Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong

In response to Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong, by Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried

Describe the changes in Mary Anne Bell from the time she arrived in vietnam to be with her boyfriend until the end of the chapter.

Mary Ann Bell was able to stay at the platoon her boyfriend, Mark Fossie was based at. When she first arrived she was very lady like and proper. The soldiers saw women as someone to comfort men and make their lives easier. Then she quickly changed in Vietnam, she became almost fearless and wanted to help in the war but unlike the soldiers she embraced the vietnamese culture. She learns some vietnamese and learns to cook. Some of the soldiers were hurt and she jumped at the chance to help them. When Mary Anne disappears for the night Fossie finds her with a necklace made of tongues.

Why do you think she changed? What did the change symbolize? How long did the metamorphosis take?

Mary Anna Changed because she embraced the culture she was surrounded by. The soldiers in her boyfriend's platoon ignored the vietnamese culture, they did this so that they could be less passionate about the people and it would be easier to fight them. Her change did not take long it only took a few weeks.

Does it matter that Mary Anna is a women ? How so? What does the story tell us about

the nature of the vietnam war?

Yes it does matter that Mary Anna is a women. There were no women that served in the vietnam war so she was surrounded by men and obviously treated differently than the men. The men saw her as a  caregiver more than a normal person and just wanted her to comfort them. This shows that soldiers in the vietnam war was ignorant to the culture around them.

Field Trip

The Things They Carried

In the response to the chapter "Field Tip" in the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

In the chapter “Field Trip” why did O'Brien not only go back to the field that Kiowa died at, but why did he bring his daughter?

In earlier chapters O'Brien says that he doesn't want to talk about the war with his daughter and doesn't want to tell her he killed someone. Yet he takes her to a spot that has heavy significance to him from the vietnam war. I believe O’Brian was hoping he could get closer from seeing the same place that his comrade kiowa died at in a different light and different time. People with traumatic experiences often go back to the place that they experienced trauma years later to find closure. He brought his daughter because he wanted her to know about the was and that he is still in pain. She was to young to understand at the time what was going on (since it was her tenth birthday)  and paid more attention to the tour guide doing tricks rather than the sites they were visiting. O’Brien desperate for closure jumps into the murky water field and scares his daughter.

Beat Poetry

Inspired by "Speak Out" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and beat poet

You are living in the dream country. You are so lucky to live in a country that gives you freedom and equality. Or so they say. You stand there silently along with your parents and classmates silent, silent of the fact that your society treats your brother differently than you. Remember liberty and justice for all. "You should never walk alone at night, you will look like an easy victim ". "Don't wear that unless you want to get raped ". "Don't drink too much the boys will take advantage of you". Yet when boys hit girls in kindergarten all they say is "boys will be boys". Then when you ask why your brother can stay out longer than you at night your father replies "Because he's a boy we don't have to worry about him". Teaching boys that raping girls isn't OK we blame the victims. "They can't control themselves cover your shoulders ". "Don't wear those short shorts your distracting the boys from their education". "If your shirt is that low they can't pay attention in class". Our society asks victims questions like "what were you wearing?" and "were you drinking?" because if they get depicted as "asking for it" it's their fault. Yet a lot stand silent and don't speak out what they know is right. I will not let societal acceptance of sexism in our country silenced me from what I know to be wrong and I never want my future daughter to be told "don't worry he just likes you" when a boy called her mean names in school and I never want her to question if what's she's wearing makes her look like a victim. I hope she will not stay in silence like many do.

What They really carried in "The Things They Carried"

In response to The Things They Carried 

What did the troops in The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien actually carry? O’Brien tells his story of being in the Vietnam war and also the stories of others through characters he created to represent those who he fought alongside with. As readers, we are told in the beginning a long list of all the things each soldier physically carried with them each day and the weight that those items were. This was written by the author so we could get an understanding of what the soldiers had to do each day. Some of the things they all had to carry for example where, “can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of cool aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, military payment certificates, c rations and two or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between 15 and 20 pounds”(The Things They Carried, O’Brien). The author then goes into what each individual person carried in his platoon, for example, ted lavender carried tranquilizers they author explains that he carried these because he “was scared”(O’Brien). Ted lavender also carried dope “which for him was a necessity”(O’Brien). So obviously each soldier had to carry things emotionally and mentally also. As the book goes on we are able to know more and more about each character. We are able to see that O’Brian had to carry shame with him though the war because he joined the war even though it was something he was against, for fear that others would speak badly of him. Jimmy Cross carried grief with him because he wants so badly to be with the women that he loved, he carried each letter that she wrote him and would read them every night dreaming of being with her. Dobbins would wrap his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck when he would go into battle, and when she broke up with him he still wore them around his neck because he thought they were a good luck charm. Dobbins was an example of someone who needed to believe in superstitions and good luck charms to distract themselves from the war. In the end, each soldier carried more than just physical items, they carried grief, shame, sadness, anxiety and each one had to hold onto hope and superstition to not go crazy from the war.