English Lit 1 & 2

Allison Finn Pinto

WritingExemplars:TheThingsTheyCarried
ReadingQuiz:SweetheartofSongTraBong
ExploretheroleofMaryAnneinthestorysofar.
Whenshearrived,MaryAnnesatisfiedthemensneedforpurity.Sheworewhite
culottes,herblondhairshoneinthesunlight,herblueeyeswereasbrightassapphires,andher
legsthemilkywhitecolorofinnocence.HersimilaritytoMarthawasstriking,yettherewasa
keydifference:OBrienwrites,ThisMaryAnnewasntnovirginbutatleastshewasreal
(102).MaryAnnespresenceatthebasewasareminderofgoodnessandsanity.However,over
time,MaryAnnebeginstotransform:shejoinstheGreeniesandgoesoffonsecretmissions,she
wearsanecklaceofhumantongues,andshetakesintheVietnameseculture.Despiteallofher
antics,whatfrightensthesoldiersthemostisnothernecklaceofhumantongues,norhertainted
whiteculottes,butthefactthatshebringsbackproofofthedestructionthattheycause.Mary
Anneisametaphorforthewarandwhatitcandotoaperson.Thoughshedisappears,her
presenceisalwaysfeltwithinthecamp.OBrienwrites,IfyoubelievedtheGreenies,Ratsaid,
MaryAnnewasstillsomewhereoutthereinthedarkShehadcrossedtotheotherside.Shewas
partoftheland(110).Thissymbolizesthatthoughtheyeventuallyreturnhome,thewaris
eternallywithinthem.Itisunforgettable.Altogether,althoughthesoldierswantedMaryAnneto
beatangiblesymbolofpurity,shedevelopsintoametaphorforthewarandtheirhaunting
actions.
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English Lit 1 & 2

Allison Finn Pinto

Reading Quiz: On the Rainy River

Explore the significance of Rainy River.
The Rainy River is both a tangible object and an intangible idea that
symbolizes a change in both the character of Tim OBrien as well as a change
in the story. For OBrien, the river was a place for endings and beginnings. He
reached the river in an attempt to flee being drafted into the war, and it was
the river, essentially, in the end that caused him to realize his obligation to
fight. The river is significant in this case because Tim had a large change in
thought. When he received his draft notice, he thought, I was too good for
this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything(39). Tim was
overwhelmed with the conclusion that he couldnt fight. Not that he was
physically incapable, but that he had too strong of a character to be sent to
Vietnam, surrounded by blood (which made him queasy) and superior
authority (which was, to Tim, intolerable). The rainy river, as well as Elroy, the
man who saved me(46) set new thoughts in motion for Tim, proving to him
that it was his moral duty to overcome his thought-to-be superiority and give
in to the enlistment. Through the experience that Tim had on the rainy river,
fishing and playing scrabble with Elroy, he soon realized that the river, this
escape, was just a temporary fantasy. I realized, that Canada had become a
pitiful fantasy. Silly and hopeless. It was no longer a possibility(55). The
Rainy River, along with the insight he received from Elroy is the place where
Tim realized his moral obligation and the need to adopt a new perspective.
The river, in a sense, symbolizes a turning point in Tims character, as well as
an introduction to the intimate lives and feelings of soldiers that the book had
not yet revealed.
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