Chapter/Story 3: Spin

The third story is a great group of stories. It really emphasizes the power of a story and memories towards the end. I love the way it is written. It also emphasizes how Tim O' Brien and the other men in his unit found peace and happiness in such a hostile setting like the Vietnam War. O' Brien mentions how a little boy with a plastic leg asked Azar for a chocolate bar and this shows how violent the war can get but yet this little boy still has a sense of humor when he says "GI number one" and this makes Azar smile. This story also mentions how Norman Bowker and Henry Dobbins used to play checkers every evening before dark. The other boys used to enjoy watching them because the playing field was in a strict grid with no tunnels or mountains or jungles like Vietnam. Norman and Henry knew where they stood and could visibly see there enemies. We discussed in class that the Viet Cong used to be everywhere and you never knew when they would attack so this game of checkers helped the boys escape from the reality of the jungles in Vietnam. They needed some type of escape. O'Brien mentions how his memories of the events in the war turned into a rehappening which helped him write this book. He also mentions how the boys of his unit met this "old poppa-san" who guides them through the mine fields on the Batangan Peninsula and they form a close relationship with this man. The boys looked at the guiding as an adventure and learned to love the old man. They were sad when they had to leave him. O'Brien mentions how you could find yourself in more peace than ever by looking up and seeing "the sun and a few puffy white clouds" (35). It is amazing how his unit found serenity in a terrifying war. O' Brien later goes on to end the chapter with such vivid images of the war that brung out the "childlike exuberance" (37). He states the war is still very much alive and his memories help him relive the moments. He states that stories are for joining the past and the future, for eternity, the moments when your memory is erased, and just keeping things alive forever. It made me think of how powerful memories can be and how precious they are. It just made me want to remember good moments in my life.