How do you feel about O'Brien's actions in "The Ghost Soldiers"? Explain.
"The Ghost Soldiers" is one of the only stories of The Things They Carried in which we don't know the ending in advance. Why might O'Brien want this story to be suspenseful?
20 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I thought at first is actions were a little childish. As he got more into it and explained how he felt I understood more. He felt so helpless not being in the war that he had to make the man who caused that feel the same way he does. I think he might have wanted this one to be more suspenseful because it isn't the same kind of war story like the others are. The others all have to do with him feeling some sort of guilt. This story is about what someone did to him and he felt he needed revenge. He did not want anyone to know how it ended ahead of time, he needed to tell it exactly how it went without jumping ahead first.
I think he makes these story suspenseful so that you'll want to keep reading. I think the way the different characters act towards each other make the book good. I think that he reacted out of the moment. He didn't think about what he was doing.
My feelings about O'Brien's actions is that he is trying to lighten up what has so much darkness surrounding it.
HE might want this story to not end and leave it suspensful beacuse something bad is about to happen to Azar, Jorgenson or O'Brein when the play the prank on Azar. Or it was just another war story and he is using symbolism on how the he relates the war to be suspensful just like that prank that O'Brien and Jorgenson are going to do to Azar.
The soliders reacted as any soldiers would do to a fellow solder dieing. They had to to blame someone for the disaster. It i is even hard to lose the thought of when the solders are men that u live with for a long time. Like when O'Brein was talking about how it was hard to feel like a family with the solders in the hospital.
I felt his actions were understandable I probaly would of felt anger to the person who didn't help me after I was shot. He wanted this story to be suspensful because it is the story where the author learns the most about his fellow soldiers Amanda
I think that O'Brien didn't write the ending first to show that sometimes it's better to not know what will come next. He shows that when you are communicating with people you don't always know how they will react of if they will take offense to something. Somethins are better left unknown until the end.
I think that O'Brien acted stupidly. Ya Jorgenson should of done a better job, but it was war and everyone is scared and will end up making mistakes every now and then.
He doesn't want to tell the ending in advance because he wants to make the reader think. He wants us to think about how we would feel to have the same things happen and then try to predict the outome of the situations that are placed at hand.
I think that O'Brien's actions were the same as would be anyone else's that just got shot by somebody. If I were him I would want revenge on the person who shot me too. I think anyone would be initially angry after something like that. I think that O'Brien saved the conclusion for the end of the chapter this time because he wanted it to be more suspenseful than the past chapters because it was a really important chapter about forgivness and maybe he wanted the readers to expirience his path to forgivness with him.
I thought that O'Brien's actions were imature and also childish. He could have shaken Jorgenson's hand when he offered it and accepted his apology but instead he turned away and made a stupid decision anyway. It is a very exciting story and you never know what might happen with Azar because he is a crazy and sadistic man. Tyler
I can agree with some of O'Briend's actions in this chapter. If somebody almost let me die of shock, I would have to say I would be pretty upset with them myself.
I would want the ending to be more suspensful if I were O'brien. It may lure the reader to become more involved in the book. It may even lead the reader to his other books that are very similar to this one.
I agreed with Tim O brien's actions in this chapter. If I was in this situation I would have felt a lot of hurt from the lack of help and the certain apathy from someone that could have helped me at that time.
These reactions help with the understanding of frustration that Tim O Brien had just so the reader can more vividly see how her was feeling at the time. And it also makes it more interesting for the reader. Chelsea Pinkerman
I feel that O'Brien's reactions were childish and immature. He might have done the same thing if he was in Jorgenson's shoes. Imagine being a greenie in the war with bullets flying everywhere, not to mention you're only eighteen or nineteen years old. To be angry is alright; but to hold on to those feelings and act upon them is taking it too far.
O'Brien might want this story to be suspenseful in order to keep the reader reading. He wants the reader to think of what he or she might do in O'Brien's shoes.
O'Brien's actions were very inhumane, mostly from the way that he constantly seeking revenge upon Bobby Jorgenson. Perhaps O'Brien didn't reveal the ending in advance because he wanted to make the reader think that he died from his wounds. After all, the name of the chapter is "Ghost Soldiers." Also, the chapter ends with him and Bobby Jorgenson apologising, so revealing this to the reader in the beginning would ruin the flow of the story.
I thought that it was a good break from all of the intense war stories. Even though so people thought that it was a childish prank to pull I belive that O'Brian needed to get this off his chest. "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy" -chris austin
I think that his actions sort of seemed like a teenage girl trying to get back at her ex boyfriend because he broke her heart. When I read the story more in depth I was almost right. The way that he was not a part of everything that he once was was killing him. All the friends he once had and was so close to then, they really want nothing to do with him because he is no longer a part of what they are doing. They do not see him as a soldier so its like all he once had slipped away because of this one incident where the new medic Jorgenson didnt get to him in time. So he wants so badly to make the person who he sees as the one that took all of this from him feel the same pain that he has to feel everyday now. I think that the reason he left this one a bit more suspensful is because it was not like all the other war stories. The other stories were all about death, guilt, details etc.. But this one is more of an internal problem within himself. He wanted to tell it the way it happened step by step rather then jumping into it and throwing it out there for you to make your own conclusion or feelings to. He wanted you to see it how he saw it and how he felt. -Malori
At the start of this chapter, O'Brien is having flash backs and wishing that he was back in Vietnam fighting the war again. Also, he felt so depressed and hopeless. This chapter is more suspenseful than the others, because he wasn't feeling any sort of guilt towards himself. Chris Booth
O'Briens actions were out of uncontrolled anger. He felt that if he gave Jorgenson some pay back he would feel better, and would show Jorgenson how he felt. The ending is not given because you don't expect it. His plan in a way back fires, and O'Brien gets hurt and they become friends.
I think O'Brien's first reactions to his hatred for Jorgenson were justified, but not his plans for revenge, which were long after the incident. If we had known that O'Brien was going to forgive Jorgenson and make things even, reading the entire chapter would be a big waste of time. Plus we wouldn't have felt the same hatred that O'Brien felt for Jorgenson.
I think that he did not let anyone know what was happing and playing on the suspense because he was building to the cliff hanger so that it is let to the imagination to figure out what happened. Steven W Pollard
20 comments:
I thought at first is actions were a little childish. As he got more into it and explained how he felt I understood more. He felt so helpless not being in the war that he had to make the man who caused that feel the same way he does.
I think he might have wanted this one to be more suspenseful because it isn't the same kind of war story like the others are. The others all have to do with him feeling some sort of guilt. This story is about what someone did to him and he felt he needed revenge. He did not want anyone to know how it ended ahead of time, he needed to tell it exactly how it went without jumping ahead first.
Brittani
I think he makes these story suspenseful so that you'll want to keep reading. I think the way the different characters act towards each other make the book good.
I think that he reacted out of the moment. He didn't think about what he was doing.
Kat
My feelings about O'Brien's actions is that he is trying to lighten up what has so much darkness surrounding it.
HE might want this story to not end and leave it suspensful beacuse something bad is about to happen to Azar, Jorgenson or O'Brein when the play the prank on Azar. Or it was just another war story and he is using symbolism on how the he relates the war to be suspensful just like that prank that O'Brien and Jorgenson are going to do to Azar.
--Tim
The soliders reacted as any soldiers would do to a fellow solder dieing. They had to to blame someone for the disaster. It i is even hard to lose the thought of when the solders are men that u live with for a long time. Like when O'Brein was talking about how it was hard to feel like a family with the solders in the hospital.
Mandy
I felt his actions were understandable I probaly would of felt anger to the person who didn't help me after I was shot.
He wanted this story to be suspensful because it is the story where the author learns the most about his fellow soldiers
Amanda
I think that O'Brien didn't write the ending first to show that sometimes it's better to not know what will come next. He shows that when you are communicating with people you don't always know how they will react of if they will take offense to something. Somethins are better left unknown until the end.
-Ariel :)
I think that O'Brien acted stupidly. Ya Jorgenson should of done a better job, but it was war and everyone is scared and will end up making mistakes every now and then.
He doesn't want to tell the ending in advance because he wants to make the reader think. He wants us to think about how we would feel to have the same things happen and then try to predict the outome of the situations that are placed at hand.
Jared B.
I think that O'Brien's actions were the same as would be anyone else's that just got shot by somebody. If I were him I would want revenge on the person who shot me too. I think anyone would be initially angry after something like that. I think that O'Brien saved the conclusion for the end of the chapter this time because he wanted it to be more suspenseful than the past chapters because it was a really important chapter about forgivness and maybe he wanted the readers to expirience his path to forgivness with him.
-Sam
I thought that O'Brien's actions were imature and also childish. He could have shaken Jorgenson's hand when he offered it and accepted his apology but instead he turned away and made a stupid decision anyway. It is a very exciting story and you never know what might happen with Azar because he is a crazy and sadistic man.
Tyler
p.s. i enjoyed ripping up that detention!
I can agree with some of O'Briend's actions in this chapter. If somebody almost let me die of shock, I would have to say I would be pretty upset with them myself.
I would want the ending to be more suspensful if I were O'brien. It may lure the reader to become more involved in the book. It may even lead the reader to his other books that are very similar to this one.
Brad C
I agreed with Tim O brien's actions in this chapter. If I was in this situation I would have felt a lot of hurt from the lack of help and the certain apathy from someone that could have helped me at that time.
These reactions help with the understanding of frustration that Tim O Brien had just so the reader can more vividly see how her was feeling at the time. And it also makes it more interesting for the reader.
Chelsea Pinkerman
I feel that O'Brien's reactions were childish and immature. He might have done the same thing if he was in Jorgenson's shoes. Imagine being a greenie in the war with bullets flying everywhere, not to mention you're only eighteen or nineteen years old. To be angry is alright; but to hold on to those feelings and act upon them is taking it too far.
O'Brien might want this story to be suspenseful in order to keep the reader reading. He wants the reader to think of what he or she might do in O'Brien's shoes.
I feel he bases his writing on how Rat tells his stories. He makes you want more. To hear what happens, but he makes you wait.
Jessica
O'Brien's actions were very inhumane, mostly from the way that he constantly seeking revenge upon Bobby Jorgenson.
Perhaps O'Brien didn't reveal the ending in advance because he wanted to make the reader think that he died from his wounds. After all, the name of the chapter is "Ghost Soldiers." Also, the chapter ends with him and Bobby Jorgenson apologising, so revealing this to the reader in the beginning would ruin the flow of the story.
I thought that it was a good break from all of the intense war stories. Even though so people thought that it was a childish prank to pull I belive that O'Brian needed to get this off his chest.
"All work and no play make Jack a dull boy"
-chris austin
I think that his actions sort of seemed like a teenage girl trying to get back at her ex boyfriend because he broke her heart. When I read the story more in depth I was almost right. The way that he was not a part of everything that he once was was killing him. All the friends he once had and was so close to then, they really want nothing to do with him because he is no longer a part of what they are doing. They do not see him as a soldier so its like all he once had slipped away because of this one incident where the new medic Jorgenson didnt get to him in time. So he wants so badly to make the person who he sees as the one that took all of this from him feel the same pain that he has to feel everyday now.
I think that the reason he left this one a bit more suspensful is because it was not like all the other war stories. The other stories were all about death, guilt, details etc.. But this one is more of an internal problem within himself. He wanted to tell it the way it happened step by step rather then jumping into it and throwing it out there for you to make your own conclusion or feelings to. He wanted you to see it how he saw it and how he felt.
-Malori
At the start of this chapter, O'Brien is having flash backs and wishing that he was back in Vietnam fighting the war again. Also, he felt so depressed and hopeless. This chapter is more suspenseful than the others, because he wasn't feeling any sort of guilt towards himself.
Chris Booth
O'Briens actions were out of uncontrolled anger. He felt that if he gave Jorgenson some pay back he would feel better, and would show Jorgenson how he felt. The ending is not given because you don't expect it. His plan in a way back fires, and O'Brien gets hurt and they become friends.
I miss you, Joshua Lee
I think O'Brien's first reactions to his hatred for Jorgenson were justified, but not his plans for revenge, which were long after the incident. If we had known that O'Brien was going to forgive Jorgenson and make things even, reading the entire chapter would be a big waste of time. Plus we wouldn't have felt the same hatred that O'Brien felt for Jorgenson.
Matt G
I think that he did not let anyone know what was happing and playing on the suspense because he was building to the cliff hanger so that it is let to the imagination to figure out what happened.
Steven W Pollard
Post a Comment