Chapter 9: Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

Characterize Rat Kiley. After reading the entirety of the story, why does this story seem particularly “true” to Rat? What meaning might he derive from it?

• Rat Kiley is a sensitive and dramatic person, especially in terms of storytelling. Tim even recalls Rat telling stories that were mostly fictional as he states, “Rat had a reputation for exaggeration and overstatement, a compulsion to rev up the facts, and for most of us it was normal procedure to discount sixty or seventy percent of anything he had to say” (O’Brien 85). After reading the entirety of the story, this story seems particularly “true” to Rat as he seemed to be attached to the person that is Mary Anne or what he believed she seemed to be. As stated before in the novel, if one believes something to be the truth, then it will become the truth to them. The meaning Rat might have derived from it would be along the lines of him having the possibility not to return home due to the war, thus Mary Anne was a person that caused this awareness of reality.

Characterize Mark Fossie and Mary Anne Bell.

• According to Rat’s story, Mark Fossie is portrayed as, “Just a boy- eighteen years old. Tall and blond. A gifted athlete. A nice kid, too, polite and good-hearted” (O’Brien 95). When Mary Anne comes into the picture, Mark wants to please her and puts more attention toward his girlfriend rather than the war. Mark even went as far as making sure she was to arrive as stated, “Mark Fossie explained how he’d set it up. Expensive, he admitted… ‘A cinch,’ Fossie said, gazed down at his pretty girlfriend. ‘Thing is, you just got to want it enough’” (O’Brien 90). Mary Anne Bell is depicted as a pretty, simplistic girl who Rat describes as, “A tall, big boned blonde… She was seventeen years old, fresh out of Cleveland Heights Senior High. She had long white legs and blue eyes and a complexion like strawberry ice cream. Very friendly, too” (O’Brien 89). When characterized together, Mark and Mary Anne seemed to have the perfect relationship. For instance, according to Rat’s story, “Mary Anne Bell and Mark Fossie had been sweethearts since grammar school… They had known for a fact that someday they would be married… They were very much in love, full of dreams, and… the whole scenario might well have come true” (O’Brien 90). They seemed like such a great match from the start, as if they were meant for each other.

Describe the changes in Mary Anne Bell from the time she arrived in Vietnam to be with her boyfriend until the end of the chapter. Be specific and record moments from the text (page numbers and descriptions) that demonstrate how she changed.

• From the time she arrived in Vietnam to be with her boyfriend until the end of the chapter, Mary Anne Bell definitely shows changes in her character where Mark Fossie is truly affected by it as well. At the start, Mary Anne is given descriptions from Rat’s story as Tim says, “Mary Anne Bell was an attractive girl. Too wide in the shoulders, maybe, but she had terrific legs, a bubbly personality, a happy smile. The men genuinely liked her” (O’Brien 91). Generally, she can be illustrated as having some child-like features to her personality all the while being mature for her age and was naturally curious. Later on, Mary Anne became more intrigued about the war, particularly the land and mystery that surrounded it; for example, Tim states that “She began pestering Mark Fossie to take her down to the village at the foot of the hill… He tried to tell her that it was a bad idea, way too dangerous, but Mary Anne kept after him” (O’Brien 91). This meant that she became more persistent in what she was after; she even became more acquainted with Mark’s peers to which she impressed them. After learning more and more about the war, she became more involved; Rat says that, “She picked up on things fast… When four casualties came in, Mary Anne wasn’t afraid to get her hands bloody. At times, in fact, she seemed fascinated by it” (O’Brien 93). Rat even mentions that she stopped caring about her appearance, and she did get more attached to war life, which Mark didn’t necessarily like and suggested that she should head back home. Mary Anne wanted to say in Vietnam, and she said they could wait for marriage. To Mark, “her body seemed foreign somehow- too stiff in places, too firm where the softness used to be” (O’Brien 95). The longer she stayed, the more she became unrecognizable and overall different, yet according to her, it made her the happiest she’s been in her entire life. Mary Anne even came in late at night and once she didn’t come at all, which made Rat and Mark search everywhere for her. They couldn’t find her; however, she came back with the Green Berets. This made Mark genuinely worried and upset; the two did have a conservation which made it seem like she went back to her “normal” state (how she was when she first arrived), and their relationship also went back to the way it was. Mark arranged for her to head back to the United States; at first, she seemed to agree, yet she later became missing once more. In Rat’s story, it was told as, “It was nearly three weeks before she returned. But in a sense she never returned. Not entirely, not all of her” (O’Brien 100). Mark did wait for her to return, but she didn’t come, so he decided he wanted to get her back himself. When the two went inside the Special Forces area, they waited for Mary Anne. Rat says that, “She stepped out of the shadows. At least for a moment she seemed to be the same pretty young girl who had arrived a few weeks earlier” (O’Brien 105). Yet after looking at her for a while, the change in her appearance was visible as stated by Rat, “There was no emotion in her stare, no sense of the person behind it. But the grotesque part, he said, was her jewelry. At the girl’s throat was a necklace of human tongues” (O’Brien 105). Mary Anne supposedly describes her change due to the war, “I feel close to myself. When I’m out there at night, I feel close to my own body… I’m burning away into nothing- but it doesn’t matter because I know exactly who I am. You can’t feel like that anywhere else” (O’Brien 106). As lost as she seemed to others, she seemed to know herself quite well due to the experiences brought by the war. This could indicate that war has effects that the person involved will only know about as it’s his or her own experiences. Mark did keep wanting to do something about her; however, Rat tells him, “‘Man, you must be deaf. She’s already gone’” (O’Brien 107). War does affect a person, whether that be for the better or for the worse; Mary Anne is an example of this and if it was taken to somewhat of an extreme.

Why do you think she changed? What did the change symbolize? How long did this metamorphosis take?

• Mary Anne changed as she became more exposed to the war and what actually occurs during it. With Mary Anne, it started with getting used to the environment as stated, “Mark and Mary Anne strolled through the ville like a pair of tourists… All morning Mary Anne chattered away about how quaint the place was… A strange thing to watch, Rat said” (O’Brien 92). This change symbolizes similar emotions, thoughts, and course of actions men have when they enter the war. This metamorphosis only took weeks as the impact of war can truly be hostile and damaging to one’s mind as well as body.  

Look up the definition of the word metamorphosis. In what ways (note that this a plural noun) does this word apply to the transformation of Mary Anne?

• According to Google, the definition of the word metamorphosis is, “A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.” This word definitely applies to the transformation of Mary Anne as she went from a simple, sweet teenage girl to someone who seem to like the war or at least the lifestyle that it gave to a person. Not only did her personality change, yet her appearance did as well as stated, “The way she quickly fell into the habits of the bush. No cosmetics, no fingernail filing. She stopped wearing jewelry, cut her hair short and wrapped it in a dark green bandana” (O’Brien 94). It was as if she was involved in the war in the first place, following the saying “one of the guys”, and it apparently made her find a new confidence and authority in herself.

Does it matter that Mary Anne is a woman? How so? What does the story tell us about the nature of the Vietnam War?

• It doesn’t matter that Mary Anne is a woman. However, at first, it did somewhat matter to the guys when she just came to Vietnam. This was because they hadn’t seen a female in so long, yet they got used to her being around and “genuinely liked her” (O’Brien 91). There would be some attraction from the men toward her, but she adjusted to the lifestyle and mindset just as they did. At the end of telling the story, Rat even says, “‘The way she looked, Mary Anne made you think about those girls back home, how pure and innocent they all are, how they’ll never understand any of this, not in a billion years’” (O’Brien 108). This story implicates the nature of the Vietnam will affect anyone, no matter their gender or sex, and they will go through a similar (if not the identical) transformations; Mary Anne is definitely no exception to this general rule.

Does it matter what happened, in the end, to Mary Anne? Would this be a better story if we knew, precisely, what happened to her after she left camp? Or does this vague ending add to the story? Why?

• The vague ending does add to the story. If her whereabouts were precisely know after she left camp, then it wouldn’t add to the mystery or realizations made from the story’s “ending”. Even when Rat tells the story to Tim and Mitchell Sanders, Mitchell asks what happened to Mary Anne and continues to question Rat, “Mitchell Sanders stared at him. ‘You can’t do that.’ ‘Do what?’ ‘Jesus Christ, it’s against the rules,’ Sanders said. ‘Against human nature. This elaborate story, you can’t say, Hey, by the way, I don’t know the ending. I mean you got certain obligations’” (O’Brien 107). The mystery of Mary Anne’s disappearance is the “typical” tale of how much Vietnam can affect a person. It also makes the reader ponder of the possibilities involving Mary Anne, yet such a changed mindset could allow for a more tragic ending.  

“You’re in a place where you don’t belong.” Any parallels to today? How does our lack of understanding of a people and their place destroy us (as it does Fossie)? How does it make monsters of us?

• The story parallels to what might people act and feel if they don’t feel like they belong nowadays. This feeling of not belonging could originate from what was to be unknown; the Vietnam War would be an example as anyone, particularly the soldiers, don’t know what they’re truly getting into. In this story, the soldiers are becoming more unaware and somewhat scared of who Mary Anne is becoming; however, she states that she never felt her best until she came to Vietnam. Mark didn’t understand what was happening to her, so he tried to convince her to return to her original self; this wouldn’t work. If anything, this seemed to push her away from him some more.  The Vietnam War could be an example of killing a person without knowing his or her story and background. All of this information is unknown, yet it doesn’t necessarily matter as the main objectives are to kill the “enemy” and take his or her land. This can turn people with positive intentions and kind hearts into “monsters”. 

Reflection:

According to Tim’s standards, this story would be considered as a true war story. This would be due to the fact that it has such specific details, which Mary Anne’s drastic change from the beginning to end and even the reactions received by others. The unbelievability of the whole makes it seem believable, and the way it didn’t have an official ending allowed for questions to be asked or thoughts to be pondered. This chapter also goes to show that love alone, if Mark and Mary Anne did ever love each other, wouldn’t survive on its own especially if there’s a war happening. One could say all’s fair in love and war (no pun intended). Each person has to allow the other to be comfortable, which Mark did initially allow, yet he still wanted her to go back to Cleveland even if he spent all that time wishing she was with him and planning the whole thing. The chapter breaks the division between men and women in a way as both go through similar transformations due to the war. However, mostly all the women during this time wouldn’t know what truly (as they weren’t allowed to serve in the war), to which Mary Anne was the exception; this would also place emphasis on the story as well.