Entry #12

Dynamic Character- "It was nearly three weeks before she returned. But in a sense she never returned. Not entirely, not all of her" (page 100).



At the beginning of Rat Kiley's story about Mary Anne Bell, he portrays her as a young bubbly kid. She was young when she arrived, only 17. She was in love and curious about the war and ready to learn. By the end of the story, she had changed. Her eyes were like the jungle Rat said. She was rough and no longer in love. She had become foreign to Mark Fossie and to everyone else. This was all caused by the war and what she had seen while out with the Special Forces. This all happened within the coarse of a few weeks. A young woman changed from "bubbly" and energetic to hard and fighting a war.



It is difficult to think that someone my age choose to go out and fight with a group of men. I could not even imagine going to Vietnam if I was in her position, let alone fighting in a foreign place. She was changed for good because of this and her youth would never be restored. Her character shows what war can do to someone, especially someone who is still a child themself. She was out killing people before she even had the right to vote, legally drink alcohol, legally smoke, or live on her own without an adult. It's sad to think that someone who is not even technically an adult was out fighting for our freedom. Although her story may not have been 100% true, there were many young men around the age of 18 who were fighting for our freedom. These people have been changed forever because of a war. A part of Mary Anne was taken by the war, and she would never get it back.