Part of a dialoge between characters Dobbins and Kiowa when spending short time at a church with monks taking care of them...
"Well..I'm not the churchy type. When I was alittle kid, way back, I used to sit there on Sunday counting bricks on the wall. Church wasn't for me." Sais Dobbins.
Kiowa replied,"You're serious?"
"What's serious?" Dobbins said, "I was a kid. The thing is, I believed in God and all that, but it wasn't the religious part that interested me. Just being nice to people, that's all. Being decent."
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This short dialoge from the story of these two soldiers camping out in a church and being treated well by the monks that were there was used by the author to give the reader a sense of respect for the characters. They were staying in the church not really by choice but out of convenience. They were only there for a short time and were able to form a bond with each other and the monks that took care of them even though they couldn't speak english. I can relate to the dobbins character as in church leaving a bad taste in my mouth overall but still desiring to do good things for others. I think the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the short story of the church almost putting aside the idea that these were soldiers at war. Not only did it seam as if the soldiers got a little break from the hectic life thought of when at war, but they had a few moments to think and talk about things that two guys, especially soldiers, aren't supposed to talk about. I think that was the main goal of the author here, to draw attention to each soldier as a person with thier own thoughts, goals, and feelings, etc. It seems it's an attempt to take a break from all the bad things assiciated with war, even though the very next page begins with a graphic image of a war casualty.
Here is a link to a site that adresses current issues in vietnam regarding conflict of religious rights.
I agree that this passage personalizes the characters of the story, the soldiers and the Vietnamese. I think that the next page being a graphic image of a slain young man shows how the soldiers lived in extremes. One day they were sitting with the monks and on the next they are on a trail and Tim kills a young soldier. One minute they celebrate Strunk coming out of the tunnel and the next Lavender is dead. Living with the constant flux of emotion has got to really mess with a persons head.
ReplyDeleteI believe you do need an in text citation of the quote (O'Brien 121) and work cited. I could be wrong, looking back at it you did change it around. That would be one I'd ask about.
Hi Stephen,
ReplyDeleteWow what a great way to introduce what you are quoting. It gives a clear picture of what is going on and the reader is not just tossed in a story blindfolded. I appreciate how you were able to see what the author was trying to display by the idea that although soldiers are at war that does not de-civilize them from society. The art of being a solider does not classify a man as being a tough guy, they have feelings and emotions just like everyone else. I feel that you were able to point out the bond that people can have no matter what the situation may be.