Chapter 9: “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”

Exam Essay Practice (30 minutes): In responding, incorporate quotes from "True War Story" and "Sweetheart". This is practice...don't try to be perfect with your organization, but strive for meaningful and interesting interpretation and insights.   Based on direct quotes (provide quote and page #) from O'Brien in "How To Tell A True War Story", what in your opinion makes "Sweetheart" a true war story? What do you think is "true" about it? What "truths", if any, about war, human nature, existence, etc does it suggest to you? 

Homework: 

“Stockings”

“Church” and

“The Man I Killed” Due

1. Characterize Rat Kiley. After reading the entirety of the story, why does this story seem particularly “true” to Rat? What meaning might he derive from it?

2. Characterize Mark Fossie and Mary Anne Bell.

3. Describe the changes in Mary Anne Bell from the time she arrived in Vietnam to be with her boyfriend until the end of the chapter. Be specific and record moments from the text (page numbers and descriptions) that demonstrate how she changed.

4. Why do you think she changed? What did the change symbolize? How long did this metamorphosis take?

5. Look up the definition of the word metamorphosis. In what ways (note that this a plural noun) does this word apply to the transformation of Mary Anne?

6. Does it matter that Mary Anne is a woman? How so? What does the story tell us about the nature of the Vietnam War?

7. Does it matter what happened, in the end, to Mary Anne? Would this be a better story if we knew, precisely, what happened to her after she left camp? Or does this vague ending add to the story? Why?

8. “You’re in a place where you don’t belong.” Any parallels to today? How does our lack of understanding of a people and their place destroy us (as it does Fossie)? How does it make monsters of us?