Imaginative Writing
The Impact of Change
Tim O’Brien is an American author who writes stories based on his experiences in the Vietnam War. O’Brien, throughout the story ‘The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong’, describes the changes that Mary Anne goes through during her time in Vietnam. Mary Anne’s physical and mental changes that she goes through during her time in Vietnam also press and signify the changes that the soldiers, and possibly the civilians, go through in a time of war. O’Brien also chooses to have Rat tell this story even though O’Brien informs us that Rat has a reputation for exaggeration and overstatement of facts, which makes the story difficult to believe.
The physical changes that Mary Anne goes through in this chapter are obvious to both the soldiers and the audience. It clearly describes the transition she goes through from when she first arrives to when she walks into the mountains and never returns. When Mary Anne first arrives in Vietnam she is described by many of the soldiers as having terrific legs, a bubbly personality, happy smile, young looking, she wore make-up and jewelry, she looked like a cheerleader, but she was too wide at the shoulders. Rat described her as being “A tall, big boned blonde. At best she was seventeen years old, fresh out of Cleveland Heights Senior High. She had long white legs and blue eyes and a complexion like strawberry ice cream.” The description that the soldiers and Rat give of Mary Anne is typical to that of an American teenager and therefore allows the soldiers and the audience to easily picture what Mary Anne looks like. However after two weeks of being in Vietnam the soldiers start to describe the physical changes that they have noticed from her. They start to notice that she does not wear any cosmetics anymore, she does not file her fingernails, she has stopped wearing jewelry, she cut her hair short and wears it in a dark green bandana, her hygiene became a matter of small consequence, her blue eyes became opaque and
Tim O’Brien is an American author who writes stories based on his experiences in the Vietnam War. O’Brien, throughout the story ‘The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong’, describes the changes that Mary Anne goes through during her time in Vietnam. Mary Anne’s physical and mental changes that she goes through during her time in Vietnam also press and signify the changes that the soldiers, and possibly the civilians, go through in a time of war. O’Brien also chooses to have Rat tell this story even though O’Brien informs us that Rat has a reputation for exaggeration and overstatement of facts, which makes the story difficult to believe.
The physical changes that Mary Anne goes through in this chapter are obvious to both the soldiers and the audience. It clearly describes the transition she goes through from when she first arrives to when she walks into the mountains and never returns. When Mary Anne first arrives in Vietnam she is described by many of the soldiers as having terrific legs, a bubbly personality, happy smile, young looking, she wore make-up and jewelry, she looked like a cheerleader, but she was too wide at the shoulders. Rat described her as being “A tall, big boned blonde. At best she was seventeen years old, fresh out of Cleveland Heights Senior High. She had long white legs and blue eyes and a complexion like strawberry ice cream.” The description that the soldiers and Rat give of Mary Anne is typical to that of an American teenager and therefore allows the soldiers and the audience to easily picture what Mary Anne looks like. However after two weeks of being in Vietnam the soldiers start to describe the physical changes that they have noticed from her. They start to notice that she does not wear any cosmetics anymore, she does not file her fingernails, she has stopped wearing jewelry, she cut her hair short and wears it in a dark green bandana, her hygiene became a matter of small consequence, her blue eyes became opaque and