Just as dangerous

On page 183, O' Brien uses an analogy that shows how some places in Vietnam are as dangerous as a sporting event in the United States. "You could still die of course-- once a month we'd get hit with mortar fire-- but you could also die in the bleachers at Met Stadium in Menneapolis, bases loaded, harmon Killebrew coming to the plate." This analogy is humorous and shows how not everywhere in Vietnam was too dangerous. The way the author uses it is effective becuase it very well gets his point across that even though they would get fired upon every once in a while, its not too important to worry much about defense. Describing how someone could just as easily die at a Mets game is enough to show this. While this is a good analogy, I have noticed, however, that the author does not use many analogies in his stories. His stories are much more straightfoward. Because of this, what the reader really has to think about is how true the stories O' Brien tells really are.