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where have you gone charming billy by time o brien part 2
"Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?" is a short story by Tim O'Brien that was written in May 1975.
Contents
Plot
The main character, Paul Berlin, is in the Vietnam War. Recently, "Billy Boy" Watkins has died of a heart attack after losing a foot due to a mine. Paul is woken up by a comrade and then takes part in conversation while skirting a village, mostly talking about Watkins's death. Then there are a series of events where Paul thinks about his family back home. He constantly wishes for his parents to be proud of his valor and courage. The irony in this story includes Paul viewing the sea as a place of safety, but once he gets there, he is still unable to rid himself of the fear that embodies him.
Summary
In “Where Have You Gone Charming Billy”, the main character is Private First Class Paul Berlin. The story takes place in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is Paul’s first day and he is having an extremely hard time fighting anxiety and fear. One soldier in his platoon has already died from a heart attack. He was literally scared to death. Other soldiers tell Paul that we will just get used to living in the fearful jungle. Private First Class Paul Berlin is not sure if he will ever get used to all of the anxiety of war. “They would have their rear guarded by three thousand miles of ocean, and they would swim and dive in to the breakers and hunt crayfish and smell salt, and they would be safe.” “But even when he smelled salt and heard the sea, he could not stop being afraid.”
The conflicts in the story include (person vs. self) and (person vs. society).Paul has to try to overcome his fears in the war. (Person vs. society) is that Paul had to enter the war because he was drafted by the military.(Khalid)
Themes
Fear – the major theme of this short story was to show how scary war was. Paul Berlin experienced his fears throughout the entire story. “Though he was afraid, he now knew that fear came in many degrees and types and peculiar categories…” and “I don’t wanna scare you. You’ll get used to it soon enough…” are quotes that express Paul’s fears.
Courage – Paul Berlin learned that he would have to have courage if he wanted to overcome his fear of the war. Although he did not complete his goal of overcoming his fear in the story he learned how to overcome it and is closer to overcoming his fear.
Determination - Paul had to have determination to stay strong in the war. When he could have dropped out of the terrifying war, he decides to fight through it and not give up.