The Ghost Soldiers (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Tim O’Brien
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Plot: War, ghost story, psychological
- Time of Work: The late 1960's
- Setting: A jungle and an American firebase in Vietnam
- Principal Characters: Herb, Lemon, Azar, Teddy Thatcher, Jorgenson
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1960’s, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Twentieth century, Friendship, Ghosts or apparitions, Asia or Asians, Vietnam War, War, Revenge, Soldiers, Vietnam or Vietnamese people
- Locales: Vietnam
The Story
“The Ghost Soldiers” is told in the first person through the narrator's memories of his twelve months as a soldier fighting in the Vietnam War. The action of the story occurs at two distinct moments in time: when Herb, the narrator, is shot for the second time, and when he later tries to get revenge on Jorgenson, the brand-new medic who froze instead of immediately treating Herb. Like many of Tim O’Brien's war stories, “The Ghost Soldiers” is equally concerned with the environment of Vietnam and with what it was like psychologically for an American to be a...
[The entire page is 1335 words long]
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