Sweetheart Of The Song Of Tra Bong Analysis

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I see the theme of loss of innocence in the “Sweetheart of the Song of Tra Bong”. The young men, Rat Kiley, Eddie Diamond, Mark Fossie and the others they were with, thad been stripped of their innocence. They might have been fresh out of high school, not having any idea they would land in Vietnam witnessing and experiencing the hostility of the time. As a former military member, I feel like you grow up faster, much more if you experienced war. From dependence to independence, you learn to deal with grown up responsibilities such as paying bills, doing laundry and preparing their own food. They learn how to relate to others, not with people their same age, but seasoned high ranking people. They meet people from all walks of life and adjust to their surroundings.
Other theme of loss of innocence I see is through Mary Ann. She was a young, attractive girl-the only girl, who hung out with these military guys. She was “curious about things” and asking questions: the army lingo, people and the surrounding area where they were stationed. Coming from a small town in Ohio to Vietnam to …show more content…
For Mary Ann, I think of the Dracula story. Dracula is comparable to the mountains-Tra Bong, which was dangerous and alluring and Mary Ann being the beautiful, unmarried woman was sucked in by the place. She developed a longing and desire she never knew she had. Tra Bong bit her like a vampire and the place left her mark on her and stole her innocence. Exactly what happened to her? Who knows! I saw her in the beginning of the story as a young girl who turned woman in a matter of weeks. Her curiousness led her down a path of darkness that made her into a completely different person; possessed drugged, maybe both. O’Brien was showing a picture through these characters of his objection of the war, communicating the effects and responses from different
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