Summary: After Curt Lemon died O'Brien found it hard to mourn him for he didn't know him that well and what he did know he was unimpressed with. O'Brien says its easy to get sentimental over the dead and with that he begins his story of Lemon. They were working on an operation called Rocket Pocket when a dentist is flown in to check everyone's teeth. While waiting for their check up it was obvious that Lemon was anxious. When he was asked about what his problem was he said that in high school he had a bad experience with dentists and they just give him the creeps. When called in for his inspection Lemon fainted even before the Doctor touched him. Later that night Lemon woke the dentist up claiming to have a killer toothache and the dentist couldn't find a problem but with Lemon's insisting the Doctor pulled a perfectly good tooth relieving the solider.
Response: I think the point O'Brein was trying to make in this chapter is that Physical pain is much easier to cope with than mental upset and I think many can agree with that. Lemon is the solider who acts all tough yet is scared of a mere dentist its rather ironic because he is so fearless yet is so unsettled at the sight of a silly dentist. When Lemon faints he is extremely embarrassed and torments himself for the rest of the day and later hiss inner pain is put at rest when he has the dentist pull his perfectly good tooth. The next morning when Curt Lemon shows off his pulled tooth he is proud because he faced his fear and can in a way redeem himself for fainting earlier.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Enemies and Friends
Summary of Enemies: One day Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk get into a fight over a missing jackknife that Jensen is convinced Strunk has stolen. Jensen breaks Strunk’s nose and continues to beat him. After the incident Jensen is constantly on the defense believing Strunk is going to take revenge against him. After some time of little to no sleep and unrest Jenson breaks his own nose to make he and Strunk even, Which Strunk laughs about after admitting he did steal the jackknife.
Summary of Friends: Jensen and Strunk learn to trust each other again and decide to make a pact that if one of them were to ever be seriously injured or have to spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair the other would kill them to put them out of their misery. a day comes when Strunk's lower leg is blown off my a mortar round and in and out of his consciousness he continues to beg Jensen not to kill him. Strunk was taken by helicopter and Jensen is later informed that he had passed away during his trip and is relieved by it.
Response: It was the fact that they were in the context of war that made Jensen uneasy because it would be so easy for Strunk to strike with revenge and because Jensen already fells the need to be on guard in the environment that he's in. When Jensen breaks his nose Strunk laughs because in his eyes they had already been settled, if you steal you are punished. In Friends the two men become close again and when Strunk loses his leg Jensen couldn't kill them despite their deal. I can only imagine that going through with that pact would have been awful it wasn't something Jensen wanted to do and Strunk begged him not to so he didn't I would have probably done the same thing. The reason for Jensen's relief must have been that the deal was followed through and he didn't have to do any killing.
Summary of Friends: Jensen and Strunk learn to trust each other again and decide to make a pact that if one of them were to ever be seriously injured or have to spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair the other would kill them to put them out of their misery. a day comes when Strunk's lower leg is blown off my a mortar round and in and out of his consciousness he continues to beg Jensen not to kill him. Strunk was taken by helicopter and Jensen is later informed that he had passed away during his trip and is relieved by it.
Response: It was the fact that they were in the context of war that made Jensen uneasy because it would be so easy for Strunk to strike with revenge and because Jensen already fells the need to be on guard in the environment that he's in. When Jensen breaks his nose Strunk laughs because in his eyes they had already been settled, if you steal you are punished. In Friends the two men become close again and when Strunk loses his leg Jensen couldn't kill them despite their deal. I can only imagine that going through with that pact would have been awful it wasn't something Jensen wanted to do and Strunk begged him not to so he didn't I would have probably done the same thing. The reason for Jensen's relief must have been that the deal was followed through and he didn't have to do any killing.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
The Things They Carried
Summary: The first story opens with an examination of what Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries which except for gear is everything from Martha. Cross has letters from Martha and two photographs along with a good luck pebble that he carries in his mouth. Cross cherishes all these especially in the late afternoon after a days march where he can reminisce over their memories and wonder whether she is a virgin or not. Cross wants Martha to love him back but understands that when she signs "Love Martha" it means something different. The things they carried were determined on their survival factor, personality, rank, and priorities. All men carry the weight of memory and the Vietnam war itself. Every solider had a load to "hump". Tim O'Brien also discusses the story of when Lavender was shot and killed. He gives us little to work with but we know so far that he was walking back from going to the restroom and was shot and dropped "like cement". Lieutenant Cross accepts the blame for this incident and burns everything Martha sent and gave him.
Reflection: Lieutenant Cross blames his fantasizing of Martha and their life together after the war on the death of Lavender because it caused him to be negligent. This tells me that Cross is going to be someone who is very hard on themselves but will make changes if necessary. Martha was a major part of the lieutenant and he did his best to delete her from his life. Tim O'Brien, I believe, uses weight to portray the toll of the war on the men. Even the weights that vary such as for the different jobs like the medic carries more weight as he has a larger responsibility than an ordinary soldier because he will be trying to save the injured. Most of the emotional weight is inexperience and youth. They are conflicted when their friend Lavender dies because as they are sad they also have a sense of relieve that they are still alive.
Reflection: Lieutenant Cross blames his fantasizing of Martha and their life together after the war on the death of Lavender because it caused him to be negligent. This tells me that Cross is going to be someone who is very hard on themselves but will make changes if necessary. Martha was a major part of the lieutenant and he did his best to delete her from his life. Tim O'Brien, I believe, uses weight to portray the toll of the war on the men. Even the weights that vary such as for the different jobs like the medic carries more weight as he has a larger responsibility than an ordinary soldier because he will be trying to save the injured. Most of the emotional weight is inexperience and youth. They are conflicted when their friend Lavender dies because as they are sad they also have a sense of relieve that they are still alive.
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