Enemies
Who broke whose nose?
Dave Jensen broke Lee Strunk's nose.
What pact did Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk make?
If either of them was wounded in war, that they would end the person's suffering and kill them on the spot.
According to O'Brien, how do you tell a true war story? What does he mean when he says that true war stories are never about war? In what sense is a "true" war story actually true? That is, in O'Brien's terms, what is the relationship between historical and fictional truth?
He means that they may take place during the war but the main point is never about war; it may always be true in the sense that that may not have been what happened but that is how the narrator might have felt.
Characterize Curt Lemon and why he behaves the way he does.
Curt lemon is a "manly" man, but the dentist scares him.
Describe the changes in Mary Anne Bell from the time she arrived in Vietnam to be with her boyfriend until the end of the chapter.
Mary Anne at first didn't really talk and just played with all the men. She then learns to do surgery on injured people and then she goes out in the village. After, Mary Anne begins to like the adrenaline rush and begins to go out on ambushes with other soldiers
What was the effect of the fight on Jensen?
Jensen was scared of Strunk. He felt it was "Like fighting two different wars." Even off the battlefield where he should have felt somewhat safer with his platoon members, he could not let the thought of being killed in his sleep leave his mind.
Why was Strunk afraid of Jensen, and what was Jensen forced to promise?
Strunk was afraid of Jensen killing him at any moment since they made the pact. Strunk made Jensen promise multiple times that he wouldn't kill him.
Why does this story begin with the line: "This is true." How does that prepare you, as a reader, for the story? In what sense is "this" true?
To grab the reader's attention; it makes the reader more engaged; it establishes ethos for the author, preparing the reader to take everything as the truth; it is true in the sense that it might be how O'Brien felt, but not what happened (historical vs fictional)
How did Curt Lemon's visit to the dentist affect him?
He fainted and them got mad at himself, so then he went and complained about a monster tooth ache to prove that the dentist doesn't scare him.
Why do you think she changed? What did the change symbolize? How long did this metamorphosis take?
Mary Anne changed because she almost had to. Mary Anne's change shows how war can change ANYONE. Her change happened within months
What did Jensen do to resolve the conflict between them?
He decided that the only way to resolve the problem was by breaking his own nose and then asking Strunk for forgiveness. Strunk accepted it.
The phrase that inspires these two chapters is normally characterized as "friends and enemies". Why does O'Brien (the author) reverse this traditional order?
They started off enemies and became friends
Find a few of O'Brien's elements of a "true war story." Why does he believe these elements are important to a "true" war story?
He knows from personal experience what is to be believed and what isn't
What is the purpose of placing this chapter directly after "How to Tell a True War Story"?
To lighten the mood
Look up the definition of the word metamorphosis. In what ways (note that this a plural noun) does this word apply to the transformation of Mary Anne?
Metamorphism is like an all out change. Like something evolved. That's exactly what Mary Anne did, she evolved. A complete change.
What is the irony of this chapter's title?
The contradiction between friends and enemies.
Jensen and Strunk become best friends
Using both chapters, explain how war distorts the normal social codes.
War makes people go crazy and some people might even want friends to kill them if they get severely injured.
Why is the baby water buffalo scene more disturbing than the death of one of O'Brien's platoon members, Curt Lemon?
It contains more slowly told with specific details and the motive behind the killing of the animal remains unclear, whereas the death of lemon was quick and had less details and was an accident
Characterize Rat Kiley. After reading the entirety of the story, why does this story seem particularly "true" to Rat? What meaning might he derive from it?
Rat Kiley is very brave. He is used to war and loves to tell stories. It seemed true to him because he was infatuated with Mary Anne and he knows that he will not return home and have a normal life like everyone else
Does it matter that Mary Anne is a woman? How so? What does the story tell us about the nature of the Vietnam War?
No it does not matter that Mary Anne is a woman because this shows us that the war can change anyone no matter who they are
Does it matter what happened, in the end, to Mary Anne? Would this be a better story if we knew, precisely, what happened to her after she left camp? Or does this vague ending add to the story? Why?
The vague ending made the story. Mary Anne became a legend of how Vietnam can change a person. This vague ending adds to the mysteries of this war
What is the irony in this chapter's title?
When Jensen and Strunk finally became friends, Strunk ended up dying.
O'Brien explains that this story was "not a war story. It was a love story." In what sense is this a "love story" and why?
In the sense that it featured the brotherly love between two soldiers who became best friends.
Characterize Mark Fossie and Mary Anne Bell.
Mark Fossie is young and fairly new, he is not really interested in the war just his girl. Mary Anne Bell is known as the pretty girl who later turns bad.
"You're in a place where you don't belong." Any parallels to today? How does our lack of understanding of a people and their place destroy us (as it does Fossie)? How does it make monsters of us?
The Vietnam war is a good example, when we shoot and kill other people, we don't know their story. We don't know their life, yet we come to their territory and kill them... That is what makes good people turn to monsters.