Thursday, October 3, 2013

Sweet Heart of the Song Tra Bong



In Sweetheart of The Song Tra Bong, Mary Anne is mentally and physically changed after arriving in the jungle to accompany her boyfriend, Mark Fossie, while he is a medic in the Vietnam War. My friend’s oldest sister, Gal, will shortly be going into the army in Israel. At age eighteen, everyone in Israel is required to serve in the army, whether they are a medic, fighter, guide, or secret service; all eighteen year olds must serve their time for a minimum of two full years. Gal will leave to become a medic in the Israeli army this December. Unlike Mary Anne, Gal is already in her comfort zone and is attached to the land of Israel. Once the land and culture of Vietnam start to surround Mary Anne, a spark in her is ignited and she no longer wants to leave. For both Mary Anne and Gal, becoming a soldier leads to inevitable change.
Mary Anne has nothing to lose; it is apparent the day she arrives in the helicopter for Fossie. “..I’ve never been happier in my whole entire life. Never” (O’Brien 95). In this, O’Brien reveals that Mary Anne was not happy where she was before and is ready for a new experience. Mary Anne embraces her fondness for the new environment. She escapes into the jungle at night with the six Greenies on an ambush. The odds of Mary Anne fleeing to the jungle at night when she first arrives is very little, but by the end of her third week in the jungle, Mary Anne’s perspective of the war changes drastically. She awakens and is “taken to the dark side,” telling Fossie, “Sometimes I want to eat this place. The whole country-- the dirt, the death-- I just want to swallow it and have it there inside me,” (106). Mary Anne craves the danger and uncertainty of the darkness in the jungle; she craves the unknown.
Similar to Mary Anne, both Gal and my best friend Rotem crave the unknown. Unlike Mary Anne who takes a leap and does not look down, they are curious as to what is out there, beyond their home, school, and friends, but they are also nervous. In contrast to Gal’s decision, Rotem wants to train to be a soldier when it is her turn to serve. In order to become a soldier, your two minimum years of serving in the army are spent in training, and if you want to proceed in becoming a soldier, you would stay in the army to continue your training and eventually become a soldier and fight in the war.
Not everyone is born to fight or even train to fight in a war. It takes mental, physical, and emotional strength beyond what is capable of most human beings. The inner fight of a soldier, or even a medic, is ambiguous and compares to no other inner fight fought in the world. “She wanted more, she wanted to penetrate deeper into the mystery of herself, and after a time the wanting became needing, which turned then to craving” (109). Not only is it a fight with the enemy, it is a fight within yourself.

Read More about women in the IDF!



Bibliography: Young girls in the Israeli Army, Israel. Personal photograph by author. 2013.


9 comments:

  1. Lauren, this was really interesting. I think it was really cool that you could relate this story to your own life. Most people don't have experiences similar to the ones in this book so it is awesome that you have some that you are able to share!

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  2. It is really interesting how you related this story to a friend of yours having to serve in the army, and I did not know that they had that requirement in Israel. Also, the first time reading this chapter I did not catch when Mary Anne said she was not happy before, and I think it is interesting how you said that she embraced her new life in Vietnam once she got there because she found it to be better than her old life. Good job!

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  3. Lauren, I liked how you related something that happened years ago to something that is happening right now. The realness and how current your and your friends' experiences are is extremely interesting and makes for a great connection to the book. I also loved how you talked about different requirements and the allegiance your friends have to Israel.

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  4. I liked how you showed how war can drastically change a person. The use of a real life example helps to emphasize the impact of your point. However, I have one question: were the girls ever scared of going to war? If so, including that in your post would help to show the impacts of war. All in all, great job!

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  5. I am very impressed how you linked this assignment to your personal life. Your best friend has a very interesting story and you did a fantastic job telling it. Great job!

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  6. Lauren, I love the way you incorporated the experience of your friends into your post. Certainly, war is drastic and is likely to change the lives of anyone caught in it. I think you did a great job illustrating how Mary Anne craved the danger war provided her and how that changed her. I think it will be interesting to see how the experience of being in the IDF changes the lives of your friends!

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  7. I thought it was fantastic how you compared Mary Anne's experience with a real life example. I like how you showed that Mary Anne craved the danger; I certainly did not see it that way before. I hope your friends don't undergo a similar experience like Mary Anne, but I hope that their experience does change them for the better!

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  8. I love the personal connection you have made. I like the way you have structured this blog entry. For example, I like the way you introduced the personal connection, then talked about Mary Anne in one paragraph, and your friends Gal and Rotem in the other. It was a very organized an effective way of presenting your ideas. In addition, you made some good points and comparisons in this entry.

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  9. Sometimes while reading this book I forget that these character are/were living people. By comparing Mary Anne to your friend's sister, Gal, it helped me realize how things like fighting and war are still going on today. I really liked how you were able to make a personal connection. Great post!

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