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Bryan Manaloto Mr.Chan English 11 CP 21 Sept. 2015 Ambush by Tim O’Brien There are things you will encounter in your life that will require you to make the right decision. “ You are not sure if you are making the right decision- about anything, ever”(Didion). Whenever you make a decision, you are not sure if it is the right one. As we get older, we use what we know in order to make the right choice. Throughout your life, the decision you make can affect you personally in the future. In the short story, Ambush, O’Brien tells the story to his daughter, Kathleen, after she asks him if he has ever killed someone. He cannot admit to her that he killed someone, but he is questioned by her, on why he also writes many war stories. In an attempt to
Before O’Brien was drafted into the army, he had an all American childhood. As talked about “His mother was an elementary school teacher, his father an insurance salesman and sailor in World War II” (O’Brien). He spent his tour of duty from 1969 to 1970 as a foot soldier. He was sent home when he got hit with a shrapnel in a grenade attack. O’Brien says as the narrator, “As a fiction writer, I do not write just about the world we live in, but I also write about the world we ought to live in, and could, which is a world of imagination.” (O’Brien)
...r because it seems impossible to reconstruct an event from this objective point of view. Maybe the point of telling stories is not trying to recreate the reality of a past event, but it is the message that matters because that might be in the end the only thing that does not necessarily depend on single details of the story, but on the overall picture of an event. That is why to O’Brien another important component of a war story is the fact that a war story will never pin down the definite truth and that is why a true war story “never seems to end” (O’Brien, 425). O’Brien moves the reader from the short and simple statement “This is the truth” to the conclusion that, “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself and therefore it’s safe to say that in a true war story nohting much is ever very true” (O’Brien, 428). These two statements frame the entire irony of the story, from its beginning to its end. Almost like the popular saying “A wise man admits that he knows nothing.”
What O’Brien sees as the purpose of the storytelling, and fictionalizing his experiences in Vietnam, can be seen through the “style” of his writing. It’s more than just a collection of stories. It’s a way for him to let go and start a new beginning. It is labeled “fiction” to make the story seem more engaging and to bring up the question, “Did this really happen?”
O’Brien’s choice of diction creates an angry tone that clearly mirrors how he felt after he was shot. He expresses anger at Bobby Jorgenson and frustration that he cannot be on the move with the rest of his platoon while he recovers from his injury. Jorgenson’s terrible job of treating O’Brien’s wound leaves a lasting effect on him because he cannot rest until he gets his revenge on the young medic. It is natural for one to feel upset after someone fails to come to one’s aid in a time of need. This can lead to one feeling resentful and distrustful for long periods of time after the event took
Overall, the author showed us the courageous and coward s acts of O’Brien the character. The fact that he was a coward made him do a heroic act. O’Brien made the valiant decision to go to war. It would have been easier and cowardly to jump and swim away from all his fears. However he decided to turn back, and fight for something he did not believe in. Thinking about the consequences of running away makes him a hero. He went to war not because he wanted to fight for his country, but for his own freedom. Either choice he could have made would take some kind of courage to carry out. Going to war required some sort of fearlessness. In other words, running away from the law would have been brave; but going to war was even tougher.
Tim O’Brien is doing the best he can to stay true to the story for his fellow soldiers. Tim O’Brien believed that by writing the story of soldiers in war as he saw it brings some type of justice to soldiers in a war situation.
The author uses a lengthy exposition to explain how he lost his innocence many years ago. When his daughter ambushes him with her statement, “…I guess you must’ve killed somebody,” he simply replies with, “Of course not” (131). However, he then details for the reader his experience of throwing a grenade and killing an enemy soldier from back when he was in the military. This story is Ambush’s exposition – when an author provides the reader with necessary background information. Tim O’Br...
Some people procure a tough time getting over the fact that they actually killed a human being. That would be hard for anyone, especially just starting out at war. Tim O’ Brien was obviously torn up when telling about his experience of taking someone’s life in his speech. Tim had to realize that the guy he killed would have done the same thing to him if the situation had been switched around. His speech unveiled that he lived in constant fear during his first few days at war.
O’Brien gives the reader an example of a true war story when he tells of the soldier that jumped on a grenade to save his friends however the grenade took all their lives away. On page 61, O'Brien states that this is a true war story that never happened. This is a true war story because it fits his criteria about how a war story should be but the story never actually happens. This is a true war story because it is sad because shows loss despite the soldier’s effort to save his
O’Brien takes the reader to forefront of the company's interactions with the enemy. O’Brien himself never did much killing, but his company seemed to be trigger happy. In Ch 9, the ambush engage with the Viet Cong (VC) was at daybreak, and O’Brien’s company’s most successful ambush. Also,in Ch. 11, the author spoke of assaults against their company once they were exposed, Situations like these that are only really understood by those that go through it. He had to encounter death as others regularly encounter hunger. Once you reach that level of exposure there’s a change in oneself. As it is said in the story, some become numb to death itself. It’s no longer something that’s feared but just avoided. For a man, that wasn’t pro-war, he did everything correctly and out of the way so that he could
In his short story, O’Brien intentionally chooses words and phrases that evoke emotion in his readers. On page 137 he says “This is one story I’ve never told anyone before. Not to anyone. Not to my parents, not to my brother or sister, not even my wife.” This statement creates a sense of intimacy with the reader, because he has never shared it with anyone else, and he is choosing to share it with us. It also allows the reader to feel a bit of the author’s shame behind being so embarrassed to share this story that he’s never even told the people closest to him. Also, on page 141 he says “I feared the war, yes, but I also feared exile. I was afraid of walking away from my own life, my friends and my family, my whole history, everything that mattered
He states that as a soldier, there is so much to soak in from war scenes that it all becomes a muddled mess. Therefore, the story of the moment can be different from each soldier’s perspective due to the parts where each man puts in his own ideas. This leads to some speculation as to whether or not O’Brien’s stories are true or false.
This allows the reader to see what takes place rather than what is perceived. O’Brien’s main objective is to expose the subjectivity that lies within truth. To point out a specific contradiction within truth, he uses war to highlight this difference. He writes, “The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty” (77). The truth has two different meanings and it all depends on who is interpreting it. One person may think one truth and another person can see the complete opposite. To go along with this ambiguity within truth he states, “Almost everything is true. Almost nothing is true” (77). He once again shows that truth is up for interpretation. There is not a single, universal truth, however, there are many variations of it. As previously mentioned, O’Brien claims that he honestly admit that he has both never killed a man and has in fact killed somebody. Here he is stating that there can be completely different answers that all seem to be the truthful. Whether or not O’Brien killed someone, he felt like he did, but could answer that he didn’t. It is this discrepancy that proves that it is all relative. When it comes to telling the story it becomes “difficult difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen,” (67). This is what causes the subjectivity, the unknowingness of the situation. Since
Like it states on page 18 of the Solving the Puzzle of Life Handbook, “Whatever will be, will be.” Throughout my life, my mother would sing a song that said, “Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future 's not ours to see. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.” There has been several decisions I have applied this style to: deciding what I say to confront a friend would hurt their feelings or not, deciding what to wear, and deciding a birthday gift for my twin sister. My personality (ESFJ) and values relate to choosing a decision making style because I do not like hurting others feelings, but I have remind myself that whatever happens, happens.
We make choices every hour, every minute, and every second of our lives; whether big or small our choices are slowly putting us in the direction we choose or end up. Many of us do not realize what contributes to the choices we make and why it affects others the same way if affects us and because of this many authors and writers have written stories and articles about coming to terms with making a choice and how to better ourselves when it comes to decision-making for the future.