Sweetheart of the Song of Tra Bong Essay

the world are free from conflict (Independent Digital News and Media, 2016). In “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” by Tim O’Brien the impact of war is displayed through the life alternating changes in a young woman named Mary Anne. Over the course of the story Mary Anne goes from innocent, enthusiastic, kind individual to a compulsive, aggressive, and apathetic one. A central theme of “The Song of the Tra Bong” is the powerful physical and mental altering effects of war. My story further demonstrates

One story from The Things They Carried that this quote is particularly evident in is, the “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” story. War is described by Tim O’Brien as “ mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love”, and most if not all of these emotions are evident in this story. The story of Mary Anne is full of mystery as see is transformed by the land and becomes less and less the girl she was when she arrived. Furthermore, terror

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the author uses literary devices of irony, characterization, and imagery which displays the complexity of how the author contributes to the novel as a whole. In the section ‘Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong’ Mary Anne becomes empowered with the war and it influenced her to make a future in the war. Rat Kiley is revealing the story of Mary Anne though it is troublesome to believe because the 1960s women were not allowed to enjoy war. However, the

Although there are various stories that resonate with the reader, the symbolism with Mary Anne and the common soldier in “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, connects the most with readers. In the story, “Sweetheart of the song Tra Bong”, the reader acknowledges the similarities between average soldier and Mary Anne through the use of other characters in the novel. In the beginning of the chapter, Rat Kiely decides to tell a story to the team about how a soldier decides to bring his girlfriend to

"story-truth," can, and O'Brien uses it liberally. Tim kills a guy on a trail and feels guilty about it, so he makes up a back-story for the kid in order to make the victim more human. Rat Kiley tells us the creepiest story in the world, "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," in which a good down-home American girl is seduced by the Vietnam War into becoming a creepy jungle killer. Later, Kiowa drowns in a field that's literally full of poop, and we start to talk about blame. Then, in "Good Form," O'Brien

effects of war, but they are presented in different ways. Both stories convey similar things because in “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” Mary Anne Bell represents home and likewise, in “The Things They Carried” Martha represents home. “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” features Mark Fossie’s girlfriend, Mary Anne Bell, who comes to visit him in Vietnam when there is minimal war action. She arrives dressed very clean and proper, with her hair done, and acting very ladylike. These were all

Imagine what would happen if a soldier invited someone to a war zone to be with them. One of the most notable chapters in Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried is “The Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong” which is about a soldier bringing his girlfriend to Vietnam. In this chapter, the story is told by Rat Kiley who has a “reputation for exaggeration and overstatement.” The story starts out with a few soldiers jokingly throwing around the idea of getting girls into their camp. However, after thinking

In the short story, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,” by Tim O’Brien, the author shows that no matter what the circumstances were, the people that were exposed to the Vietnam War were affected greatly. A very young girl named Mary Anne Bell was brought by a boyfriend to the war in Vietnam. When she arrived she was a bubbly young girl, and after a few weeks, she was transformed into a hard, mean killer.      Mark Fossie decided he was going to sneak his girlfriend onto

Mary Ann can be seen transforming in the chapter “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”. The transformations in the chapter take place at different times as the story progresses. The Mary Ann that is presented at the beginning of the chapter is a great contrast to the Mary Ann that we end the chapter with. The different transformations of Mary Ann that take place are physical, behavioral, and psychological. These different types of transformations can symbolize many different things, some of which will

are those that are between the absolutely unbelievable and the mundane. “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” is a tale about loss of innocence. Mary Anne Bell, arrives at Vietnam who soon feels drawn to the culture and the thrill of war. The character Rat Kiley tells a story of his first assignment in the mountains of Chu Lai, in a isolated area where he ran an aid station with several men near a river called the Song Tra Bong. One day, Eddie Diamond, the highest ranking man in his company, jokingly