The story that has meant the most to me so far is the story of Rat Kiley shooting the baby buffalo to pieces. Rat was affected so much by his friend dying that he took it out on this baby water buffalo. This reaction may be a build up of many different emotions from all of the experiences of war so far and Lemon stepping on the bomb was just the "straw that broke the camels back." The quote that caught my eye was, "It wasn't to kill; it was to hurt" (The Things They Carried 75). Rat wanted something else to feel the pain that he was feeling and in that moment it was a baby buffalo that was receiving the built up rage that Rat carried.
The character that stands out to me is Tim O'Brien. We really got a sense for what Tim was going through mentally and emotionally in the chapter "On the Rainy River." Tim uses good descriptions of not only what was around him, but also what was going through his mind. He emphasizes the struggle between running away or being courageous and staying. I would probably do the same thing that he did in that situation. I would run away and then realize that I need to stay and fight for my country.
I totally agree with how we can feel what is going on with Tim mentally and emotionally. he describes everything properly to the audience and many times it feels a like we are right there with him based of his descriptions.
ReplyDeleteI used the same story. I thought it did an excellent job of showing the emotional toll the war took on the young men involved. The buffalo was just a way of letting off steam.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you about Tim. He gives us a look into how he felt and makes us realize how hard of a decision it was to go off and to fight in the war. He does a good job of putting us in his shoes and making us think about what we would have done.
ReplyDeleteThe chapter where Rat was shooting the water buffalo was an emotional story. The chapter greatly showed how effected the company was after all they have gone through together.
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