Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Exploration 5

1) The story that I thought was the most interesting was the one about Marry Anne. From the beginning of the chapter I thought she was somehow going to die and Fossie is going to regret bringing her to Vietnam. Instead, she undergoes a transformation as she gets more curious about Vietnam. The scene that grabbed my attention the most was when she was wearing the necklace of tongues. The quote says, "At the girl's throat was a necklace of human tongues" (105). At that point I just wanted to know what happened.

2) The character I think I can relate to the most is probably Rat Kiley. If I was in a situation like Rat, I would probably find something to help take my mind off the war and relax a little whenever there's time for it. Like how Rat would play games with a smoke grenade with Curt during their breaks. Rat is the medic of the Alpha company. I think he likes to tell stories and I enjoy telling stories also, mostly scary campfire kind of stories though.

3) I think it's really interesting that the narrator would have the specific weight of each piece of equipment they had to carry. Down to the ounces they knew how much everything weighed and how much they could carry for the set distance they had to travel. It helps to give you an idea of how heavy and how hard it actually is to carry all those things through the swampy, incredibly dense wilderness of Vietnam. It gives a literal meaning to the title of the book.

4) "As a carcass passed by, you'd lean forward and swing the gun up against the clots and squeeze the trigger, all in one motion, and the brush would whirl and water would come shooting out and you'd hear a quick splattering sound as the clots dissolve into a fine red mist...but even so it was like standing for eight hours a day under a lukewarm blood-shower." (41). This quote really stood out to me because it really made me imagine in great detail how it might feel to be in his situation. After reading this part I felt like I needed a shower. The amount of descriptive words really helped me piece together a video in my head of what was going on.

4 comments:

  1. I also like the detail of the quote. How it makes you almost feel it and see it. The way you explained how you would be like Kiley and distract and entertain yourself was very good. I agree that I would not want to think about where I am and what I am doing all the time. It would be to much.

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  2. I think you picked a good quote to talk about from the book because it sort of describes shooting a gun at someone and they are killed. I also think that it is interesting to see how Mary Anne undergoes a transformation while she is in Vietnam. Good talk about what they carried too.

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  3. When i was reading the story about Mary Anne i also thought she was going to die, and then i am curious what really happened to her and if she was still in Viet Nam or if she was even real to begin with.
    I also like the quote that you choose because it shows a lot of imagery and really paints a vivid image.

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  4. I first read this book my junior year of high school and that story is the only one that really stuck with me. I though it was the most insane story i have ever heard because of what happens to Mary Anne. I also like that part in the book when Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon play with the smoke grenade it actually made me laugh.

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