Tim O Brien Rhetorical Analysis

People perceive soldiers as strong, brave and young heroic men who march in parades, win glorious battles, bring enemies to their knees and ironically promote peace and democracy to the world. These men are ready to put their lives on the line and fight and defend their country at whatever cost. Cowardice is far from the mind of mere individuals when the word “soldier” is mentioned. However, when Tim O’Brien allows his readers to get a glimpse into the lives of these men whom we gaze upon with great revere, crippling fear and paranoia gnaws at the mind of these men as they trudge through the battlefields. The main reason for war is a contradiction in itself; a gruesome fight which results in the death of many and and the main goal is to restore …show more content…
O'Brien recalls a day when he and Mitchell Sanders were assigned to pick up twenty-seven bloated enemy bodies. In that moment, death hits home and Mitchell Sanders tells O'Brien: “death sucks,”(243) by saying this he sums up the emotions one feels whenever death is present and describes it as “sucking.” The author uses this ironic device to help readers understand how important it is to maintain a positive attitude during war. He uses a casual and nonchalant word like “sucks” to describe the grave thing the soldiers are there for and some, even afraid of: Death. If soldiers have nothing to live for then there is no point in war and protecting their nation. By maintaining a positive attitude, soldiers have something to live for, it encourages them to protect themselves from the enemy and return safely home to their love ones. Another example of irony is that Lavender used drugs to calm himself. He was a careful soldier. While his mates were waiting on his dead body to be transported, they found marijuana on him. Instead of disposing of this drug, they end up smoking it. It is ironic because Ted Lavender was a brave soldier who seemed at peace but in reality he was