Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

Mary Anne has transformed into a killer because of how long she has been there. Unlike the men, she has become a part of the war and has embraced Vietnam. All the injuries, deaths, and losses she has seen have opened her mind to understanding what is going on in the war. This changes her and shows her all the violence that has taken place in Vietnam and all the ignorance of the people back in her home. Because she is a woman, the men there expect her to be sweet and pretty all the time. They all loved her because she reminded them of the girls back home and also because she was the only lady around. The men were different from Mary Anne in the way that they were all there because they had to be, not because they wanted to be. Mary Anne wasn't afraid of what she saw and what was happening. She sort of became a savage, but wasn't afraid of her changes.

O’Brien lets Rat Kiley tell this part of the story because he is more likely to exaggerate. O'Brien keeps on saying that a story that seems true might not necessarily be true. He tries to get us to understand that just because stories may seem real while reading them does not mean that it has actually happened or taken place in real life. He lets Kiley tell the story to show us how exaggeration can seem so real, but might not be true.

Spin

"All that peace man, it feels so good it hurts. I want to hurt it back."

A war is a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state. From this definition we can conclude that a war is a time of disagreement and chaos. If there is chaos or disagreement between two people or groups then how can there be peace? Usually when there is a war, it is because of a disagreement between two groups. And generally when there is disagreement, there is no peace between the two groups.

This logic is reflected in the quote above. O’Brien is trying to show that because this is a war then there shouldn't be peace at all. In situations like these it is silly to find peace while others are fighting for their lives. The peace doesn't feel right because it evokes such a good feeling during a time of pain and agony. He wants to hurt it because it does not belong in such a place, where there is a war happening, the opposite, or antonym of peace.

War Letters

Dear Mom,
I hope you are fine. Here we are moving quickly from base to base, though there is no telling when I will come home. I hope to see you soon, I really miss you and I miss home. It is hard to get used to the idea that this is war. Although it seems like I will will never come home, I have a feeling that this will be over soon. I am fine and you don't need to worry about me. Thank you for all the letters you have sent me, they really keep my hopes up and they seem to bring me luck. I'll see you soon.
Love,
Gaetane

If I were sent to war, I would definetly write to my mom because I know that she would try to cheer me up. I would tell her that I missed her and that I thought it would be over soon. I would want to give her hope and tell her that I would be home soon. I wouldn't want her to worry about me because I wouldn't want to give her more to think about. I would keep some information away from her like how some of the soldiers had already died because that would scare her even more. The letter above is short because if I were at war, I wouldn't want to write alot because I would end up writing about how scared I was and everything that was going on. There would be no reason for me to give her more to worry about.

The Things They Carried

 

To be honest, I don't have any items that I take everywhere. If I have a purse with me, all that would really be in it would be a really crappy phone, gum, probably a pencil, a piece of paper. Most girls would probably carry their lipstick, makeup, and BlackBerrys in their handbags, but I really don't think that's necessary. I mean, if I had a nicer phone than my nokia that only good for calling, then that would be something that would always be with me, but other than that, I have to admit that all I carry around most of the time is a pencil and piece of paper.

I really enjoy drawing; usually I draw people with sad, angry, happy faces, and many other emotions that I am feeling. Because of this, I always bring along a pencil and piece of paper with me. I find drawing quite entertaining if I am stuck somewhere with nothing to do. I am one of those people that always considers the "what ifs" in any sort of situations. I say to myself, "what if I end up bored and have nothing to do?" and end up bringing along a pencil to doodle and draw whatever comes up into my mind. Something else I like to carry with me is gum. I think that chewing gum is relaxing if you are nerves about something or if you are in a bad mood. I like chewing gum because it gives you something to do if you are just walking or standing there.

I usually don't carry a purse of bag outside of school because I always feel like I'm going to forget it somewhere, but when I do, I almost always bring a pencil, with paper, and gum.

The Vietnam War

I can't pretend that I know a lot about the Vietnam War. I have heard about it in the past, but except for that I couldn't provide many facts about it if anyone asked me. Before the discussion we had in class all I really knew about the Vietnam War was that it was fought in Vietnam, the U.S. military was involved, and that it certainly was catastrophic. I didn't know much about it and didn't have many relevant questions, though, as we started discussing the topic in class and we had to write down things or facts that we were interested in knowing, I started wondering about how many casualties there were, what was the cause of the war, what impacts did it have, and what other people thought about it.

Many facts that I learned were based on others' inputs and knowledge. I had no great facts to contribute, though listening to the rest of the class I learned many interesting information. I learned that the war was fought because of communism, that America supported (paid) for the war, and that it was the first "living-room war". The Vietnam War resulted in 304,000 casualties, the death of 58,000 Americans, 61% of which were 21 or older, and that 75,000 people were severely disabled. Learning about all these facts, I realized that the war was a catastrophic event that scarred all those who were a part of it, who lived, and whose lives were taken.