As we started reading Going After Cacciato, I found a very interesting subject matter in the opening pages of the book. On page 13, the lieutenant radioed that they were in pursuit of the enemy. When the voice on the other end replied he asked if they needed any gunship or artillery support. The lieutenant said it was not necessary, but the man on the radio continued to push the lieutenant into allowing them to give them supporting fire. He said, "We got a real bargain going on arty this week- two for the price of one no strings and a warranty to boot. First-class ordnance, real sweet stuff. See, we got this terrific batch of 155 in, a real shitload of it, so we got to go heavy on volume. Keeps the prices down."
"Negative"
"Well, jeez." The radio-voice paused."Okay, Papa Two-Niner. Tell you what, I like the sound of your voice. A swell voice, really lovely. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna give you a dozen nice illum, how's that? Can you beat it? Find a place in town that beats it and we give you a dozen more, no charge. Real boomers with genuine sparkles mixed in. A closeout sale, one time only."
"Negative. Negative, negative, negative."
"You're missing out on some fine shit, Two-Niner."
"Negative, you monster."
"No offense"
"Negative."
"As you will, then." The radio-voice buzzed. "Happy hunting."
"Mercy," the lieutenant said into a blaze of static.
Now after I read this I had to stop reading for a second and think about what just occurred. Tim O'Brien put a soldier in the shoes of a salesmen. The man on the other end of the radio tried to convince the lieutenant to allow them to bomb something because they were getting some artillery two for the price of one. This blew my mind. Now this might have never happened, but it would not surprise me if it did. I imagine that if you were not directly in the line of fire, Vietnam was a very boring war. I can understand that this man was bored and he was trying to give himself something to do by swaying the lieutenant to order in a bombing. But still the idea that a person is so bored that he is running the risk of killing innocent people just to give him something to do. The only sane person over the radio was the lieutenant, we refereed to the other man as a monster. The lieutenant is an older man, he has probably seen and been around war and death and understands that war is horrific. It is one thing for say a used car salesman to pressure you into buying a car, but for someone to pressure you into allowing them to possible kill innocent people then you know you are in the wrong situation. I just thought that this conversation along with Slaughter House-Five give us the readers another perspective on the US during times of war.
11 comments:
That scene really stood out to me, too; at first i had no idea what was going on. Your analysis is interesting, but i can't help but feel (hope?) there's something else going on. i'm still pretty confused about the whole thing, though, i have to admit. i HOPE the guy on the other end wasn't pushing the LT into killing people because he was bored, but i have no idea why else he would have pushed like that.
I don't know if this guy on the other end was bored. Maybe he was. But I like your analogy of a salesmen. He is selling the war to the Lt.. His profit may be that he ends the war faster by dropping an extra payload. The more he sells the faster he can get home. That is all speculation. It seems fitting though because I sense a comical attitude during this scene. It seems like the guy on the other end is go a bit crazy, and he is trying to make easy about the war by joking around. But it is a very interesting scene and it shows general sentiments of soldiers in the war. There is a feeling of longing for home, even though it is presented comically-- perhaps to cast a manly shadow over fear.
I have to agree with you Sean that the 'salesman' wanted to give the LT fire support just for the heck of it. Obviously the LT didn't need it, as he stated, but the 'salesman' still pressed the issue. And Tess, I'd like to agree with you and think that perhaps something else would have provoked the man do such a thing but I believe all the evidence points in the direction of, he wanted to blow something up.
I think this scene can best be described as awkward. This salesman on the radio seems to yearn for some conflict, and as you say, this may be because he was bored. I think that it is more of a product of him being over patriotic, and by association, possibly racist. There is not doubt that he is being insensitive and cavalier about the lives of innocent people.
I think that the soldier on the other end of the radio was probably a volunteer. He had signed up for combat only to be stationed far away from the front lines. He also seems to be the antithesis of the soldiers portrayed in both SlaughterHouse-Five and this book. He most likely was itching to fight, not only because I think he volunteered, but he was not yet aware of the horrors and atrocities of war.
I actually thought of that as a pretty funny exchange. But, I never really considered boredom until you just brought it up. Maybe he was bored, but his job is artillery and other such weapons. So I guess, put yourself in his shoes. If you just sit around and no one ever wants to use your stuff, you feel underutilized. But from a more realistic perspective, he says they have to order a high volume so that its cheaper. Well since they save so much money by buying a lot, they might as well use it.
I think this exchange also shows the laxadazical (sp?) attitude of the Vietnam War. For most participating in the War it did not feel like a normal War. No real enemy could be seen, and this carried over into many different aspects.
This scene exemplifies the boring nature of war. No man wants to be killed in a war, but combat and explosions are part of the allure of wars. It may sound disturbing, but the life of a soldier is quite boring without explosives and other combat. This constant waiting is part of the psychological effects that war has on people. These soldiers go days without any action and are in need of a release of emotions and feelings. Soldiers are essentially waiting for some sort of action so they can experience a thrill and a sense of passion. War has become so drawn out and lackadaisical that these men need a sense of action
I think so too. I know a guy in the military who's stationed in afghanistan and he says all he does is lounge around and watch james bond movies and goes out on patrol like once every three days. Other soldiers say that their is no comradery, that squad mates suck. I think that despite the media coverage wars get now-a-days, there's still a whole bunch that won't be covered.
I'd like to extend on what Nick said. He kept pushing when the Lt didn't need any help. Perhaps being there in Vietnam changed the soldiers there or allowed them to cause mayhem. It wasn't necessary but he really kept pushing to possibly get back at the Vietnamese or to have fun (insane)
That scene was flabergasting to me as well. Your point is an interesting one and I think the "financial ambition" of the man on the phone is interesting as well. But remember, he is offering the weapons with the thought that the "enemy" is the Vietnman army. So you cant verbally assault the man for simply being a good salesman to his own people.
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