Sweetheart of the song tra bong

i think that Vietnam in some way corrupted Mary Anne. She started off as sweet normal girl who came to visit her boyfriend and turned into a whole different person. Im not sure if Mary Anne exactly understood what was going on around her so she adapted to it the way no one could ever imagine she could adapt. I dont think that a soldier ever seen such a thing where the enviroment could change the way a person acted completely. they may have been used to seeing it in soldiers but a young girl like Mary Anne was different. I Felt some sympathy for Fossie but i also think he is to blame. if he would have kept her in the states and had a long distance relationship with her just like other soldiers had to endure maybe she wouldnt have lost her sanity.

The Dentist

This chapter gave me more insight on Curt Lemon Character, but it also had me asking a lot of questions. I wanted to know things like why exactly was he scared of the dentist? Why did he go when the others weren't around? I think he had a little too much pride to be in pain around others. I just wanted to know why he got a tooth taken out for no reason. i think he felt a pain deeper than what anybody could have imagined inside.

How To Tell A True War Story

This chapter had a lot of beautiful imagery. From the way Curt Lemon death was described to the story Marcus Sanders told Tim O'Brien. I think out of all of the chapters before this one the stories actually had a meaning to them. Which was the point of this chapter to explain the difference between a true story and an over exaggerated one. Tim O'Brien does a great job at giving examples of true war stories and false war stories. The way he deciphers the difference between them are really strong techniques. I think my favorite description was the story of Rat Kiley and the baby buffalo. The story as a whole was a sad story but the way that Tim O'Brien captured the imagery shot by shot to the baby buffalo. While reading it I felt bad for the buffalo just as much as i did for Rat Kiley. I understood the fact that he wanted to buffalo to feel as much pain as he did from losing his best friend but honestly I think The buffalo felt a different kind of pain from Rat. Rat felt a pain that the buffalo may could never feel in its life time but i think Rat wanted someone else to share pain with. 

Friends & Enemies

This story was seemed like a test of friendship to me. The way they hated each other in the chapter enemies and how they became close friends at the end. In those two chapters it showed how soldiers had short fuses and wanted to fight over the smallest things.

On the Rainy River

This chapter is my favorite so far. I really enjoy how it introduces Tim O'Brien as a character not just a narrator. the story of how he struggled with his decision about going to the war interest me. It showed me how millions of young men might of felt when they got the letter of being drafted. I also like how he admitted that Elroy Berdahl "Saved him". He gave so much insight into his life at this moment in this chapter. I feel as though i really got to know Tim on a more personal level. He was one of the people who thought the war was wrong. Which at the time in America there were people for the war and against it so it divided America in ways no one was really expecting. I think from this chapter on the direction of the book is going to change and we will see how the war really affected the young men lives.

Love & Spin

These two chapters where short but full of interesting things that happened after the war. In the chapter love, we find out what happens between Martha and Jimmy. The questions a reader may have had could be answered. We also learn more about Tim & Jimmy friendship. it goes more in depth about it. We find out more about how they dealt with their problems when they came home. We learn more about Tim as a character also. In Spin we get more detail about the war and it introduces a new character named poppa-san and they talk about how they missed him when they left. After reading Spin i got understood other characters a bit better and i got more of a sense of what the life of a n American solider in Vietnam was like. How they either was in on the battle field or just simply waiting. It described it as boredom, "the kind of boredom that caused stomach disorders". Each chapter gives you a look at the persons life now and their life then in the war.

Things They Carried

In this chapter it tells you what every man brought along. Tim O'Brien being the author and the narrator of the story gave an in depth description each thing. How much it weighed and what each object was used for. When i started to read the chapter i thought that the it was just going to be a list of the things that one or two people brung with them on their journey around Vietnam but i soon learned that it was much more to it than that. each man had a reason behind everything he carried. they had physical, emotional and mental connections to each item they carried. For example the way Jimmy Cross loved Martha. He loved Martha so much that at times he couldnt focus on the war. Even though he wasn't physically attached to Martha, he was mentally and emotionally attached. Whether she was to him or not. I think him being in love with Martha gave him a sense of hope and a reason to want to keep fighting the war.