I looked up a lot of words on my dictionary app on my iPod while reading Stockings. I wanted to interact w/ the reading more and understand what I was reading. I found it funny and weird that Henry Dobbins carried his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck before heading out on ambush. If that's what helped him survive in the war then I'm not mad at him. O' Brien mentions the pantyhose as a symbol for a spiritual world that was soft and intimate in a real world that was tough and serious. It was interesting that Dobbins came close to dying a few times and the pantyhose helped him live.
Most people don't like war, however, a war can help you explore the world which is something you may never be able to do elsewhere. Like in the story Church, when Henry Dobbins meet the monks near the Batangan Peninsula and forms a special connection with them. He mentions becoming a monk after the war. I doubt he's serious but this shows how much he likes the monks and being nice to people. The monks were very nice to the platoon. Dobbins mentions that when he was a child, he wanted to become a minister because it seemed like a good life that could bring you a "free house, free car" and "lots of potlucks". This reminds me of how I think that there are a lot of ministers and preachers and reverends out there who are in churches just for the money. That is why I'd rather learn about God and Christianity on my own. Dobbins also mentions that he wanted to be a minister just because he liked the fact that they were nice to people. This shows that he was a kindhearted man for the most part. I found the monks interesting. I am very nice like them and I could possibly enjoy their lifestyles. It may get a little boring at times though.
In the Story "The Man I Killed", I could tell that the death of the man Tim O' Brien killed really affected him. He repeatedly mentions the details of it: "His jaw was in his throat. His one eye was shut and the other was a star-shaped hole". O' Brien felt sympathy for the man and even states that he wanted to warn him about the grenade he threw. This lets readers know that he was really not meant for war. I think I would've felt the same as him after killing someone.The repetition of the description of the man's dead body emphasizes the affect it had on O' Brien. Azar repeatedly tries to talk to O' Brien but he doesn't even say anything. I found it kind of weird that O' Brien knew facts about the man's personal life. Maybe he felt so much sympathy that he wanted to get to know him so he did some research on him.
In the story Ambush, O' Brien goes into further details about how he killed the man. He mentions that his daughter asked him if he killed somebody before and he replied "of course not". O' Brien explains the story as if he was real nervous before he did the killing and how his stomach felt crazy. He was terrified and didn't really want to kill the man. He wanted him to "evaporate" so he wouldn't have to kill him. The man had nobody with him and I think this is the reason why O' Brien feels guilty for killing him. He didn't pose much of a threat but he did have a gun. O' Brien seemed as if he was amazed by the man's dead body. He mentions that he still thinks about killing the man to the day of him writing this book. He imagines the man smiling at him which emphasizes O' Brien's mindset about killing him.
Style was a story that I didn't really get much out of. I found it hard to understand why a girl would be dancing when her house has just burned down and her family just died. I can't imagine having to drag the bodies of her family out like the platoon did. It would be a horrific sight. Henry Dobbins repeatedly states that the girl just liked to danced but it's hard to imagine dancing at a time like that.
I wrote a nice long response and just lost it! In esssence, your work is A level work.
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