O'Brien compares what the field once was with what it is now, both literally and metaphorically. Discuss the similarities and differences below.
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Anonymous
said...
Tiffany Friedlund When the war was going on, the field was flooded. When Tim goes back, the field is "bone dry"(181). It was a "flat grassy field" as compared to the muck, crap-filled field of the past. However, the horrible stench still remained, although not as bad as it had been during the war. When Tim is visiting the field, the field "was at peace"(181). During the war, the field was definitely not peaceful, instead it was violent from the storm, the deaths, and the gunfire.
LaTausha Cotner: During the war the field was a crap field. The rain caused the field to resemble "oozy soup...thick and mushy", this was the field O'brien remembers (145). The sewage smell, the inablitlity to sleep, and sinking into the muck. However when he returned to the field it was no longer an oozy soup, "The field was still there, though not as I remembered" (181). The field"except in some marshy spots... was bone dry"(181). The field still stunk and had the memories but "no ghosts-just a flat, grassy field"(181).
Carole Surfus.... Well, the first obvious difference is that when he was in the war the area was constantly wet from the rain, but now he says "Except for a few marshy spots along the river, everything wa bone dry"(181).Other than that, the difference was just..... well, all of it was different. Compared to the wet, smelly, crowded crud-field, it was now a farming field with "birds and butterflies" (184). The similarities were few and far between. Tim says that he recognized the "small rise where Jimmy Cross had set up his command post" (185) and the "same narrow dike whrer we had laid out Kiowa's body after pulling him from the muck"(181). Other than these things and the "canteens, and bandoliers and mess kits" (184) burried deep in the ground, this field and the field from that night were very different.
During the war the field at which O'Brien fought at was "evil ground" that let out a "terrible stink [that bubbled] out of the earth" (168). It epitomized everything that dealt with what the soldiers were going through; the pain, sorrow, discomforts and the numerous indeterminate forces surrounding them. It could be a matter of life or death, whether the muck will swallow you, if the shrapnel will pierce you, if you will be able to find the courage to make it through.
Twenty years later the field is unrecognizable. It's dry and a flat, grassy field, a complete contradiction to its previous form. There is a tranquility in the air, with "a breeze and a wide blue sky...things were quiet and the place was at peace" (181). This shows how different the atmosphere is when it is not being raged by war, the feelings that Tim feels are mutual.
During the war the field had been like a hungry monster, "This little field, I thought, had swallowed so much. My best friend. My pride. My belief in myself as a man of some dignity and courage. Still, it was hard to find any real emotion"(210). Now the field lay silent and peaceful. If you didn't know better you would never have no the terror that happened on that same field. The war had been flooded because of the rising waters of the Song Tra Bong and now it lay dry and barren. The stench lingered but only in a small degree. This field was a nightmare to these man and now it was a site of serenity.
Tiffany to Mrs. Matysak Tim deals with the changes by getting in the muddy water. It feels more natural to him because they were neck deep in muck during the war. It reminds him of the way it used to be, which feels right. The bright sunny field just feels wrong to Tim. With all of the death and fighting that went on in that field, it shouldn't just be bright and sunny, but should be gloomy and solemn, like the thoughts of the war. He also deals with Kiowa's death in this way by returning his mocassin's to the place of his death and, in Tim's mind, to Kiowa himself.
Carole Surfus.... oops! Metaphorically, the field from the war was quite literally a crap-field. It was not only built upon layers of human dung, but the war itself was in itself crap because it was being fought for no acknowledged reason. Upon his revisiting, Tim find the place to be "at peace"(181). The turmoil of the past was gone, and the current peace was undeniably obvious at that former dung field.
Visually the field was a death pit during O'Brien's stay when he was a soldier. The field was a thick, mushy, and overall smelly place that engulfed the soldiers in the human waste. On the contrary, when O'Brien took Kathleen the field was the complete opposite, "A quiet sunny day, and the field was not the field I remembered" (184). When comparing the lakes from past to present, they were completely different. Metaphorically, the field was also different. When visinting with his daughter, O'Brien describes the field as "The place was at peace. There were yellow butterflies. There was a breeze and a wide blue sky" (181). All of these descriptions put you in a peaceful place in your mind, where in the previous chapters, it was hell reading what Kiowa, Tim O'Brien, and the rest of the soldiers were doing. The field had been a place of death and fear and turmoil. Now, it was a peaceful place, where farmers were tending to plants- new life, and everything was calm.
11 comments:
Tiffany Friedlund
When the war was going on, the field was flooded. When Tim goes back, the field is "bone dry"(181). It was a "flat grassy field" as compared to the muck, crap-filled field of the past. However, the horrible stench still remained, although not as bad as it had been during the war. When Tim is visiting the field, the field "was at peace"(181). During the war, the field was definitely not peaceful, instead it was violent from the storm, the deaths, and the gunfire.
How does O'Brien deal with the change?
LaTausha Cotner:
During the war the field was a crap field. The rain caused the field to resemble "oozy soup...thick and mushy", this was the field O'brien remembers (145). The sewage smell, the inablitlity to sleep, and sinking into the muck. However when he returned to the field it was no longer an oozy soup, "The field was still there, though not as I remembered" (181). The field"except in some marshy spots... was bone dry"(181). The field still stunk and had the memories but "no ghosts-just a flat, grassy field"(181).
Carole Surfus....
Well, the first obvious difference is that when he was in the war the area was constantly wet from the rain, but now he says "Except for a few marshy spots along the river, everything wa bone dry"(181).Other than that, the difference was just..... well, all of it was different. Compared to the wet, smelly, crowded crud-field, it was now a farming field with "birds and butterflies" (184).
The similarities were few and far between. Tim says that he recognized the "small rise where Jimmy Cross had set up his command post" (185) and the "same narrow dike whrer we had laid out Kiowa's body after pulling him from the muck"(181). Other than these things and the "canteens, and bandoliers and mess kits" (184) burried deep in the ground, this field and the field from that night were very different.
don't forget "metaphoric"
Katelyn Peters:
During the war the field at which O'Brien fought at was "evil ground" that let out a "terrible stink [that bubbled] out of the earth" (168). It epitomized everything that dealt with what the soldiers were going through; the pain, sorrow, discomforts and the numerous indeterminate forces surrounding them. It could be a matter of life or death, whether the muck will swallow you, if the shrapnel will pierce you, if you will be able to find the courage to make it through.
Twenty years later the field is unrecognizable. It's dry and a flat, grassy field, a complete contradiction to its previous form. There is a tranquility in the air, with "a breeze and a wide blue sky...things were quiet and the place was at peace" (181). This shows how different the atmosphere is when it is not being raged by war, the feelings that Tim feels are mutual.
During the war the field had been like a hungry monster, "This little field, I thought, had swallowed so much. My best friend. My pride. My belief in myself as a man of some dignity and courage. Still, it was hard to find any real emotion"(210). Now the field lay silent and peaceful. If you didn't know better you would never have no the terror that happened on that same field. The war had been flooded because of the rising waters of the Song Tra Bong and now it lay dry and barren. The stench lingered but only in a small degree. This field was a nightmare to these man and now it was a site of serenity.
Tiffany to Mrs. Matysak
Tim deals with the changes by getting in the muddy water. It feels more natural to him because they were neck deep in muck during the war. It reminds him of the way it used to be, which feels right. The bright sunny field just feels wrong to Tim. With all of the death and fighting that went on in that field, it shouldn't just be bright and sunny, but should be gloomy and solemn, like the thoughts of the war. He also deals with Kiowa's death in this way by returning his mocassin's to the place of his death and, in Tim's mind, to Kiowa himself.
Excellent Tiffany...that was the detail I wanted!!
Carole Surfus....
oops! Metaphorically, the field from the war was quite literally a crap-field. It was not only built upon layers of human dung, but the war itself was in itself crap because it was being fought for no acknowledged reason. Upon his revisiting, Tim find the place to be "at peace"(181). The turmoil of the past was gone, and the current peace was undeniably obvious at that former dung field.
Amy
Visually the field was a death pit during O'Brien's stay when he was a soldier. The field was a thick, mushy, and overall smelly place that engulfed the soldiers in the human waste. On the contrary, when O'Brien took Kathleen the field was the complete opposite, "A quiet sunny day, and the field was not the field I remembered" (184). When comparing the lakes from past to present, they were completely different. Metaphorically, the field was also different. When visinting with his daughter, O'Brien describes the field as "The place was at peace. There were yellow butterflies. There was a breeze and a wide blue sky" (181). All of these descriptions put you in a peaceful place in your mind, where in the previous chapters, it was hell reading what Kiowa, Tim O'Brien, and the rest of the soldiers were doing. The field had been a place of death and fear and turmoil. Now, it was a peaceful place, where farmers were tending to plants- new life, and everything was calm.
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