Compare/Contrast
The story “Missing” and the chapter “Sweetheart in the Song Tra Bong” in Tim O’Brien’s book “The Things They Carried” are very much a like. These two different stories talk about an American who becomes involved with the Vietnam culture so much that they decide to never leave Vietnam. These two people have an emptiness in them that they discover while in Vietnam and decided that there life is better off living in this foreign country. Even though these individuals become part of the MIA, their intentions are to not be found by any one.
These two individuals do have a different reason to why they decide to live in Vietnam. The character from the “Missing”, decides to live in Vietnam because he wanted to get away from his life in America. He was abused as a child which left him with no ambition to come back from the war. He found a peace in the village that he was staying at and a sense of family which he never had in America. Mary Anne from “The Things They Carried” had a very normal life back home but she became so intrigued with her new surroundings that she had no intention on ever leaving. She also was more concerned with the war and geography in Vietnam than the actual culture.
The story “Missing” and the chapter “Sweetheart in the Song Tra Bong” in Tim O’Brien’s book “The Things They Carried” are very much a like. These two different stories talk about an American who becomes involved with the Vietnam culture so much that they decide to never leave Vietnam. These two people have an emptiness in them that they discover while in Vietnam and decided that there life is better off living in this foreign country. Even though these individuals become part of the MIA, their intentions are to not be found by any one.
These two individuals do have a different reason to why they decide to live in Vietnam. The character from the “Missing”, decides to live in Vietnam because he wanted to get away from his life in America. He was abused as a child which left him with no ambition to come back from the war. He found a peace in the village that he was staying at and a sense of family which he never had in America. Mary Anne from “The Things They Carried” had a very normal life back home but she became so intrigued with her new surroundings that she had no intention on ever leaving. She also was more concerned with the war and geography in Vietnam than the actual culture.
5 comments:
It's definitely an interesting comparison, I think shows how peoples mindsets going into the war greatly affected how they handled the war. While some used it to escape, others wished to go home, back to their old lives. However, despite all their differences, they will always have Vietnam in common an thats something no one will ever understand but them.
I think that the fact that these two characters stayed in Vietnam is an interesting fact. So many times we think about how the soldiers wanted to get out of Vietnam, but this is a stark contrast to this belief. It allows us to understand that different peopled coped differently with the problems faced while in Vietnam.
I like your comment Cory. The fact that people cope differently to situations shows how diverse this country is. Some people became depressed when they came back from war and others could not handle going back home so they decided to start another life in Vietnam.
You and I both had the same idea behind our posts. These two stories were so closely related to each other that it was almost hard not to think of one when reading the other. The fact that someone actually wanted to stay in Vietnam is a shocking concept and that is more than likely why it sticks out in our minds.
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