Rat Kiley Character Analysis

This piece of the novel focuses on stories that soldiers told that and somewhat exaggerated yet some true. One of the soldiers, Rat Kiley is known for exaggerating his war stories but this story is especially convincing. We learn about a soldier named Mark Fossie who flew out his girlfriend, Mary Jane, to Vietnam. She continuously adapted to the environment, even helping the soldiers out medically but her need for bloodshed and war eventually caused her to become insane. Kiley provides specific details that seem authentic because of the obstacles that war can create in real life. Also, you can sense that his aggravation is present when Sanders objects to the story, allowing the reader to see the emotion Kiley he has developed due to his story. As the novel progresses, an event occurs where O’Brien kills a young man. He feels guilt in the highest form and soon wonders what the boy’s life was like. How did he end up in this situation and why? The author’s purpose in telling this story is to show the reader the connection between O’Brien and the man. He also shows that O’Brien wasn’t the only one going through the hardships that the war introduced when he talks about the young men killed. As this came to a conclusion, we were left with a cliffhanger on the emotions of O’Brien and how well he will cope with this

For instance, he narrates the story of Henry Dobbins and his girlfriend’s pantyhose being a, “good luck charm”, saving him from death multiple times. This “magic” in the pantyhose may seem superstitious but O’Brien provides evidence of the true essence of it. Not being shot in a firefight as well as a bomb being failed to detonate under him provided the reader with knowledge on how dynamic the idea of the pantyhose being a “good luck charm” was. The first time was a coincidence but O’Brien providing a second example may make the reader see truth in