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Setting
At the start, when the narrator is talking to his daughter, the scene is twenty years after the war (around 1990). The rest of the story takes place in the ambush site outside My Khe, Vietname during the Vietnam war (1955-1975).
Summary
"Ambush" is a war recount told in the first person. The narrator's young daughter asks if he had ever killed someone, knowing he wrote several war related stories. He lies and tells her no, but wants her to know the truth in the future. Thus, he recalls what really happened that night. He remembers the trauma he felt after killing an innocent, unaware man. He is still haunted by the guilt he feels in his heart to date.
Citations
"Image of Tim O'Brien." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/images/30013565_Einschlag%20einer%20Granate.jpg>.
"Image of Explosion in War." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://fallforthebook.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/src-tim-obrien11.jpg>.
"Image of Vietnam Solider." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/c7/38/60/c73860be5f0dc72680f9253a31c39fbe.jpg>.
Kathleen
-Antagonist
-Static character
-Important for the story because she causes her dad to have the flashback
-Flat character
-Traits: curious, eager, smart
Rising Action
The narrator has a flashback of himself in My Khe, Vietnam during the war. He takes the night shift with his group but spots a man lurking in the fog with a gun. He feels his life is in danger, so he throws a grenade not to kill the man but to startle him.
Narrator (dad of Kathleen)
-protagonist
-round character
-dynamic character
-Traits: cautious, fearful, unwise, jumpy
-Imporant for story: reflects theme; guilt for your actions will never leave you
Climax
The young man, spotting the grenade, runs around frantically and tries to duck, but it is too late. His life ends in an explosion and the narrator is left with the guilt.
Background Information
-The story takes place in 1990
-Tim O'Brien is from a small town in Minnesota
-He was born in Austin on October 1, 1946
-He graduated from Macalester College
-He was against war but reported for service and sent to Vietnam
-O'Brein lived through the My Lai massacre in 1968 and recieved a Combat Infantry Badge after serving
-He, after the war, became a graduate student at Harvard.
-He left Harvard, though, to become a newspaper reporter.
-His reporter career gave way to his ficton writing after he published his memoir.
-The story reflects what actually happened in his real life (Vietnam)
Kiowa
-antagonist
-flat character
-static character
-minor
-Traits: doesn't care that an innocent man was just killed, kind, tries to help a friend
Young Man
-antagonist
-flat character
-static character
-Traits: unprepared, nonobservant, (can't hold much against him because he didn't see the attack coming)
Resolution
Years later, the narrator still feels guilty about his wrong actions. At times he can forgive himself but at other times he can't. When alone, he still has daydreams about the young man walking out of the fog, smiling at some unknown thought, and then walking back into the fog.
Falling Action
The narrator reflects on his terrible actions. He wanted to warn the young man but still did not. He realized there was no real peril and the man was innocent. The narrator's partner tried to soothe things out by encouraging his actions.
Internal Conflict: Man vs Self
Internal conflict strikes the narrator in the story and reflects on the theme. Sometimes he can forgive himself for what he did and at other times he cannot. He struggles to live with himself after killing the innocent young man. "The grenade was to make him to go away," he claims (O'Brien 2). The narrator realizes there was no danger and the man died for no reason. "I did not hate the young man; I did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality or politics or military duty," (2).
Theme
The major theme of the story is: guilt from your actions will never leave you. The theme relfects on consquences for actions and how the narrator has the live with the shame of killing an innocent man for the rest of his life. Regret is an unforgettable power. It will still remain deep in your heart and mind no matter how many years have passed. This relates to many people because we all do something that we can never forget or take back.
External Conflict: Man vs Man
Throughout the story, O'Brien demonstrates conflict through the narrator and his "ememy". The narrator immediately spies a person in their grounds. Despite the fact that there is no danger, he "...had already pulled the pin on a grenade...It was entirely automatic." (O'Brien 1). He intinctively throws the grenade and kills the innocent man, which causes him to have internal conflict about morals later in the book.
Flashback
The entire story is based on the narrator's flashback. His daughter sparks the memories of what happened in Vietnam and he recalls the truth behind the death of an innocent young man. "Later, I remember, Kiowa tried to tell me that the man would’ve died anyway...none of it mattered. The words seemed far too complicated. All I could do was gape at the fact of the young man’s body," (O'Brien 3).
Imagery
Some of the most descriptive and ellaborate imagery is used in O'Brien's story. The author especially paints an image of the characters.
"He wore black clothing and rubber sandals and a grey ammunition belt. His shoulders were slightly stooped, his head cocked to the side as if listening for something." (O'Brien 2). These short sentences perfectly illustrate the young man.