he did say that he wished to write a story about their experiences.
"At the end, though, as we were walking out to his car, I told him that I'd like to write a story about some of this. Jimmy thought it over and gave me a small smile. 'Why not?' he said." (page 28)
I mean, isn't that what this book essentially is? As of right now, I suspect the novel might be a recollection of Tim's own personal war experiences as a soldier.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Things They Carried - Motif
Unlike The Sun Also Rises, O'Brien's title has perceptible reasoning behind it. It immediately develops as a motif used often throughout the first chapter. His narration paints a much more ideal and realistic picture to the reader of what being a soldier was truly like in the Vietnam war.
"The things they carried were largely determined by necessity." (page 2)
"What they carried was partly a function of rank, partly of field specialty." (page 5)
"They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." (page 7)
"What they carried varied by mission." (page 8)
"The things they carried were determined to some extent by superstition." (page 12)
"They carried their own lives. The pressures were enormous." (page 15)
"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die." (page 20)
Each time I reread this phrase, it made me realize just how much these men had at stake. They carried essential items, items for fun, ones for protection, and others for survival. There was nothing happy or easy about being a soldier. It was a lifestyle of fear, hard work, and bearing things that seemed impossible to carry all at once - whether being tangible or intangible. Then it made me start to think about my experience on summer field studies this past summer. When I was on backcountry, I thought I might collapse trying to carry all that ridiculously heavy gear uphill at once. But that must have been how these soldiers felt every step of the way through the terrain of Vietnam. It made me feel bad for complaining when it could have been a much worse situation. At least when I got to the end of the trail there was relief and good times to look forward to. I don't think that was ever the case with these men. I was luckier than I realized.
"The things they carried were largely determined by necessity." (page 2)
"What they carried was partly a function of rank, partly of field specialty." (page 5)
"They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." (page 7)
"What they carried varied by mission." (page 8)
"The things they carried were determined to some extent by superstition." (page 12)
"They carried their own lives. The pressures were enormous." (page 15)
"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die." (page 20)
Each time I reread this phrase, it made me realize just how much these men had at stake. They carried essential items, items for fun, ones for protection, and others for survival. There was nothing happy or easy about being a soldier. It was a lifestyle of fear, hard work, and bearing things that seemed impossible to carry all at once - whether being tangible or intangible. Then it made me start to think about my experience on summer field studies this past summer. When I was on backcountry, I thought I might collapse trying to carry all that ridiculously heavy gear uphill at once. But that must have been how these soldiers felt every step of the way through the terrain of Vietnam. It made me feel bad for complaining when it could have been a much worse situation. At least when I got to the end of the trail there was relief and good times to look forward to. I don't think that was ever the case with these men. I was luckier than I realized.
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