60th Soldier Narrative

Within the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story,” O’Brien writes about a story that Mitchell Sanders recounts to be true. The surrealist part is when Sanders talks about how they heard noises within the forests of Nam. Sanders says, “...but after a while they start hearing -you won’t believe this- they hear chamber music… Then after a while they hear gook opera and a glee club…” (Pg. 71). When he says this he is really adding details to pad the story up. Like when Sanders say, “The whole country. Vietnam. The place talks. It talks. Understand? Nam - it truly talks.” (Pg. 71). He means to say that he added those things that they heard because there were sounds they heard that couldn’t be explained. Later on he says that those things they heard

As you know I am writing to you from the trenches of the western front in France. The United States of America joined this heinous war in the spring of nineteen hundred seventeen. We joined the fight because of the sinking of the Lusitania and when the German Kiaser sent the note to Mexico to convince them to put themselves against us to assure we will not go to war in Europe. That did not go through because the economic condition of Mexico is not that good enough to fight in a war with the United States.

Have you ever been hesitant to share a true story because you suspected that it would appear as a fabricated anecdote to your audience? Well, most of the time we add bunch of things or change a true story to make it sound genuine to our audience. We live in a judgmental and complex world where lying has become a part of our daily lives. Because of this habit, it is hard to differentiate the truth from a fabricated lie. Since I was a child, my parents always talked about battle of Adwa and many events that took place centuries ago. It is always amusing to listen to those stories because it is about heroic act that most of the kings of Ethiopia accomplished. Although I heard different versions of these stories, I always tend to believe my parents’ version. The reason is not simply the credibility of my parents’, but the way it was presented. According to the short story, “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’ Brien, a true war story is hard to accept as true because some of the most agonizing parts are true, while some of the natural parts are not. Tim O’Brien’s narrative shows that a storyteller has the power to shape listeners’ views. We can change our perception because of the story teller, and neglect the fact that we are avoiding the actuality. Therefore by listening to different versions of a story, it will actually help the reader find greater truth of the story.

Troop 1324 consisted of about fifteen, second grade girls. We were all wonderfully and vastly different from each other, which made our troop more extraordinary. Looking back, a majority of girls in my troop came from broken places. Abigail Several of these second grade girls had divorced parents, family members with illnesses, disabilities, and faced some traumatic situations. Our troop was showered with hardships, but it only brought us closer to one another. It wired us to become a

Darkness surrounds the evening sky. The stars were peeking out from their dark home. It looked as if God took a straight pin, poked a sheet of paper with tiny holes. Crickets softly played their symphony as the world slept. James laid in his bunk, staring off into the darkness. He wondered what the day had in store for him. The night watchman quietly walked his route, like a thief in the night.

The long 172 days had finally passed, and the day I had been waiting for, for months, had finally come. We were in Chicago for my One Direction concert, the day couldn’t have come faster. The agonizingly slow hours that passed that day was too much to bear. Before arriving at Soldier Field, I was highly anticipating meeting one of my closest friends, Jessica, for the first time. It’s actually rather incredible to me, we first were introduced on social media, we didn’t know each other at all, all we knew was that we both loved the same band, and we were both going to the same concert. Prior to meeting for the first time, we were restricted to Skyping each other almost every other day and texting every day.

Themes and symbols are key components to writing a novel. In the novel A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, Beah utilizes a variety of themes and symbols throughout the book some more dominant than others. Instead of using words Beah uses symbols to underscore his central theme of freedom because words just cannot explain the freedom he experienced in his life. Three symbols that he uses effectively include the guns when he realizes that even though guns are bad they can be used for good reasons, his cassettes when he realized that music means much more than just entertainment to him and lastly the moon when he realizes that the smallest things in life always guides you in the right direction.

When I first read the story, I saw it solely from a structuralist perspective. I thought about the conflict and the characters and wrote about what they represented. As I revisited the story, I realized that there were many other literary perspectives that were present in the text. I understood more concepts and saw symbolism that went unnoticed during the initial reading. The research and discussion with classmates not only strengthened my initial inferences regarding the theme of the story, oppression, and the symbolism in the story, but also broadened my understanding of the story.

1. O’Brien believed that the war was unjust for both himself and many others. He received his draft notice only two weeks after graduating from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Although he studied political science while there, he tried everything he could to ignore the ongoing Vietnam War. With attending peace vigils and war protests, he was ready to attend Harvard University’s School of Government to earn his Ph.D. Since he was “politically naive”, it was hard for him to understand why he had to risk his life for a cause he did not believe in. This idea resonated with other characters.

It’s June 5, 1944, the day before D-day. The 101st Airborne Division led by their vigorous lieutenant Alex Hodulik is deployed behind enemy lines and they are known as paratroopers. The soldiers mission was to anchor the corps southern flank and to destroy the 2nd defense of the German forces on the hazardous beach. The day before the mission was a go, I lieutenant Alex Hodulik, was informed by my commanding officer that we have a few replacements for those who have fallen in our division. Little did I know, my little brother had volunteered for the paratroopers. “The replacements just showed up,” yells sergeant Ryan, “there's my little brother.” I immediately ran to him and asked, “Why the hell did you join the paratroopers? You had

War is something that is inevitable; it is something that cannot be stopped, something that is destined to happen. No one can really explain what a war is like without being in one, for none of those people can feel the pain and anguish of losing their family in a time of crisis, or running away in order to save their life. But when Ishmael Beah shares his story of the war he was in, Beah is able to describe the war in Africa in his memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, in such a way that is truly astonishing and is “a breathtaking and […] a truly riveting memoir” (Belinda Luscombe, Time).

The Vietnam war was a fight that almost lasted fifteen years. With two hundred and eighty two thousand allied deaths. Soldiers dealt with the grueling fear and pain of comrades dying, not knowing if they would live to see their families again. Over twelve thousand miles from home. Tim O’Brien describes the many ways men deal with the uncertain fear and death around them, often in surprising ways.

Four years have passed since her sister was murdered. Four years and little had change. At least little changed in a positive way. Analeigh pretended to be the happy child. She acted exactly how everyone: her family and the public, expect a Remington to act. She wasn't happy. She was broken. Beyond broken: she felt as if four years ago her entire world came crumbling down and she was left this damaged little girl that once was known as Delilah Remington. Delilah. A name that she refused to use. She wouldn't even answer if someone tried to call her by her first name, now she was known as Analeigh Remington. She was still a Remington and her family was still insanely wealthy. It has caused problems, Analeigh had people at school or wherever she

The man then suddenly glistened with joy as he thought his efforts bore fruition. The joy was short lived however as The Shadow began to speak with a thunderous voice and said, “you have become the embodiment of the crass blob like creature that tried to kill you once. You are now a creature of the night as your heart is foul and forever wretched.” And just as The Shadow said his final word he melted into the shadows and back into the shadowy dominion in which he reigned. The man apparently took no heed to The Shadow’s words as all of the guilt and regret he had felt earlier had just washed away like a shell on the sand of a shore. He laughed hysterically and madly as he planned to meet The Shadow once again and again. The Shadow now aware of the man’s sinister future efforts decided to take matters into his own hands. He arose once more from the shadows and confronted the man just as he was about to reach for the door handle which led outside and towards his next victim. The Shadow thunderously said “I have vowed to never harm or kill a human being, however you are no longer human and must be stopped. I regret saving your life.” The Shadow then proceeded to raise both of his hands and grip the man’s neck with enough force to easily break his neck and drop his already soulless body onto the hardwood floor. After that incident The Shadow hasn’t mentally been the same and is now referred among the darkness and its abominations as the Grim

a. The Army is an skilled continuously improving professionals who are united by shared ethics, a common culture, and traditions. The American Soldier is an expert in his craft who is a guardian or American ethics and empowered to administer scaled force in support of upholding American policies defined in the U.S.