While talking about Mary, Rat said "I mean, If it was a guy, everybody'd say, Hey, no big deal, he got caught up in the Nam shit, he got seduced by the Greenies. See what I mean? You got these blinders on about women. How gentle and peaceful they are. All that crap about how if we had a pussy for president there wouldn't be no more wars. Pure garbage. You got to get rid of that sexist attitude."(pg. 102) What Rat is talking about is a form of complete equality of the genders, specifically at an emotional level. Rat believes that both men and women can be changed this dramatically by the war, because Mary and the soldiers at the camp were far more similar than most people care to admit. They were all just children, launched into the oppressing paradox of war, losing their values and minds all at once and all together. Rat believes that, at least in the context of war, we're all equals, equally skilled and equally susceptible to dramatic change.
Truth doesn't generalize, and Rat's version of feminism combats the stereotypes of women as nothing more than gentle creatures, consistently and reliably. Rat's story shows a girl who doesn't come or leave as just a gentle soul who does what she's told, and the war around her only increases the ferocity of her heart. War is a good place to show just how wrong such generalizations are, where everyone's either too busy enjoying their own heart beating to tell you to stop, or where desperation is enough motivator to give anyone who might be helpful a shot.
I agree with Liam in the fact that war changes everyone. It changed all the soldiers who were drafted and it changed Mary, proving the fact that people are changed when they go to war.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the story. I thought that you really hit on the idea the everyone is change by war. Also, that everyone is equal if put in the same situation.
ReplyDeleteDuring her time in Vietnam, Marry Anne transformed from a kind, gentle youth to a daring adult. She changed just like the men, but not in the same way or to the same extent. None of the men in the platoon had any desire to go on the all night ambushes that she so frequently volunteered for. She felt that Vietnam was where she belonged, which is a feeling that none of the other men seemed to have. Everyone was changed by War, but Mary Anne was changed in a far different way than the men.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post, it was clear and precis. Good job.
ReplyDeleteGreat job of pulling out the comments about sexism in this book. I liked how you determined from Rat's little speech that he is making the point the war changes the core of you are actually are.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your piece, since the quote you analyzed was one that really stuck with me. I agree that war changes anyone, no matter what gender, not generalizing truths at all (besides the fact how unrealistic the entire story idea is). Overall, you brought up a lot of great points!
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