For my summary vs. analysis blog I chose to write about Tim O’Brien’s short story “The Ghost Soldiers”. This story is about O’Brien when he was in the war in Vietnam. O’Brien had been shot a couple of times during the war. The first time was not nearly as traumatic as the second. O’Brien’s first shot was to his side. He had even said that he didn’t have much pain. This wound was taken care of quickly and he had his friend Rat Kiley to thank for that. Rat Kiley was a medic in the war and he knew what he was doing. He was quick to treat and he risked his life to be at O’Brien’s side. The second shot was to his butt and at that time there was a new medic on the field, Bobby Jorgenson. This guy was not as fearless as Rat Kiley. When O’Brien had been shot it took Jorgenson a while to get to him because he was afraid. In that time that O’Brien had been waiting for someone to help he bled out a lot and finally went into shock. Since Jorgenson was still new and not as experienced when he finally got to O’Brien he did not treat O’Brien for shock. O’Brien was close death but he survived. He was treated in their hospital and was made fun of for his wound to the butt. When he returned to duty he had to change his job because he had been shot too many times. He was no longer on the front lines with his buddies.
O’Brien experienced a lot of humiliation and pain during this time. He believed it was Jorgenson that did this to him. He felt that Jorgenson had almost killed him. Therefore, O’Brien wanted to pay him back for all the hurt he had caused. So, O’Brien found a guy that would help him scare Jorgenson one night. Azar was the guy who helped him. They planned it all out carefully. When it came time to do it, O’Brien decided half way through that he had scared him enough and wanted to quit, but Azar wanted to finish it. O’Brien followed through but in the end he regretted it. Jorgenson and O’Brien forgave each other and called it even.
This story shows how during war a person can lose sense of himself. When O’Brien was shot the second time he was embarrassed and he lost a sense of his pride. The nurses in the hospital made fun of him for his wound and he lost a little bit of his manly-hood. He lost closeness with his war buddies because he was no longer able to share in the experiences with them. And he experienced being near death. The combination of these incidences caused him to go mad. He had nowhere to let out his anger except for on Jorgenson. When O’Brien finally got revenge he realized that he had sunk low and felt shame for what he had done. Azar, on the other hand, allowed the power gain control of him. He felt no remorse for what he and O’Brien had done to Jorgenson. He allowed the war to make him into a monster.
The war is a place where a man can feel power and acceptance in other men. When a man loses this, he loses his self-worth. This feeling can make a person do things that may be out of character. The war can also make a person angry. The feeling of power can change a person. It seems that no matter who a person is when they enter the war, they come out changed. The things they feel and experience are traumatic in many ways and there is no coming out of it without some sort of scars, whether physical or mental.
Here is a link that gives more info on the effects of war -http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/11261/1/The-Emotional-Effects-of-War-on-Soldiers.html
link to picture http://ravingsfromtheblogdweller.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/ptsd-contributing-to-8500-ex-servicemen-in-british-jails/
