Brian Hageman: Exploration 6.

The story that means the most to me is "Speaking Of Courage" because it highlights how lost soldiers are when they return home from the war. It was the Fourth of July, which is a holiday celebrated because of independence and freedom, and Norman Bowker, someone who just fought for the United States, had no where to go or nothing to do. It is truly sad that he drove around the lake 11 times before finally taking action and going into the water to watch the fireworks by himself. He drove around the lake because he had nothing else to do but to think to himself. He thought about the ways he could talk to his old love Sally, or how he would explain about the 7 medals that he earned in Vietnam, and why he could have won the silver star but didn't.

Tim O'Brien. If I am completely honest with myself, I would have probably contemplated dodging the draft, Just like Tim did. I have absolutely no interest in joining the war and I too would have been pretty conflicted. I would also be afraid of letting my country down and feeling guilty about it. Also when Tim killed the Vietnamese soldier, he felt very guilty and it never left his head. I would probably feel the same why. I would think about what would happen if the man just walked by without taking any action, just like Tim did. Tim reminisces on the war constantly and thinks about it all time. Like Tim, I would have a very hard time getting over what happened in Vietnam.

In "The Sweetheart of The Song Tra Bong" O'Brien intricately describes the Greenies area. "The place seemed to echo with a deep-wilderness sound- tribal music- bamboo flutes and drums and chimes. But what hit you first, Rat said, was the smell…'impossible to describe, Rat Said. It paralyzed your lungs. Thick and numbing, like an animal's den, a mix of blood and scorched hair and excrement and the sweet-sour odor of moldering flesh- the stink of the kill." (O'Brien 104-105). The description of the Greenies room is very detailed and I felt like I was actually in the room when I was reading it. O'Brien did a fantastic job in this piece of writing.

The entire chapter of "The Man I killed" stood out to me for multiple reasons. Tim O'Brien had no intentions to kill when he resentfully joined the army, which is why, in my opinion, he was so moved when he killed the Vietnamese soldier. He repeated the sight of the dead man over and over again throughout the chapter. "He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay with one leg bent beneath him, his jaw in his throat, his face neither expressive nor inexpressive. One eye was shut. The other was a star-shaped hole." (O'Brien 124). O'Brien described him like this multiple times to really express what he was feeling at the time. The other reason this passage struck me is because I feel as if I would be the same way Tim was. I would think about what would happen if I let the man walk by instead of killing him. I would think about his family and his future as a peaceful citizen of his country. I would always think about all the what-if's, just like Tim.