Platoon

5 Pages 1191 Words

1. During the first few days in Vietnam, it was clear that Taylor was not a typical Vietnam “grunt”. As shots reached his platoon, Taylor froze and quickly forgot his instructions. Chris wanted to go home and get out of the jungle. As time passed and Taylor got more experience, he no longer froze up. Taylor was right in the middle of the gun battles and helping his fellow comrades. With time, a typical soldier begins to detest every Vietnamese citizen. They think of the Vietnamese as animals, and they do not feel any sympathy toward them. American soldiers did horrific things to innocent Vietnamese. However, Chris Taylor was not one of these typical grunts. Taylor had a heart and had sympathy toward the innocent people. When soldiers were raping the little girl, Taylor stepped right in and broke it up. He confronted the men and explained that the girl was innocent. Taylor turned into a true soldier, however he still maintained morals and a good heart. Tim O’Brien is similar to Taylor because O’Brien also maintained a good heart. When O’Brien killed a Vietnamese man, he could not stop thinking about it. He felt very sorry for what he had done. O’Brien did not participate in any of the cruelty done to the Vietnamese either. Taylor and O’Brien were both one of those few good men.

2. Sergeant Elias and Sergeant Barnes were totally different people with two totally different personalities. Both Sergeants were excellent soldiers, but shared different beliefs about the war. Sgt. Barnes was in favor of the war. He felt the Vietnamese were a problem, and that the Vietcong had to be eliminated. At first, Sgt. Elias favored the war, but then realized that is was pointless. Based on the conditions of the war and number of casualties, Elias believed that the United States needed to pull out. As the war went on, Elias realized that war was not the answer. Based on these beliefs, the Sergeants acted in differen...