question number two

Rating: Null/10 (14 May 2008)

#2. The different personalities of the three men (Steve, Mike and Nick) before they go to Vietnam and how it serves them as soldiers. Did their different approaches towards life serve as an accurate prelude to what was to happen? Could it have happened differently?
Each of the three men had very different personalities. Mike was pretty much the leader of the three. He was always prepared and the other two seemed to look up to him. He may have seemed tough at times but it was really out of love. For example, in the beginning when they all went hunting together, Steve forgot his boots. He asked to borrow Mike's, but Mike wouldn't let him. He was really doing it to prove once they get to Vietnam, things wont come easy and you have to do everything for yourself. It seemed like if Mike weren't there, they would be all over the place physically and emotionally. Steve was the least strong of the three. While waiting to play Russian Roulette, he was showing how scared he was rather than trying to keep it together like the other two. When the helicopter came down to rescue them on the bridge, Steve was too weak to even hold on. He just let go and dropped to the water. After the war, he ended up staying in a hospital rather than going back home. I think he needed more structure after all he went through in the war. Nick was the most independent. He liked to keep mostly to himself when it came to personal feelings. He didn't follow or wait for Mike and Steve after they dropped from the helicopter, he didn't go with Mike when he found him playing Russian Roulette, and he actually ended up shooting himself when he played against Mike.
I think it was in Nick's character to end up dying. By the end, he seemed like a robot. Vietnam had changed his life so much it almost brainwashed him. I don't think he would have been able to live a normal life if he had survived and went back home.