Billy Whitman In The Vietnam War
The many ways Paul uses to cope with being in a fearful situation is a lot.
He had watch Billy Watkins die of a heart attack and he pretended not to see that. The group of men he was with stopped and there was no sound. When all 27 of them stopped, and Paul was laying his head on the gun stock and started thinking. He was in the Vietnam War, near rice paddies and that's when the coping begins. He did a lot, including counting everything, pretending to be a little boy again, and sung songs that he has learned. First of all, he counted everything he did. He counted how many steps he had taken. In the text it states, “ He counted his steps, concentrating on the numbers, pretending that the steps were dollar bills and that each step through the night made him richer and richer, so that soon he would become a wealthy man, …show more content…
Paul pretended to be camping out with his father near a river and not remembering Billy Watkins dying. He wanted to open his eyes and see his dad near the campfire. In the text it states, “ He was pretending he was a boy again, camping with his father in the midnight summer along the Des Moines River.” And, “He pretended that when he opened his eyes, his father would be there by the campfire and they would talk softly about whatever came to mind and then roll into their sleeping bags.” Lastly “He pretended he was not a soldier.” He tried this and he tried one more method too.
Lastly, Paul sang songs in his head that he remembered and tried getting his mind off of war. He sang a song called Billy boy. In the song, the author started showing the lyrics. For example, “Where have you gone, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, Oh, where have you gone charming Billy? I have gone to seek a wife, she's the joy of my life, but she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.” He also sang more songs, but they didn’t say any more lyrics or titles.
This is when they started getting to the sea and reaching the “safe”
He had watch Billy Watkins die of a heart attack and he pretended not to see that. The group of men he was with stopped and there was no sound. When all 27 of them stopped, and Paul was laying his head on the gun stock and started thinking. He was in the Vietnam War, near rice paddies and that's when the coping begins. He did a lot, including counting everything, pretending to be a little boy again, and sung songs that he has learned. First of all, he counted everything he did. He counted how many steps he had taken. In the text it states, “ He counted his steps, concentrating on the numbers, pretending that the steps were dollar bills and that each step through the night made him richer and richer, so that soon he would become a wealthy man, …show more content…
Paul pretended to be camping out with his father near a river and not remembering Billy Watkins dying. He wanted to open his eyes and see his dad near the campfire. In the text it states, “ He was pretending he was a boy again, camping with his father in the midnight summer along the Des Moines River.” And, “He pretended that when he opened his eyes, his father would be there by the campfire and they would talk softly about whatever came to mind and then roll into their sleeping bags.” Lastly “He pretended he was not a soldier.” He tried this and he tried one more method too.
Lastly, Paul sang songs in his head that he remembered and tried getting his mind off of war. He sang a song called Billy boy. In the song, the author started showing the lyrics. For example, “Where have you gone, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, Oh, where have you gone charming Billy? I have gone to seek a wife, she's the joy of my life, but she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.” He also sang more songs, but they didn’t say any more lyrics or titles.
This is when they started getting to the sea and reaching the “safe”