He sent it to his draft board for sending him to Vietnam. It is almost a "revenge" type of thing for him. He probably felt some pride and relaxed a little from this small act.
I'm trying to analyze why he wrote "FREE" on it. I guess it's a sarcastic comment. Like, come and fight in a war that you don't understand and don't care about, and we'll even give you lice for free!" He wants to share the "joy" with the draft board. Clay's right - it's his little piece of revenge, his little bit of "sticking it to the man."
It may just have been that sending letters to the draft board if you are drafted is free. The men may have been instructed to right "free" on where the stamp should be since the army would pay for the mail. It would be like political ads are paid by the government.
He may have just written free on the letter because thats how he feels how the draft has treated him, like he is free. not in the freedom sense but that he was free of charge to send him out into the middle of now where. and the lice could be expressing the randomness of the draft and how he thinks the draft board views the soldiers, as bugs that can be squished, and that they have plenty of them to use up
I think they have to grow up, and that makes them want to be a child again.
They're making decisions that are destroying property and lives, and it's very mentally taxing. It makes them want to revert back to a time where they didn't decide anything. That's why their "horseplay" is similar to a child's, where they don't think about it, but it's a lot darker, because they're older and stupid kid's games don't satisfy anymore.
I agree with Abby, they must grow up in order to became a good soldier. and i assume they would want to be a good soldier in order to stay alive. but with the mental and physical pressure that is placed on them during the war they have to have an actitvity to release that stress, whetheter it was chess, reaidng letters, or resorting to childish things like blowing up puppies.
The author seemed to jump around a lot, from the different anecdotes, memories and time periods. O'Brien talks about himself during him time in Vietnam and then the next paragraph he is taking out his 43 year-old present self. The tone also seems to spin around a lot, as different stories bring him different emotions.
"On occasions the war was like a Ping-Pong ball. You could put fancy spin on it..." (31). O'Brien has trouble remembering some things about the war, and seems to feel guilty about solely focusing on the bad memories. As his daughter suggests, he tries to write about some of the happy stories. However, these stories are very disjointed and fragmented. Although he says its impossible, he tries to add some colorful events to the story. The book was published during a critical time for journalism -- an era called New Journalism. This is where journalists "spin" their stories to highlight certain information, while leaving out others, influencing the readers perception. Here is a link to a New York Times article about New Journalism: http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/08/specials/wolfe-journalism.html
This book mostly talks about the men who went off to war, but here's an interesting article about a woman who was a nurse in the Vietnam war and I thought her reasons and her passion behind going were really interesting.
Because he couldn't stand the innocence of the puppy. The puppy was the only organism around that wasn't killing things. My assumption is that Azar couldn't comprehend it and therefore destroyed it.
I think it’s because he was broken and found entertainment and joy in his power over the puppy. Very similar to Peter’s behavior in "Ender's Game." When Peter tortured the squirrels in the woods, it’s not because he hated them or whoever loved them, it’s because he loved the power he possessed over another creature.
I think Azar was just trying to lighten up the mood in a way. War is very tense and he may if felt the need to act childish to lessen the stresses of the war.
I don't believe Azar killed the puppy out of malice. The puppy just happened to be around, and Azar wasn't thinking about the consequences of his actions.
Shortly after killing the puppy, he says "'What's everybody so upset about? I mean, Christ, I'm just a boy.'"
Give this to Lavender
ReplyDeleteHe's not touching mine
Deletehttp://media.salon.com/2012/11/marijuana-tourism.jpeg3-1280x960.jpg
Oh Jeffrey...
DeleteNope, just nopeing over here, nope
DeleteI did not understand Mitchell Sanders at all this chapter. What was so important about sending the body lice and writing FREE? What does it mean? Why?
ReplyDeleteHe sent it to his draft board for sending him to Vietnam. It is almost a "revenge" type of thing for him. He probably felt some pride and relaxed a little from this small act.
DeleteIt's a little bit like he's saying:
Delete"Oh, you want a war? You really want it? Here you go jerks!"
I'm trying to analyze why he wrote "FREE" on it. I guess it's a sarcastic comment. Like, come and fight in a war that you don't understand and don't care about, and we'll even give you lice for free!" He wants to share the "joy" with the draft board. Clay's right - it's his little piece of revenge, his little bit of "sticking it to the man."
DeleteAny other ideas?
It may just have been that sending letters to the draft board if you are drafted is free. The men may have been instructed to right "free" on where the stamp should be since the army would pay for the mail. It would be like political ads are paid by the government.
DeleteI think he was just being sarcastic and as a way of getting revenge. He was obviously upset that he was drafted, and he didn't think it was fair.
DeleteHe may have just written free on the letter because thats how he feels how the draft has treated him, like he is free. not in the freedom sense but that he was free of charge to send him out into the middle of now where. and the lice could be expressing the randomness of the draft and how he thinks the draft board views the soldiers, as bugs that can be squished, and that they have plenty of them to use up
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the war is making the group of men grow up or resort in becoming more of a child?
ReplyDeleteI think they have to grow up, and that makes them want to be a child again.
DeleteThey're making decisions that are destroying property and lives, and it's very mentally taxing. It makes them want to revert back to a time where they didn't decide anything. That's why their "horseplay" is similar to a child's, where they don't think about it, but it's a lot darker, because they're older and stupid kid's games don't satisfy anymore.
I agree with Abby, they must grow up in order to became a good soldier. and i assume they would want to be a good soldier in order to stay alive. but with the mental and physical pressure that is placed on them during the war they have to have an actitvity to release that stress, whetheter it was chess, reaidng letters, or resorting to childish things like blowing up puppies.
DeleteWhy is this chapter called "Spin"?
ReplyDeleteThe author seemed to jump around a lot, from the different anecdotes, memories and time periods. O'Brien talks about himself during him time in Vietnam and then the next paragraph he is taking out his 43 year-old present self. The tone also seems to spin around a lot, as different stories bring him different emotions.
Delete"On occasions the war was like a Ping-Pong ball. You could put fancy spin on it..." (31). O'Brien has trouble remembering some things about the war, and seems to feel guilty about solely focusing on the bad memories. As his daughter suggests, he tries to write about some of the happy stories. However, these stories are very disjointed and fragmented. Although he says its impossible, he tries to add some colorful events to the story. The book was published during a critical time for journalism -- an era called New Journalism. This is where journalists "spin" their stories to highlight certain information, while leaving out others, influencing the readers perception. Here is a link to a New York Times article about New Journalism: http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/08/specials/wolfe-journalism.html
ReplyDeleteOops, this was supposed to be a reponse to Mrs. Kozaks question above.
DeleteThis book mostly talks about the men who went off to war, but here's an interesting article about a woman who was a nurse in the Vietnam war and I thought her reasons and her passion behind going were really interesting.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/reflect/farish.html
Really interesting article. This will be especially relevant when we read "Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong."
DeleteWhy do you think Azar killed Ted Lavender's puppy? What was his motivation?
ReplyDeleteBecause he couldn't stand the innocence of the puppy. The puppy was the only organism around that wasn't killing things. My assumption is that Azar couldn't comprehend it and therefore destroyed it.
DeleteI think it’s because he was broken and found entertainment and joy in his power over the puppy. Very similar to Peter’s behavior in "Ender's Game." When Peter tortured the squirrels in the woods, it’s not because he hated them or whoever loved them, it’s because he loved the power he possessed over another creature.
DeleteGreat dialogue here!
DeleteI think Azar was just trying to lighten up the mood in a way. War is very tense and he may if felt the need to act childish to lessen the stresses of the war.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe Azar killed the puppy out of malice. The puppy just happened to be around, and Azar wasn't thinking about the consequences of his actions.
ReplyDeleteShortly after killing the puppy, he says "'What's everybody so upset about? I mean, Christ, I'm just a boy.'"
*(35).
ReplyDelete