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Gwen Gagnon

Period 5
Journal Entries
Chapter 2 Love (1): Treating this chapter as a short story, the single effect I got from
reading it was that Jimmy Cross was obsessed with the idea of Martha more than actually
loving her. He creates this idea that everyone's definition of love may vary and in this
case, Jimmy Crosss love for Martha seemed very forced with the pressures of war and
his love for Martha was because he needed something or someone stable to hold onto
during his time of need while fighting. One stylistic choice that added to this effect was
including the story of Martha and Jimmy reuniting years later and Jimmy still admitting
to the fact that he still loved her years later. I feel like this demonstrated how the war
affected his life and thoughts everyday and he was never able to move past the war
memories and Martha being one of these memories was someone he would never forget
or be able to move past.

Chapter 4 On the Rainy River (3): This chapter provoked a strong emotional response
from me as I was reading it. The narrator starts off describing his ordinary life as a 21
year old and everything he has accomplished in high school, but as the story goes on his
simple life is turned upside down. He has everything to live for, but his odds are not in
his favor. His reaction upon receiving his draft letter was not out of the ordinary. The old
man he met when his mission was to flee to Canada was simple, just like everything he
had known his whole life, but something about this man, Elroy Berdahl, sparked
something within me. His silence said everything that was needed to be said to the
narrator, yet he said nothing at the same time. The simple act of his company created a
bond between the two that left a lasting impression on the narrator up to this day and
that's remarkable. It shows me that some things are better left unsaid and that saying less
is more. While this is not with all cases, it differs from person to person the passion.
However, Elroys silence was what left me a little sentimental. This is because sometimes
I struggle to find the right words to say to people and this demonstrated to me that maybe
sometimes I do not necessarily need to say anything and I should be comfortable with
that idea.

Chapter 7 How to Tell a True War Story (2): If this chapter were to be set in a high
school rather than a war zone, I believe that the chapter title would indicate how a high
schooler is suppose to distinguish the facts from gossip in a high school setting. The
chapter entails a group of war stories that are not completely factual and are made up of
many details that are different every time the story is told. The main events that took
place in this story would look like teenagers spreading gossip or lies about people in high
school. In a high school setting there are plenty of rumors that spread around the school
and are many times not accurate or could be in spite of one another and in this case the
war stories being told are exaggerated exactly like how rumors are made up or
exaggerated in order make something that happened that was actually so small blow up
in someones face.

Chapter 9 Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong (4): In this chapter Mary Ann started out
as an innocent young teenager right out of high school, but when she returned with the
Greenies she was a changed person. War changed her. This war struck her curiosity in
all its glory, but the aspects of war were too much for her to handle and left her hard and
cold. I think OBrien is commenting on how when soldiers return home they are no
Gwen Gagnon
Period 5
longer the same person they were, they are different people then when they left for the
war. Most soldiers suffer from PTSD and can no longer handle their old routines, forcing
them to retreat back into their homes. I think Mary Ann retreated into the jungle with the
Greenies because of her curiosity and not being forced into the war like them men so it
was full of innocence, while the men were forced into it and it was out of their control.
Mary Ann didnt know how tremendously that war would affect her life, but when she
returned three weeks later, there was no turning back.

Chapter 12 The Man I Killed (5): In this chapter, OBrien addresses the art and
technique of writing through his repetitive detailed description of the body. He does this
by describing in detail the position of the body, the blood trickling and/or changing
colors, and the star shaped hole in one of his eyes. These descriptions demonstrate how
the soldiers/ narrator do not know anything about who they are killing. They are only able
to know their physical appearances, not their life stories or hopes and dreams, while they
are able to make references or infer different things about other soldiers or civilians they
do not really known who they are killing. That is why the description of the dead body
took such a tole on him because it is the only thing he will be able to truly know about
this person and it was how they left him there on that trail.

Journal Entries Part 2


Chapter 13 Ambush (3): In this chapter, OBrien comments on the aspects of how
traumatic war is. He describes the man he killed in an earlier chapter and what happened
from his point of view rather than in the other chapter when he described on the other
mans life story. The man he killed has had a lastly impact on his life and this
demonstrates why post traumatic stress disorder is so common among veterans, and the
ability to tell his story and write about it helps combat his loss for words on the subject
and honor his victim. The idea that this one man he killed has caused him to write
multiple stories and remember all the details about the remains of the man describes all
veterans traumatic losses during the time of war including their innocence and their
ability to cope and forget and move on from their pasts, thus the reasoning behind the
narrator finding the need to write multiple stories about one man he never knew.
Gwen Gagnon
Period 5
Chapter 15 Speaking of Courage (5): In this chapter OBrien addresses the art and
technique of writing through his use of dialogue and plot/flashbacks. OBrien uses
dialogue when he's talking to the waiter through the intercom and by his imaginary
discussions between Sally and her father. This gives you a sense of the guilt he's feeling
towards letting his friend, Kiowa sink into the mud and die because he choose to not fight
for him more and in his dialogue he confesses that if he was more brave Kiowa could still
be alive. Additionally, the plot of the story goes from his current state of driving in circles
around the lake to him coming up with imaginary conversations with Sally and her father
to flashbacks of being back in Vietnam. These attributions to the story allow the reader to
get a feeling for the narrator's life that could have been compared to the life he had
chosen and the person he has come to be. It allows one to realize that OBrien did not
choose this life for himself and if he could have chosen not to go to Vietnam he would
have wanted a wife and a little house on the water. This is partly why he continues to
drive in circles past Sally and her house because he doesn't want to go home to the life he
has now.

Chapter 16 Notes (3): This chapter provoked a strong emotional response from me
because I feel like Norman Bowker was never given clarity. His death was sudden and
unprovoked and it seemed like he took his life like it was as simple as jumping rope for
that day. He never got to read the final chapter OBrien wrote in his honor, never got to
hear or read the words of that story he had in his mind that he was not capable of putting
into words and maybe if he had read the story when it was in its best form he would have
felt as rest with the situation that he had blamed himself for. So many soldiers suffer from
multiple losses during the war and it impact them for their entire lives, possibly inhibiting
them from moving on with their lives. The death of Kiowa did not only leave Kiowa dead
in the mud but also Norman Bowker. He spent the rest of his years in jobs that he could
not keep for over 10 weeks showing how he was searching for something much more
with his life, but something would always be holding him back. He was looking for
something that could never be found, he was alone and his guilt was causing him to sink
just like Kiowa. The idea that soldiers cannot move on with their lives after doing
something with their lives so brave and honorable is heartbreaking. They are respected to
the highest amount and should always be given opportunities to carry on with their lives.
We should see to it that these soldiers are integrating into society with ease, not
struggling or taking their own lives over something everyone is afraid to do and that is
fight in a war.

Chapter 18 Good Form (2): If this chapter were set in a high school I think the title
would refer to how students should act towards one another, in good form. In high school
and other education systems bullying is a widespread phenomenon. In this chapter the
narrator proceeds to describe how he does not actually kill this man, but because he
was present at the time of the man's death he was guilty. In schools, there are many
bystanders or witnesses to situations in which a bully is present and choose to do nothing
or to not get involved in fear or just out of spite. However, being a bystander or a witness
is just as bad as being the bully themselves and should therefore be just as guilty as the
bully carrying out the action. In this situation it would look like the bystanders just
watching someone get bullied and not doing anything, but being present and not trying to
defend the victim makes them guilty. The narrator refers to many bodies, but he was too
Gwen Gagnon
Period 5
afraid to look and now 20 years later he faces faceless responsibility and faceless grief.
Bystanders may be too scared to directly stick up for someone being attacked by a bully
and in fear choose to ignore it, but years later there may come a time when they look
back and realize that they could have helped that person in need and will blame
themselves for not taking action when they had the chance.

Chapter 22 The Lives of the Dead (3): This chapter provoked a strong emotional
response from me because I think the aspect that stories can save us is completely
accurate to our society. There is not a single person who will ever be fully or completely
happy with their lives and stories always help improve these aspects we are not so fond
of, whether the stories may be more realistic or total fantasy. There is always room for
improvement, may it be to have more money, love, ability to travel, and higher education,
there is always something missing. I think our society uses entertainment as a distraction
from our everyday lives and these various forms of entertainment are mostly stories;
Reality T.V, movies, cartoons, booksetc. Our society cannot go a day without some
form of a story being told to distract us or have us become more engaged in a discussion.
This just strengthens the authors conclusion that stories can save us. The simple act of
just talking to a friend or family member usually entails a story. Nevertheless, while it
may seem that I am criticizing the aspect that our society cannot go a day without being
told a story, I believe that storytelling benefits our society. I feel as though it's sad that no
one is ever satisfied, but if storytelling is the distraction they need to continue moving
forward in this world then I think that this form of entertainment should continue or
develop even further.

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