War Stories Essay -- Literacy Analysis

The Vietnam War was the first war in hi figment to be broadcast on national television. Due to the increasing popularity of television ownership and the introduction of the nightly news programs such as CBS and NBC, the horrors of war found a place in living rooms across the country. Between 1965 and 1975, nine million people served in the Vietnam War, and of those nine million, 58,156 were killed or declared missing in action (Vietnam War Statistics.). Of the 58,156 soldiers killed, 11,465 of them were under the age of twenty (Statistics about the Vietnam War). After surviving the war, Tim OBrien and Susan ONeill wrote short stories and novels including Tim OBriens The Things They Carried, and Susan ONeills The Boy from Montana. By putting audiences in the shoes of the grunts led by Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and the surgical gloves of Agnes Reedy, Tim OBrien and Susan ONeill immortalized the struggles experienced by their compatriots and themselves. The things they carried was a sho rt story about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross leading his men through Vietnam. OBrien describes all of the things carried by the men as a way to symbolize all of the burdens they had. One thing that Jimmy Cross carried was a pack of letters from a female child named Martha who he cerebration he was in love with (OBrien). One night Lavender goes out to use the bathroom and on his return, is shot and killed (OBrien).This causes Cross to befool that his main priority is to lead his men, not swoon over a woman that doesnt love him (OBrien). The Boy from Montana is a short story about Agnes Reedys account of watching a young boy die in the field hospital she worked at in Vietnam. She says that she thought that all death was the same, but one day she... ...Short Stories of Vietnam. New York Ballantine, 2001. 3-11. Print. Roush, Gary. Statistics about the Vietnam War. Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network (VHFCN). 2 June 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. . Taormina, Agatha. Author profile Tim OBrien. Northern Virginia Community College. Www.nvcc.edu, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. . Tim OBrien Interview The Things He Carried. Interview by David L. Edelman. Wordpress, 19 Oct. 1994. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. . Vietnam Veterans Terminology and Slang. VIETNAM VETERANS HOME PAGE. 22 Mar. 2000. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. .Vietnam War Statistics. The Mobile Riverine Force Association. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. .