craven

Rating: 6/10 (10 May 2010)

#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? Between the three of them they all had different personalities. Mike was a brute. He was loud and outgoing. He wanted things done right the first time and he wanted them done his way. Mike was strong willed and determined. At times he seemed to be a jerk but he was ultimately very nice, he just had a rough exterior. Nick was kind. He was gentle and in my opinion not built for war. He sort of went with the flow of things and just followed what everyone else was up to. Nick was strong but not in the way Mike was. Steve by no means was built for war. He was a very emotional guy. He just wanted to have fun and that's what he liked to do. When put into the Vietnam war, he got a overwhelmed with things. He wasn't emotionally strong and he couldn't handle the trauma. With each personality it showed how they dealt with going to war and the outcome of their time served. Mike was strong all the way through. He knew what he had to do to survive and he was willing to do it. He made the plans and Steve and Nick went with it. He told them what they had to do in order to survive. Mike was what kept them both going. He had his mind set on getting out so he created ways to escape. Nick was cautious with the plans Mike had, but he did them because he knew what Mike said was probably the safest bet. Steve didn't want to do it. Once they got captured and had to play Russian Roulette the first time he wanted to give up. His personality wasn't made for it and it showed as he cried. of course it is a horrible situation to be in and I would cry as well, but most people who now join the army are prepared to do those things. Although it's not certain whether any of them chose or not, Steve was not prepared. Mike was the leader and that is what his personality was. He told them what to do and they followed it even though at times they questioned him. They all suffered in the end. Mike was just angry after. He tried hard to stay calm and not show weakness but, he had enough and it was hard for him. Sometimes he exploded but it was usually kept under control. He just wanted to find his friends and find out they were okay. The way Steve ended up didn't surprise me. He was the weak link from the beginning and I at first didn't even think he'd survive. The War broke him and you could tell. He was both physically and mental different. Nick tried hard throughout the whole war to be strong. He almost forced his courage and in the end when they were out he went crazy. It was almost like he pushed himself off the edge. He tried to be too much like Mike and what Mike could handle, he couldn't.
#4. Why does Mike go back to Vietnam to find Nick? Be specific with this one and use examples.
Mike goes back to Vietnam because at first he went to visit Steve and Steve was receiving money from there and had no idea so he showed Mike. Instantly after a long period of time it all clicked with Mike. He knew where Nicky was, Vietnam. He also knew that there could only be one reason that he was there, Russian Roulette, and that's how he was sending money to Steve. Every game he won he got paid. Nick was risking his life because he went crazy. He was also using some sort of opiates, but Mike knew he was in trouble and up to no good so he went there in hopes of bringing his best friend back. Finally when he found him he was getting ready for a match. Mike paid to play him. He tried to talk him down but Nicky blocked it all out, he had no recollection of the stories Mike was telling him. It could of been from both PTSD and the drugs. Right when Mike thought he convinced him, Nick pulled the trigger and died.