1. According to Wes Hamilton, the soldiers went through a confusing first few weeks. It was definitely survival of the fittest. The senior soldiers would avoid the newbies in order to avoid possible death so the new soldiers were left on their own to learn how to survive out at Vietnam. The soldiers who stayed alive were finally accepted after a few weeks and given nicknames. The nicknames were fitting to their new personalities, the new person they had become in order to cope with the realities of war. These men were hardened and calloused and became men who lived and breathed for the war. These men learned pretty quick that if they didn't grow up fast, right then and there, they were going to die so they did mature, and I guess maybe a little too fast. They were like machines but humans cannot be machines so they were like immature children who, instead of learning how to communicate in a society, were taught how to point guns and shoot; no mercy. When these men returned to the states, they became vulnerable because they didn't know how to cope with the present society. They were done growing up, but now they were with people who had been nurtured in a completely different environment. The soldiers bodies were home but they themselves were essentially still lost at war. They remembered the people they could relate to that were very close to them during the war. The closeness of death and routine had brought them together like a family, so much that when they had returned home they couldn't deal with a new life. I believe the soldiers had a bigger connection with each other more so than most people who haven't had any hardships or the close proximity with danger and death like the soldiers had. So although they hadn't been on name terms, the nicknames were affectionate, almost childlike, and mirrors the children who had to grow up and become machines.
2. I think O' Brien was trying to convey the loss of innocence which a person, whether male or female, has to go through when stumbling upon some life changing realities. The person becomes aware and acquires knowledge whether they like it or not, and is faced with choices that they may not want to make. Usually reality offers us choices but we don't like what we have to choose from. We have to realize that there usually aren't any good choices, bad choices because most of them will all have negative outcomes. He shows this through Mary's choice to become engrossed in the war, and instead of fighting the changes she welcomes everything and becomes accustomed to the war. She starts to live for the war and the real-ness of it all: the gore, weapons, deaths, and being aware, all were appealing to Mary. Although Fossie tries to get her to be back to how she was as a happy college girl and go back to the states again, Mary knows that she cannot go back to being ignorant. She couldn't live the way she used to because she now knew the things that were going on and she couldn't live without doing nothing. So she ran away.
unfinished:
3.) O’Brien presents a reality of the Vietnam War and his personal experiences in a way that is neither totally true or totally false. How ‘true’ do you think he is being? How false? What are the advantages and/or disadvantages to presenting a memoir that falls in the middle of fiction and non-fiction? Does it even matter or distract from the story? (2 paragraphs)
Note: A paragraph is 5-7 complete sentences. If you feel so inclined, write a short paragraph and a poem to respond. Also, all of your responses MUST included some type of digital enhancement to support your response. For example, a song like, a YouTube video, a news article….be as creative as you like.
