When people hear stories, most of the time they can tell if they are real, but sometimes it can be hard to tell. Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried shows his and the experiences of many other soldiers in the Vietnam War. He describes all the horrible things they see, what they feel, and the impact of the war on them. Along with the memories of war, he also includes the art of writing and the importance of stories. In some of the chapters, O’Brien even writes about events that never actually happened. According to Tim O’Brien’s criteria, “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” is a true war story because it is hard to believe, it does not suggest proper human behavior, and it is not uplifting.
Since “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” …show more content…
Near the end of the chapter, Mary Anne becomes a part of the war. She enjoys being in the war. She tells her Mark Fossie, her boyfriend, “I want to eat this place [Vietnam] …. When I’m out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it’s like I’m full of electricity…You can’t feel like that anywhere else” (106). She loves the feeling of being in the war and Vietnam. Her attitude about the war is not very uplifting. It is as if she never wants to leave Vietnam and has no intention of returning home to her old life. The sad part about Mary Anne’s story is that she becomes so attached to the war that she does not care about anything else. This puts an end to Mark Fossie and her relationship. In the end of the chapter, Mary Anne vanishes into the jungle. Rat Kiley finds out “Nobody was ever found. No equipment, no clothing” (110). She was lost in the jungles of Vietnam, though some people believed she was alive and ready for the kill. It is tragic to see how she once planned on living a perfectly, happy life with her boyfriend and now she was lost in the jungles of Vietnam. This not so uplifting story of Mary Anne fits in nicely O’Brien’s Criteria of a true war …show more content…
Throughout the chapter, Mary Anne’s actions seem unrealistic and a bit exaggerated. Many of O’Brien’s stories in the novel have most of the criteria of a true war story. By using this technique, O’Brien makes the story more realistic and lets the reader feel connected. Sometimes, he has to make up events only to let the reader understand what war really is and what it does to people. In his novel, he tries to show that not all good things always happen in a war as in most shown in the war movies. A war has numerous downsides,
Since “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” …show more content…
Near the end of the chapter, Mary Anne becomes a part of the war. She enjoys being in the war. She tells her Mark Fossie, her boyfriend, “I want to eat this place [Vietnam] …. When I’m out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it’s like I’m full of electricity…You can’t feel like that anywhere else” (106). She loves the feeling of being in the war and Vietnam. Her attitude about the war is not very uplifting. It is as if she never wants to leave Vietnam and has no intention of returning home to her old life. The sad part about Mary Anne’s story is that she becomes so attached to the war that she does not care about anything else. This puts an end to Mark Fossie and her relationship. In the end of the chapter, Mary Anne vanishes into the jungle. Rat Kiley finds out “Nobody was ever found. No equipment, no clothing” (110). She was lost in the jungles of Vietnam, though some people believed she was alive and ready for the kill. It is tragic to see how she once planned on living a perfectly, happy life with her boyfriend and now she was lost in the jungles of Vietnam. This not so uplifting story of Mary Anne fits in nicely O’Brien’s Criteria of a true war …show more content…
Throughout the chapter, Mary Anne’s actions seem unrealistic and a bit exaggerated. Many of O’Brien’s stories in the novel have most of the criteria of a true war story. By using this technique, O’Brien makes the story more realistic and lets the reader feel connected. Sometimes, he has to make up events only to let the reader understand what war really is and what it does to people. In his novel, he tries to show that not all good things always happen in a war as in most shown in the war movies. A war has numerous downsides,