Big Bertha Stories (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Bobbie Ann Mason
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism, war
- Time of Work: The 1980's
- Setting: A small town in Kentucky
- Principal Characters: Donald, Jeannette, Rodney, Phan, Dr. Robinson, Miss Bailey, Jeannette's parents
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: Husbands, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Wives, Parents and children, Twentieth century, Rural or country life, Alienation, 1980’s, Mental illness, Vietnam War, War, Fathers, Divorce, Veterans, Fantasy, Mines, miners, or mining, Waiters or waitresses, Kentucky, Isolation, Mental health
- Locales: Kentucky
The Story
Set several years after Donald's return from Vietnam, “Big Bertha Stories” dramatizes his inability to escape from his war experiences. The third-person narrative states directly the confused thoughts and feelings of Jeannette, but it reveals Donald's deeply troubled mind only indirectly. Thus, Bobbie Ann Mason shows Donald's isolation—his intense but unsuccessful attempts to communicate the horrors of combat—as well as the pain his problem inflicts on others.
Immediately after his tour in Vietnam, Donald seemed to adjust easily to civilian life. He...
[The entire page is 1305 words long]
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