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Ambush by Tim O' Brien

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Ambush by Tim O' Brien
Commentary on Ambush by Tim O'Brien
Contradiction in the mind, we struggle between decisions. Whether it is correct or not, it leaves an indelible memory. In Tim O'Brien's confessional writing, Ambush, he creates a flashback and recalls his memory in Vietnam. With detail descriptions, Tim O'Brien expresses his guilt towards killing an innocent young man. Furthermore, reinforcing his opposition against war with the writing.

In paragraph 2 and 3, Tim O'Brien has created a flashback to present his regretful memory of the past. He was involved in the Vietnam War and accidentally killed a young man. However, paragraph 2 only consists of short sentences and without commas, it is only a brief summary of what happened. This paragraph may lead people on further reading the passage, as people are intrigued of what was happening. Flashback in the main narrative has a more sorrowful tone, the author regrets of killing the young man. He said he was terrified. The author automatically threw a grenade at the young man at first sight. It was too late to regret and the incident paves the way to how the author felt towards war. In contrast to paragraph 2, the main narrative has shown more inner feelings, a more detailed description of what the author was undergoing. Especially, how the author felt when he saw the young man and after he killed him. The author was struggling in his mind as he was supposed to kill the "enemy" but he also felt a sense of guilt of killing someone. The words are short, emphasising the fear of the author. Furthermore, it brings up a question whether the author should kill the man or not.

To portray a more realistic environment, detailed description was used throughout the whole narrative. "Three grenades" and "two hours" in paragraph three demonstrate how memorable and indelible the incident was. The numbers are specific and provide us a clear image. These detailed memories also show the significance of them. We will know how tense the atmosphere

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