Jimmy Cross
First Lieutenant, platoon leader; carried letters from Martha and 2 photographs of her (one yearbook volleyball shot and the other she stood against a brick wall), compass, maps, code books, binoculars, .45-caliber-pistol, strobe light and responsibility for the lives of his men, good-luck pebble from Martha; in love with Martha
Martha
obsession of Jimmy Cross; junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey; english major; wrote beautifully; respect for Chaucer and great affection for Virginia Wolf; often quoted poetry; became Lutheran missionary, trained nurse, served in Ethiopia, Guatemala and Mexico, never married and never wanted to
Henry Dobbins
machine gunner; big man; carried extra rations (especially fond of canned peaches in heavy syrup over pound cake), M-60 and 10-15 lbs of ammunition draped in belts across his chest and shoulders, black flag insecticide, girlfriend's pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter; always excused from tunnel duty due to big size
Dave Jenson
practiced field hygiene; carried a toothbrush, dental floss, and several hotel-sized soap, 3 pairs of socks and can of Dr. Scholl's foot powder, rabbit's foot, empty sandbaags (filled for added protection), night-sight vitamins high in carotene, ear plugs
Ted Lavender
was scared; carried tranquilizers until he was shot in the head outside the village of Than Khe in mid-April and then carried in a poncho; carried 6 or 7 oz of premium dope, starlight scope; adopted an orphan puppy until Azar blew it up
Mitchell Sanders
RTO (radio telephone operator); carried condoms, PRC-25 radio, starched tiger fatigues (for special occasions), brass knuckles; tried to find a moral out of everything; once pryed off body lice, put them in blue USO envelope, sealed it up, wrote FREE in upper right-hand corner, addressed it to draft board in Ohio; tells stories (like man who hooks up with Red Cross nurse but got back into action because peace felt so good it hurt)
Norman Bowker
gentle person; carried a diary, thumb (gift from Mitchell Sanders; dark brown, rubbery to the touch, from 15-16 year old burned VC corpse); hates a silent Indian; wished his dad would write him a letter saying it's ok if he doesn't win any medals
Rat Kiley
medic; carried comic books, morphine, plasma, malaria tablets, surgical tape, M&M's, brandy
Kiowa
Indian; devout Baptist; carried an illustrated New Testament from his father who taught Sunday school in OK City, OK; also carried grandmother's distrust of white men and grandfather's old feathered hunting hatchet; watched Ted Lavender die "Boom-down, like cement"; carried moccasins for silence; taught Rat Kiley and Dave Jensen a rain dance
Lee Strunk
carried tanning lotion, sling shot (as last resort); once drew 17 and went in tunnel
to carry something
to hump
soldiers were called
legs of grunts
What they carried was based on rank and field specialty. (T or F)
TRUE
Lieutenant Cross blamed himself for Ted's death (T or F)
TRUE
Why did Lieutenant Cross blame himself for Ted's death?
he loved Martha more than his men and could not stop thinking about her
What they carried was based on mission (T or F)
TRUE
Why did Martha pick the pebble?
found on Jersey shoreline where things came together but also separated which inspired her to mail it to him (no romance intended)
Why did they carry the mine detector?
was heavy and awkward to handle and often useless because of shrapnel in the earth but they carried for safety and illusion of safety
Why is # 17 important?
number of men in platoon (before Lavender died) and whoever drew 17 would go in tunnel
They used hard vocabulary to contain terrible softness (T or F)
TRUE
Sanders moral about Ted's Death
stay away from drugs
Soldiers just wished to be free with no burdens (T or F)
TRUE
Jimmy Cross burned Martha's letters and photographs (T or F)
TRUE
Cross wanted to do what after burning Martha's items?
forget her, perform duties firmly, dispose of pebble, be strict and efficient, accept blame for Lavender's death, take dope away, use impersonal lieutenant's voice, not tolerate laxity, show strength and distance himself
Point of View shift
3rd person to O'Brien
Tim O'Brien
lives in Massachusetts; visited by Jimmy Cross one day years after war and drank and discussed old times; 43 and writer, writes war stories, daughter Kathleen doesn't want him to
Azar
gave one legged boy chocolate; blew up Ted Lavender's orphan puppy
Dobbins and Bowker play checkers every night, what's the irony?
checker's playing field was always laid out, no surprises, you knew score and where you stood, enemy was visible, winner and loser, there were rules, unlike Vietnam War
Old poppa-san
guide platoon through mine fields on Batangan Peninsula, "Step out of line, hit a mine; follow the dink, you're in the pink
Average age of platoon
19 or 20
How was the platoon's atmosphere?
curiously playful, like a sportin event at some exotic reform school
What are stories for?
Stories are for joining the past and the future; Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there inothing to remember except the story
Tim O'Brien wanted to be....
wanted to be a secret hero/The Lone Ranger;
Tim O'Brien philosophy on courage
believed courage could be received and stashed away like inheritance until one day you can just draw it all out
Did Tim O'Brien support war?
no, he believed US had no reason to fight war
Why did Tim O'Brien think he was not soldier?
was too smart and compassionate; Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, president of student body, full ride scholarship for grad school at Harvard; hated Boy Scouts, camping out, dirt, tents, mosquitos, sight of blood makes him queasy, can't tolerate authority, didn't know rifle from sling shot
What is the story O'Brien never told before?
His attempt to run away to Canada
What is the Rainy River?
border between Minnesota and Canada
When did Tim O'Brien receive his draft letter?
June 17, 1968
Where did Tim O'Brien work in the summer of 1968?
Armour meat packing plant in Worthington, Minnesota as pig "Declotter
Why didn't Tim O'Brien flee officially to Canada?
he was embarrassed and couldn't stand the shame
Where did Tim O'Brien take refuge for 6 days?
old fishing resort called Tip Top Lodge
Elroy Berdahl
eighty-one year old, skinny and shrunken, mostly bald, he was a witness like or or Gods "who look on in absolute silence as we live our lives, as we make our choices or fail to make them"; never asks O'Brien personal questions, gives O'Brien money, owns Tip Top Lodge
Did O'Brien take the money from Berdahl?
no
Who got in a fist fight?
Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk
Why was there a fist fight?
Lee Strunk stole Dave Jensen's jackknife
What happened to Strunk after the fist fight?
nose was broken, bandaged up, and returned to the platoon
What happened to Jensen after the fist fight?
went crazy over the fear of Strunk seeking revenge and broke his own nose to be "square
What was the pact between Jenson and Strunk?
If one was seriously injured (like stuck in a wheelchair for life) the other would kill him
Was the pact between Jenson and Strunk upheld?
no
What did Strunk and Lemon like to do?
play chicken by tossing a smoke hand granade
How was Strunk injured? Did he die?
stepped on a rigged mortar round (mine) and leg was blown off; not immediately but yes
What happened to Lemon's best friend after he died?
wrote a terrific, heartwrenching letter to Lemon's sister and she never replied
How did Jenson react to Lemons' death?
cleaned up his body while singing the Lemon Tree Song
How did Kiley react to Lemon's death?
cried profusely and tortured a baby water buffalo
According to O'Brien, do war stories have a moral?
no
How do you generalize?
War is hell
The truths of war are ____
contradictory
Who told the story of the music in the foggy mountains?
Mitchell Sanders
What is the moral of the music in the foggy mountains story according to Sanders?
Nobody listens. Nobody hears nothin'...Trees and rocks-you got to listen to your enemy."
"That quiet-just listen. There's your moral
What did O'Brien believe Sanders in the music in the foggy mountains story?
war has the feel...of a great ghostly fog...There is no clarity...The vapors suck you in. You can't tell where you are, or why you're there, and the only certainty is overwhelming ambiguity.
What is Nam?
Vietnam, Garden of Evil
What type of story is the one about Lemon and Kiley?
love story (not war)
True war story
is never about war
Curt Lemon
tendency to play tough soldier role, pulled off some dangerous stunts, once he painted his body, put on a ghost mask and trick-or-treated on Halloween, high opinion of himself (or maybe low opinion he was trying to erase), dentist gave him the creeps and fainted before the dentist even got to him, but he was so embarrassed he lied to the dentist saying he was having a terrible toothache and the dentist yanked out the perfectly good tooth and then he was happy again
who had a reputation for exaggeration and overstatement
Rat Kiley; facts formed by sensation not the other way around
What is the name of the men's platoon
Alpha company
Who doubted Rat's stories
everyone
Before assigned to Alpha Company, where was Rat?
small medical detachment up in the mountains west of Chu Lai near village fo Tra Bong with 8 other enlisted men and tehy ran an aid station providing for basic emergency and trauma care; area heavily mined
what made this place an ideal duty
no humping, no officers, lots of cold beer, 3 hot meals a day, tin roof over head, do what you want, hardly field inspection, no military discipline
who was Eddie Diamond
highest ranking NCO (non-commissioned officer) whose pleasures ran from dope to Darvon (he likes drugs)
Who are the Greenies
special forces, six green berets, not social animals, fortified base with sandbags and metal fence, don't make contact with medical detachment unless necessary, secretive and suspicious, loners by nautre, sometimes vanish for days or weeks at a time
Who brought his girlfriend over?
Mark Fossie
Who was the girlfriend in Nam?
Mary Anne Bell; blue eyes, white, 17, really pretty, bubbly personality, curious; sweethearts with Fossie since 6th grade
What happened to Mary Anne according to the Greenies?
she walked off into the mountains and never came back; declared missing; still somewhere out there in the dark; she became a part of the land
Henry Dobbins
superb solider, good man, not sophisticated, ioronies went beyond him, like America big and strong with full intentions but slow of foot but always going along; there when needed, believed simplicity, directness, hard labor, drawn to sentimentality, wear girlfriend's pantyhose around the neck like talisman, he never was injured while wearing stockings; superstitious
Monks gave a chair to who as if they were proud
Lieutenant Cross
Monks gave what fruit to soldiers
4 watermelons
Who wanted to join up with monks and "wear robes. Take the pledge" after war? why?
Dobbins; free house, free car, lots of potlucks, pretty good life, believed in God, being nice and decent to people, visit the sick
why didnt dobbins want to be a preacher?
had to be super sharp and explain hard stuff
did kiowa ever want to be a minister?
no
what was dobbins idea of being "decent" to the monks?
telling them to beat it
who wore a gold ring on the 3rd finger of his right hand?
the man O'brien killed
the man O'brien killed
eyebrows thin and arched like a woman, bony legs, narrow waist, dainty man, long shapely fingers,
How did O'brien imagine the man he killed?
born 1946, village of My Khe, family lived their for centuries and his elder family fought in the struggle for independence, not communist, citizen and soldier, but for tradition had to be patriotic but he didnt want to fight although considered highest duty/privilege; he wanted to be scholar and teach math; eventually found a woman who loved his quirks and they got married
who was joking the O'brien about the man he killed
Azar
who tried to console Tim
Kiowa
who asked if O'brien ever killed someone? did he tell the truth?
O'brien's daughter Kathleen when 9; no
has o'brien completely forgiven himself for killin the man?
no
Who was dancing eyes half closed and bare foot?
14 year girl with dead family
who imitated/mocked her dancing?
Azar
what was dobbins explanation to azar why the girl was dancing?
it doesnt matter why, she is just dancing; she just liked to dance
what did dobbins do in response to azar's show?
picked him up, lifted him high, carried him to the deep well, asked if he wanted to be dumped, and then let him go with saying "dance right
During Rat's story about Mark Fossie and Mary Ann, Mitchell Sanders becomes upset with Rat because
Mitchell enjoys stories with morals, and Rat does not know for sure how this story ends
Tim is able to confide in Kiowa, telling him how he feels after killing a man. (T or F)
FALSE
Why did O'Brien find it difficult to mourn for Curt Lemon? I. He only knew him slightly. II. He was not impressed by what he knew about him. III. He had a tendency to pull off some dangerous stunts and brag about them.
I, II, and III
From the selection on Henry Dobbins and his girlfriend's stockings, the author writes that the stockings were "a talisman for (Henry)." You can infer this means
something that has magical powers
When Rat first came to Vietnam, a guy named Mark Fossie decided to ship his girlfriend over to where he was stationed after hearing one of Rat's stories. (T or F)
FALSE
When Mark asks Rat to do something because he can't just let Mary Ann go like that, Rat's response is what?
She is already gone
After Mary Ann did not return home that night, she and Mark came to a new understanding and
they became engaged, but she later disappears
Who does the following quote describe: "Sometimes I want to eat this place. Vietnam. I want to swallow the whole country-the dirt, the death-I just want to eat it and have it inside me." ?
Mary Ann
According to Rat, Mary Ann "wasn't afraid to get her hands bloody. At times, in fact, she seemed facinated by it." What was facinating to her?
The adrenaline rush
The man Tim O'Brien killed had eyebrows that were thin and arched like a woman's. (T or F)
TRUE
Curt was afraid of dentists and fainted before the dentist even touched him. How did Curt react when he realized this?
He pretended he had a toothache and had a good tooth removed to prove he was not scared.
Rat says the same thing happened to Mary Ann that happened to all of them, you come over clean and you get dirty, and then afterwards it is never the same. (T or F)
TRUE
When Mary Ann and the six Greenies return after being gone for 3 weeks, what is the disturbing part that Rat mentions about Mary Ann?
she is wearing a necklace made of human tongues
Who does the following quote describe: "He wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt" ?
Rat Kiley
Who believed it was wrong for them to set up camp at a church?
Kiowa
Who did the monks take a special liking to and became known as "Soldier Jesus"?
Dobbins
The first night Mary Ann does not return home, where does Mark Fossie discover she has been?
On an ambush
Mary Ann pesters Mark Fossie to take her down to the village. Rat uses figurative language to compare Mary Ann's trip to the village to what?
a cheerleader visiting the opposing team's locker room
Kiowa tries to comfort Tim after he killed a man, begging him to stop staring at the man. (T or F)
TRUE
After Dobbins and his girlfriend broke up, he no longer wears her pantyhose around his neck. (T or F)
FALSE
who endlessly circled around the lake in his chevy and listened to the radio
Norman Bowker
how long was the loop around the lake
7 miles
lake road represented
boundary between affluent and most affluent (lakeside were most affluent)
who was Bowkers highschool sweetheart? where is she now?
Sally Kramer; now married with name Gustafson living in a pleasant blue house on the affluent side of the road; she looked really happy
what did bowker do around the lake in highschool?
go out with Sally Kramer, talk with his friends about God's existence, urgent matters, theories of causation
a slow car could travel the lake how fast?
25 minutes
who is max arnold
Bowker's friend who liked to talk about God's existence, theories of causation, and eventually drowned
what did Bowker's father do?
stay at home watching baseball on national TV
what people did Bowker see on his joy ride?
2 boys hiking (who ignored him when he honked), Sally Gustafson mowing the lawn, man in motorboat bent over engine with wrench and frown, water-skiers, 2 mud hens, workmen setting up for evening fireworks, highschool band, woman in pedal pushers fishing,
How many times did he circle the lake?
12
what was bowker good at?
telling time without clocks plus or minus 10 min (picked up trick from war); wanted to impress Sally with this knowledge
what day was bowker driving around the lake?
4th of July
what medals did bowker win?
Combay Infantryman's badge, air medal, army commendation medal, the good conduct medal, vietnam campaign medal, bronze star, purple heart (wound that left no scar and didnt hurt); all badges for common valor
what was Bowker's father concerned about? did he ever tell bowker he wasnt a coward and that he was proud of his achievements?
amount of medals; no
what did Bowker almost win
silver star
Bowker's father asked Bowker how he almost won the Silver star (T or F)
FALSE
what was the song tra bong
slow flat muddy river with during monsoon season deep muck on either bank for quarter mile
the lake was bad for
fishing and swimming
what did Bowker dislike about the town?
the town could not talk and would not listen; didn't know or care about the war; theres no place to go (anywhere really)
what would Bowker give a lecture on ? did he really give a lecture on it?
sh**; youre drunk if you said yes
The mama-sans stood in the rain yapping away about the field being bad news (T or F)
TRUE
what was in Kiowa's place when sinking in the mud?
knee, arm, gold wristwatch, part of a boot and bubbles
who treated bowker rudely?
the car hop girl with the badge EAT MAMA BURGERS
The man in the intercom wanted to hear Bowker's story (T or F)
TRUE
what did bowker feel he did to Kiowa?
he just let the guy go
what happened to Bowker?
hung himself in locker room of YMCA in his hometown in central Iowa
who suggested SPEAKING OF COURAGE? when was it written?
bowker; 1975
What all jobs did Bowker do
automotive parts salesman, janitor, car wash attendant, short order cook at local A&W; nothing lasting more than 10 weeks
what was Bowker's problem described in letter to O'brien?
couldn't find meaningful use for his life after war
In the spring of 1976 O'briend received a letter from Bowker (T or F)
FALSE; 1975 sillies
where did bowker live
with his parents
was he enrolled in junior college?
yes, but course work was too untangible, abstract, distant, nothing like war; dropped after 8 months
what did bowker do after quitting college?
spent mornings in bed, played bball at the Y, cruised around town at night in father's car alone or with 6 pack of beer
bowker felt like he died with Kiowa in Nam (T or F)
TRUE
how was bowker's letter?
jumped form self-pity to anger to irony to guilt to indifference; he didnt know what to feel; he reproached himself for complaining too much