Saw it coming

Most people when asked would more than likely say that the army is very boring for people who like to chose their own path, and perfect for people who are good at taking orders. O'Brien shows us a side of the army that most people could not dream of in their wildest of dreams. Men high-fiving corpses (214), cruelty to a baby buffalo (75), and men bringing their girlfriends over (89) are all examples of the choices these men had. O'Brien makes it very difficult to foreshadow anything in this book because it makes us believe it is true, and even thought it is true, it is so far fetched no Hollywood writer could ever dream it up.

"'I guess this was your first look at a real body?' I shook my head. All day long i had been picturing Linda's face" (O'Brien 215). This is one of the few, if only, parts of the book where one can guess what comes next. O'Brien has not yet introduced a character called Linda, and we can infer she died. But when he talks of his first love, a little girl, he creates a scenario where the reader forgets that she is going to die. Even when he hands us the answer, O'Brien is a master at drawing the reader's attention else where, only to whip it back to the ending.