Reading #2 Question 1

[Casey]

Dave Jensen goes insane with fear that Lee Strunk plans to hurt him
after he broke Lee's nose. Do you think that this fear comes from Lee
Strunk or the terrors of war? Does Dave forget that he and Lee are on
the same team?

[Maeha Karlow]

I think that Dave Jensen's fear is produced from the terrors of war.
Soldiers in the Vietnam War, like those in other wars, went through
violent experiences. They were under traumatic stress, caused by the
death that surrounded them, and the anomie they were exposed to. I
believe Jensen is mentally unstable when he accuses Strunk of stealing
"a missing jacknife;" he "pin[s] Lee Strunk down and [keeps] hitting
him on the nose... He hit[s] him hard. And [doesn't] stop" (O'Brien,
62). The strong reaction is assumingly the release of pent up stress,
like that of other soldiers during this time. His actions lead to
guilt, "and Dave Jensen [begins] to worry" (O'Brien, 62). Dave Jensen
experiences a sort of pschological schitzophenia or paranoia,
confusing the enemy with a teammate; he eventually has a mental
breakdown, "firing his weapon into the air, yelling Strunk's
name" (O'Brien, 63). Jensen's actions lead me to believe he is losing
his sanity because he is being conditioned, or socialized, to
disregard the mores he was raised with. He becomes detatched from
reality, fearful of what is happening around him, Jensen forgets he
and Lee Strunk are working together.

[Nojai]

I agree with Maeha in saying that Jensen's fear was resulting from the
war. I believe that his fear and strength overtook him and he lost
sight and control of what he was doing to Strunk. They fought over
something so pity as a jackknife and I do believe that if the war
wasn't as treacherous and traumatic, that less physical means would
have taken place. Jensen continued to hit Strunk even after his 'nose
made a sharp snapping sound...with quick stiff punches that did not
miss' (O'Brien 62). I think that he wasn't really fighting Strunk and
that in his mind he was fighting the war, but with Strunk as the
target, and fighting it with all his strength because he was exhausted
(from war). I think that while hitting Strunk, the jackknife wasn't in
mind at all. After the altercation, Jensen regrets and feels bad and
gets to the point where he 'lost control...and broke his own
nose' (O'Brien 63). Therefore, I further believe that Jensen's fear
did not come from Strunk and that his mind was elsewhere. Also, being
in another mind frame, I don't think Jensen was able to tell that he
was putting so much force and power into the punches towards his own
teammate. Jensen was so desperate for things to be equal between the
two in the end which resulted in the forming of a mini friendship.

On Jan 23, 2:06 pm, Casey <jin9le6ells2...@aol.com> wrote:

[Megan]

I agree with Maeha that the fear Dave Jensen experiences is caused
from the horrors of war. The soldiers are in an environment that keeps
them scared twenty-four/seven and they are always on their toes. Small
issues can turn into larger fights because of the stress the men are
under; they're like a tea kettle about to whistle. That is exactly
what happened between Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk. Jensen took a small
issue like a missing jacknife and turned it into a fight. The fight
turned into a brawl as Jensen "kept hitting him, over and over, quick
stiff punches that did not miss" (O'Brien 62). Jensen's mind is stuck
in the war; he's scared of the real enemies in Vietnam as well as the
"new enemy" he has within his own men. I believe Jensen does forget,
for a moment, that Strunk is on his team. Jensen thinks Strunk is
going to get revenge on him and Jensen cannot handle the stress of
watching his own back all day and night. Jensen "borrowed a pistol,
gripped it by the barrel, and used it like a hammer to break his own
nose" (O'Brien 63). He does this to show Strunk he is sorry and that
revenge isn't necessary. As he fixes his relationship with his own
platoon mate, Jensen's mind is released of some stress and he can
focus on the real enemies of the war.

On Jan 23, 2:06 pm, Casey <jin9le6ells2...@aol.com> wrote:

[Robin B.]

I also agree with Nojai and Maeha that Dave Jensen's actions result
from the horrors of war. In any type of war, whether it is the fight
for your life or just a pitty argument, you are always on guard. The
soldiers always have to make sure their back is covered unlike Ted
Lavender. If you don't have back-up you could be killed. I also
believe that Jensen's nerves were controlling him, a soldier can never
relax and is always anxious to get out of the line of fire. With all
of the caous in war, there is also caous among teammates. You can't
make everyone happy. Lee Strunk took Jensen's jackknife and acted like
he didn't. Everything the soldiers carry takes a toll on them. Once
you are used to humping something and you suddenly don't have it can
make a person go insane. Although Jensen and Strunk were on the same
side, Jensen allowed his nerves to take over, break his own nose, and
carry a revenge that can only make war worst. As he sat for two or
three hours I think he pondered he reached a decision that they
weren't on the same side. When he saw Strunk with a missing leg, I
felt that they could reconnect again, it may not be a strong
connection but it's a start. Strunk asked Jensen "But you got to
promise. Swear it to me--swear you won't kill me" (O'Brien 66). Once
Jensen saw that Strunk had gotten some form of revenge he was able to
say "I swear" (O'Brien, 66). That would have been only a temporary
relieve because once Strunk had died, O'Brien states that Jensen was
lifted of an enormous weight.

> > the same team?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Casey]

You have all made good points about, especially Robin's point about
the items that soldiers carry being very personal. Do you all think
that if the item had not been a defensive tool, like a knife, that
Jensen wouldn't have reacted as harshly?

[Megan]

I think Jensen still would have reacted as harshly because all the
items a soldier carries is important in a way or they wouldn't waste
the space of carrying it. All the items carried are either for
protection or comfort. If an item is stolen or lost, it could come as
a great shock to that soldier since he is under so much stress
already. Overreacting to a lost item during war is excepted, I think.

[Katelin]

I think that Jensen's fear comes from the terrors of war also.
Experiences in war are absolutely horrible and can drive the soldiers
to do crazy things. Jensen was under a lot of stress from the war and
when Strunk had stolen Jensen's jackknife, it just drove Jensen crazy
and he snapped. Jensen eventually has a breakdown making everyone
become afraid to be around him, and eventually calms himself down to
become friends with Strunk. I believe that Jensen forgot that he and
Strunk were on the same team because his insanity led him to think
that everyone and everything was out to kill him or hurt him.

On Jan 23, 2:06 pm, Casey <jin9le6ells2...@aol.com> wrote:

[Maeha Karlow]

I really like wht Nojai said about Jensen fighting the war, not
Strunk, in his mental point of view. Your ideas are very well thought
out.

[Emily Barnes]

I have to agree with this argument. I think that Jensen over reacted
over the jacknife beause of all the stress of the war, and I also
think that his increasing paranoia after the fight was also imagined
because of the war. He really had nothing to fear of Strunk, "It was
mostly in his head. There were no threats, no vows of revenge, just a
silent tension between them that made Jensen take special
precautions" (O'Brian 60). Jensen imagined that Strunk was going to
get revenge because "this was Vietanm, where guys carried
guns," (O'Brian 59) Jensen was worrying because in his experience, war
always struck back, and in his mind he was fighting war itself.

On Jan 25, 11:26 pm, Maeha Karlow <karlo...@gtest.lcps.k12.va.us>
wrote:

[Mesa]

I agree with Maeha that Dave Jensen's fear of Lee Strunk comes from
the terrors of war. The Vietnam War was an especially violent war and
put an empression of anger in Jensen's head. "But this was Vietnam,
where guys carried guns, and Dave Jensen started to worry. It was
mostly in his head" (O' Brien 60.) Eventually his irrational fear gets
to the point where he can't think about anything but Strunk getting
his revenge and tries to make it so he hurts himself before Strunk
can. "..Late that same night he borrowed a pistol, gripped it by the
barrel, and used it like a hammer to break his own nose" (O' Brien
60.) Jensen gets so caught up in worry and panic that the lines of
friends and enemies gets blurred and he forgets which side he's
fighting for.

[Nicole]

I believe that because of the mere fact that they are in war and are
scared can cause them to feel as though someone else is going hurt
them. Jesen has developed the fear of dying/ getting hurt. War can do
that to a person regardless if you feel like you are the most
invincible. Sometimes in war, people forget who is on their side and
who isn't. So maybe Dave forgets that Lee is fighting with him not
against him because he feels threatened by him.