abducted by vietnam
It has been estimated that over 2 million people died in the Vietnam War, and an additional 3.6 million were wounded. These staggering numbers give some example of the terrible bloodshed each individual soldier either witnessed or participated in on a daily basis. The Things They Carried, a captivating collection of Vietnam War stories written by Tim O'Brien, gives readers a closer, more personalized look at what happened in Vietnam through the eyes of the participants. O'Brien pays special attention to the psychological effects the war had on the men in his book, showing how the daily routine affected them with lasting imprints that often went beyond just bad memories. Through the daily physical, emotional, and psychological strain it imposed on its participants, the Vietnam War permanently altered some aspect of the character of each soldier in The Things They Carried, transforming some into a person niether they nor close ones could ever have imagined. One of the least dramatic but most common effects the war had on the soldiers in O'Brien's book was desensitization. Throughout the different stories the reader s
Unfortunately, lasting psychological and emotional effects of the war go beyond simply bad memories. For some, the war noticeably altered their personalities. The fact that perhaps hundreds of thousands of veterans have attempted suicide since returning to America shows that their character had been altered enough so they found it hard to fit in with normal society once more. O'Brien gives the reader a very detailed, personalized example of this in the story of Norman Bowker found in "Speaking of Courage" and "Notes." Vietnam had become his world, and when he came home he found he just wasn't who he used to be and could no longer fit in, so he hung himself (155). In "Night Life" the reader sees how O'Brien's friend, Rat Kiley, became so overwhelmed by the war that he "finally hit a wall" (222), and possibly suffered permanent mental damage. By far the strongest example of an altered personality is found in the story, "Sweethart of the Song Tra Bong." When Mark Fossie brought his girlfriend, Mary Anne, over to Vietnam. She didn't handle being in the middle of a war like the rest of the soldiers at Fossie's detatchment. Rat Kiley, who
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 774
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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