War As Hell Tim O'Brien's Essay

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The whole country. Vietnam, the place talks." The environment sinks under their skin, uncomfortable and yet unavoidable -- in short, hell.

There is also a growing sense of insanity among the men that O'Brien describes in this story. There is the crack-up of the team that Mitchell Sanders describes, and the idea of playing catch with a smoke grenade as an idea of fun -- both of these instance reflect a certain necessary insanity. Without going a little crazy, these men would lose their minds. Any situation where insanity becomes necessary to retain sanity, and thus where insanity becomes normal, must be a type of hell. This confusion is most clearly reflected in Rat's letter to Lemon's sister; telling a grieving family member about how her brother went "out on ambush almost stark naked, just boots and balls and an M-16" shows the level of disconnect from "normal" normal.

The effects of the war on the soldiers' later lives is also an example of the hell of war. O'Brien's remarks about the type of women who often approach him after a reading illustrates that despite the author/speaker's obvious compassion, war has made him somehow separate from many individuals who refuse to listen.

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When they tell him to put his past behind him, O'Brie says that he will "picture Rat Kiley's face, his grief, and I'll think, You dumb cooze." Thinking this about nay middle-aged woman, regardless of the impetus behind the thought, is surely an indicator that war has had lasting de-formative effects on the soldiers involved.

"War is hell" might not be a true enouh statement to make, especially for someone who has never gone to war. But the assertion that war has hellish effects is fairly self-evident. There are layers of truth, as O'Brien adeptly points out, and for some of simply knowing war is horrible should suffice......

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