What is the significance of the fight between Lee Strunkn and Dave Jenson? It was over something so small and stupid - why did O'brien think the story was worth telling?
It was to show the tension, being scared of dying but wanting to die. Its also to show that the group was close, even if they fought. They had to realize they were in this war together and that to survive, they couldn't kill each other, they needed each other.
I think that it was to show how stressful the war was, because not only were you fighting an actual war with countless unnamed enemies, but you were also dealing with the everyday problems that we have in America, like stupid fights. Two totally different types of wars were just adding on top of each other.
I feel like it was to show the strain the war had on the soldiers contact with each other, and just their minds in general. The way people interact changes drastically in a war situation.
I think he thought it was worth telling because this epitomizes the soldiers' brink into insanity perfectly. My guess is that Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk would have appeared completely normal had we seen them in America, however, their time in Vietnam almost... dehumanizes them. This seems like it was the battle of civility vs chaos. They regressed to a state of their natural instinct where they fight over weaponry, dominance, without any empathy - without thought for the consequences of their actions. And when Dave Jensen went crazy with guilt at the end it showed repentance, a human trait and something greatly separated from the battlefield in general.
It honestly wasn't that gripping for me. I spent the whole chapter thinking either, "What is the significance of this chapter?" or "Well, Jensen has officially lost it." The randomness kind of ruined the intensity for me, even though I'm sure that O'Brien had a perfectly good reason for including this chapter.
This chapter was short and there was no suspense, it’s not like O'Brien is writing for entertainment, he is writing for the story. If he had written for entertainment it could have been a very intense stressful chapter. But as written, it was an aloof kind of curiosity, not highly-involved suspense.
I didn't feel the suspense. It was more like a side story that gave background information into the character of the men under strain then part of the main plot.
If Dave Jensen wouldn't have broken his own nose as sign of peace between Strunk and himself, do you think strunk would have eventually striked back? If so, to what extent do you think Strunk would have gone to get his revenge, would he have done less than break Jensens nose or more?
I'm not entirely confident he would have struck back. It seems to me as though Strunk got over the issue pretty quickly, and seemed nonchalant about it. That's what freaked Jensen out so badly, he was expecting Strunk to blow off some steam, and he comes back without doing anything, making Jensen fear that he is planning something maniacal.
I think Strunk knew that he had the upper hand and if he would have done anything it would have just been to scare Jensen. He seemed to enjoy how Jensen was freaking out so he would have probably just continued to enjoy it.
I think this picture sums up the reason that the soldiers had such a difficult time deciphering between friend and enemy. This picture appears to be sad, as it looks like an innocent boy being murdered. However, this man was a guerrilla fighter, and was being shot for killing innocent civilians. To the soldiers, anybody could be an enemy soldier, which is why they had an extremely difficult time with paranoia and distrust of Vietnamese people.
I think a lot of the whole story had to do with just simply he was a solider. I found a link about soldiers and some of the mental diseases they come back with because of all the experiences they had. Not saying that the author is mental (although I think some of his thoughts about Martha are a little creepy), but it is common for those directly in combat to come back with memories they can't forget. Maybe O'Brien's purpose for sharing the story was to just get it out of his head because it was just a little thing that bothered him, similar to Lavender's death.
Jensen went pretty crazy and eventually broke his own nose just to "make everything square" between himself and Strunk. Do you think he did that just because he was paranoid about Strunk hurting him? Or do you think he actually felt guilty and wanted forgiveness for what he had done?
I think that he felt guilty and hoped to recieve forgiveness. He may have realized after "going crazy" and sitting there for many hours that the fight was ridiculous, and it was only a jackknife. This fight shows that they really all need each other so it is not worthing fighting with each other but rather have each others backs.
I think he was paranoid. O'Brien said that he drove himself crazy to the point that he could barely differentiate between the "good guys" and the "bad guys". He seemed to think everyone was out to get him. Maybe he thought that making things even would lessen the chance of Strunk getting revenge.
I agree. I think that his breaking his own nose made him feel safer. He was so crazy that he would have done anything to feel like he was no longer the target even though he may not have been.
I think that the only thing attacking Jensen was his own mind. In the time that he was so paranoid - nothing happened. He had so much time to think about what he had done that he probably wanted to clear his conscience more than anything. Strunk wasn't hesitant to become his friend afterwards.
I think Jensen broke his own nose because he felt guilty for what he had done to Strunk. Breaking his own nose was just his way of "putting things right" between himself and Strunk. Also, Jensen seemed rather crazy, probably because of the war, but I think that was also a factor in his breaking his own nose.
What is the significance of the fight between Lee Strunkn and Dave Jenson? It was over something so small and stupid - why did O'brien think the story was worth telling?
ReplyDeleteIt was to show the tension, being scared of dying but wanting to die. Its also to show that the group was close, even if they fought. They had to realize they were in this war together and that to survive, they couldn't kill each other, they needed each other.
DeleteI think that it was to show how stressful the war was, because not only were you fighting an actual war with countless unnamed enemies, but you were also dealing with the everyday problems that we have in America, like stupid fights. Two totally different types of wars were just adding on top of each other.
DeleteI feel like it was to show the strain the war had on the soldiers contact with each other, and just their minds in general. The way people interact changes drastically in a war situation.
DeleteI think he thought it was worth telling because this epitomizes the soldiers' brink into insanity perfectly. My guess is that Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk would have appeared completely normal had we seen them in America, however, their time in Vietnam almost... dehumanizes them. This seems like it was the battle of civility vs chaos. They regressed to a state of their natural instinct where they fight over weaponry, dominance, without any empathy - without thought for the consequences of their actions. And when Dave Jensen went crazy with guilt at the end it showed repentance, a human trait and something greatly separated from the battlefield in general.
DeleteThis chapter was the most gripping for me, I felt like hiding both from Jensen and Strunk. How intense was it for anyone else?
ReplyDeleteIt honestly wasn't that gripping for me. I spent the whole chapter thinking either, "What is the significance of this chapter?" or "Well, Jensen has officially lost it." The randomness kind of ruined the intensity for me, even though I'm sure that O'Brien had a perfectly good reason for including this chapter.
DeleteThis chapter was short and there was no suspense, it’s not like O'Brien is writing for entertainment, he is writing for the story. If he had written for entertainment it could have been a very intense stressful chapter. But as written, it was an aloof kind of curiosity, not highly-involved suspense.
DeleteI didn't feel the suspense. It was more like a side story that gave background information into the character of the men under strain then part of the main plot.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf Dave Jensen wouldn't have broken his own nose as sign of peace between Strunk and himself, do you think strunk would have eventually striked back? If so, to what extent do you think Strunk would have gone to get his revenge, would he have done less than break Jensens nose or more?
ReplyDeleteI'm not entirely confident he would have struck back. It seems to me as though Strunk got over the issue pretty quickly, and seemed nonchalant about it. That's what freaked Jensen out so badly, he was expecting Strunk to blow off some steam, and he comes back without doing anything, making Jensen fear that he is planning something maniacal.
DeleteI think Strunk knew that he had the upper hand and if he would have done anything it would have just been to scare Jensen. He seemed to enjoy how Jensen was freaking out so he would have probably just continued to enjoy it.
Deletehttp://lostandfoundimages.blogspot.com/2011/12/conflict-in-context.html
ReplyDeleteI think this picture sums up the reason that the soldiers had such a difficult time deciphering between friend and enemy. This picture appears to be sad, as it looks like an innocent boy being murdered. However, this man was a guerrilla fighter, and was being shot for killing innocent civilians. To the soldiers, anybody could be an enemy soldier, which is why they had an extremely difficult time with paranoia and distrust of Vietnamese people.
I think a lot of the whole story had to do with just simply he was a solider. I found a link about soldiers and some of the mental diseases they come back with because of all the experiences they had. Not saying that the author is mental (although I think some of his thoughts about Martha are a little creepy), but it is common for those directly in combat to come back with memories they can't forget. Maybe O'Brien's purpose for sharing the story was to just get it out of his head because it was just a little thing that bothered him, similar to Lavender's death.
Deletehttp://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-our-troops-and-mental-health-issues
That's an important article!
DeleteJensen went pretty crazy and eventually broke his own nose just to "make everything square" between himself and Strunk. Do you think he did that just because he was paranoid about Strunk hurting him? Or do you think he actually felt guilty and wanted forgiveness for what he had done?
ReplyDeleteI think that he felt guilty and hoped to recieve forgiveness. He may have realized after "going crazy" and sitting there for many hours that the fight was ridiculous, and it was only a jackknife. This fight shows that they really all need each other so it is not worthing fighting with each other but rather have each others backs.
DeleteI think he was paranoid. O'Brien said that he drove himself crazy to the point that he could barely differentiate between the "good guys" and the "bad guys". He seemed to think everyone was out to get him. Maybe he thought that making things even would lessen the chance of Strunk getting revenge.
DeleteI agree. I think that his breaking his own nose made him feel safer. He was so crazy that he would have done anything to feel like he was no longer the target even though he may not have been.
DeleteI think that the only thing attacking Jensen was his own mind. In the time that he was so paranoid - nothing happened. He had so much time to think about what he had done that he probably wanted to clear his conscience more than anything. Strunk wasn't hesitant to become his friend afterwards.
DeleteI think Jensen broke his own nose because he felt guilty for what he had done to Strunk. Breaking his own nose was just his way of "putting things right" between himself and Strunk. Also, Jensen seemed rather crazy, probably because of the war, but I think that was also a factor in his breaking his own nose.
ReplyDelete