Transformation in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong Essay

Transformation in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong In Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, Tim OBrien gives a dynamic example of how even the deep roots of ones culture can be modified. The focus is on the young lady, whose boyfriend manages to have her shipped over to Vietnam from the U.S. She is then thrown into a completely foreign culture that thousands of American GIs were experiencing. This change in culture affected the strongest and most skilled of Americas ground troops. The affects on a civilian are almost unfathomable. The sweetheart of the story is a young, American girl whose description identifies her as the stereotypical girl of the late 60s early 70s. A tall, big-boned blonde,/long legs and blue eyes and a†¦show more content†¦No cosmetics, no fingernail filing. She stopped wearing jewelry, cut her hair short and wrapped it in a dark green bandana. Hygiene was a matter of small consequence. (98). The bush had done to her what it had done to so many American soldiers. She had no idea how to survive in the conditions that she had taken on, but she learned. She learned how to disassemble an M-16, how the various parts worked,/ how to use the weapon/ she had a real knack for it./ In many ways she remained naà ¯ve and immature, still a kid, but Cleveland Heights now seemed very far away. (98). These changes were dramatic, but not extreme or drastic. However, the next few changes would be too much for Mark to handle. Twice/ she came in late at night. Very late. And then finally she did not come in at all. (99). Mark became worried that she might be sleeping with someone else. He woke up Rat and him go check out the barracks to see if Mary Anne was with any of the guys. All accounted for. No extras. (101). Then they got the idea that she was with the Greenies and she was, in a way. Mary Anne was out on Ambush with the Green Berets. Poor Mark Fossie tried to talk some sense into her, but it was to no avail. Before long Mary Anne was gone again, this time there would be no reckoning with her. She had made her decision to be where she felt she belonged. When Mark finally realized this, he was hit with an emotional artillery shell that could have takenShow MoreRelated Sweetheart of the Song of Tra Bong as Metaphor Essay1150 Words   |  5 PagesSweetheart of the Song of Tra Bong as Metaphor  Ã‚   The Vietnam War is a strange and unexplainable event in American history. The controversies surrounding the American involvement in Vietnam and the need for Vietnam veterans to tell their stories of the war are prevalent in the post-Vietnam culture of America. The stories that will last forever are those that swirl back and forth across the border between trivia and bedlam, the mad and the mundane(89). The story of the sweetheart of the SongRead MoreCharacter Analysis of Mary Anne Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong1305 Words   |  6 Pages English 1020 22 February 2012 Mary Anne Bell of â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong† by Tim O’Brian It is a well known fact that experiencing war changes people; there is an innocence that is forever lost. In Tim O’Brian’s, â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong†, Mary Anne Bell is an unusual example of the innocence that is lost in war because unlike the rest of the soldiers, she is a woman. Mary Anne’s transformation from innocent â€Å"sweetheart† to fierce warrior left readers with mixed emotions becauseRead MoreActuality In Tim OBriens The Things They Carried1123 Words   |  5 Pagesit made the reader feel. In â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,† Mark Fossie’s suppression of Mary Anne Bell and her desire for survival transforms her into a predatory killer as she discovers a new world in Vietnam where she no longer has to follow society’s rules. It doesn’t matter that Mary Anne is a woman, as a reader, because in the 21st century, women can do everything a man can do, but still rock a dress. Although, this story, â€Å"The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong† does tell us a lot about theRead MoreTim OBrians How to Tell a True War Story of the Things They Carried889 Words   |  4 Pages The Tim O’Brian’s short story, â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong†, Mary Anne Bell is a rare illustration of the innocence that is lost. In her attractive sweater, unblemished pants and free spirited attitude, no one could seem more faultless. She was the definition of a true young American teenager or at least that’s what they all assumed at first. In the beginning of the story, she is something noticeable to both the soldiers and the reader: she was expected to be a normal American girl who wantedRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Things They Carried 2036 Words   |  9 Pagesinnocently-looking culottes?! More Stephen King-like. Nevertheless, if we put all those amazingly unbelievable stories away, we are left with emotions. However, those emotions were supported by sceneries, noises, voices, weather and landscapes. Song Tra Bong The Quang Ngai province in Vietnam emulates a home-town in America.A reader is dragged from dusty and dirty backgrounds a nd the stuffed battlefields environment to a fresh and peaceful environment back home, feeling that Nature is different inRead MoreOn The Rainy River Chapter Analysis835 Words   |  4 PagesO’Brien said the chapter â€Å"On The Rainy River† is not a true story. The chapter is a fictionalized account of what would’ve happened if he ran away to avoid the draft like he wanted to. This same strategy was applied when he wrote â€Å"The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong†. While O’Brien was in Vietnam, Someone likely joked about how easy it would be to bring a girl to their base. He takes the concept and makes uses it as a vehicle to discuss innocence. We are even told in the beginning to the chapter thatRead MoreWomen s Role Of Women Within The Pre 21st Century776 Words   |  4 PagesO’Brien’s highly acclaimed series of intertwined stories; The Things They Carried, the author truly emphasizes this. More specifically within â€Å"Sweethea rt of the Song Tra Bong†-the American novelist illustrates his opinion through an integral character by the name of Mary Anne Bell. Although fitted with a stereotypical image of a woman, through a series of transformations, she acts as a juxtaposition to this with an endowment of traits which remain common among the significant women through history; intelligentRead More Comparing Mary Anne in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now2602 Words   |  11 PagesComparing Mary Anne in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1979, Francis Coppola released a film that he said he hoped would give its audience a sense of the horror, the madness, the sensuousness, and the moral dilemma of the Vietnam war (as quoted in Hagen 230). His film, Apocalypse Now, based on Joseph Conrads 1902 novel Heart of Darkness, is the story of Captain Benjamin Willards (Martin Sheen) journey to the interior of the jungle of Southeastern AsiaRead MoreEmotional Experiences in Tim O ´Brien ´s The Things They Carried 2785 Words   |  12 PagesWar, raises exactly such questions, and in remembering, O’Brien endeavors to answer them for himself. The short story â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,† is a tale of the horrors of war, and how quickly violent experiences can change one from civilized gentle to uncivilized inhumane who enjoys killing others. The story tells about an ideal American young girl’s transformation into a savage, who becomes emotionless while visiting her boyfriend, a soldier, in Vietnam. This story shows that a warRead MoreThe Things They Carried Journal Assignment1883 Words   |  8 Pagesstories to civilians. They don’t understand what really happens on the battlefield. O’Brien states that â€Å"you can tell a true war story by the questions you ask.† pg. 83 The chapter â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,† is a story told from Rat Kiley’s point of view. Kiley had his first assignment along the river of Song Tra Bong at an aid base. Jokingly Eddie Diamond says that it wouldn’t be too hard to get a girl to the camp due to its low security. Mark Fossie decides that he is right so he manages to