Tobias Wolff. In Pharoahs Army Plot Summary And Analysis

Tobias Wolff begins his novel by sharing his story from the Vietnam War. Toby was traveling with his best friend, Sergeant Benet, to pick up supplies on a very dangerous road in My Tho. Toby introduces this area and his battalion at My Tho, and sheds light on the reason he enlisted into the army. While Toby was back in the states, he was lost to where his life would take him. He decided that he it was best for him to join the army, because it would give him a sense of honor. Honor was the word that he found most important when enlisted. This was his sole reason for joining. However, as his journey continued, he discovered he was not a man of honor, but a coward. During his tour, he found that he was just trying to get by, and stay alive.

Toby had been given many orders in the army, including one where he realized that he was very different from the natives, and the men around him. His battalion had been asked to secure an area, and a large one at that. Toby had been ready to encounter any Viet-Cong and enemy fire. Halfway through the mission he realized that he had not been prepared for snipers. He knew that he was the only white male out there, and stuck out like a sore thumb. If they were to encounter snipers, Toby would have been the first to go. Luckily, they met no snipers that day.

Throughout the book, Toby writes about his life before the war. He had met a young woman named Vera, a Russian woman with a fiery temper. At one point, Toby

and Vera were in such an argument that Vera took her Mercedes and completely crushed Toby's car, totaling it completely. Toby makes mention of her throughout the story, and how their relationship was a terrible one, and there was no reason them to continue it.

Although Toby did not see much action in Vietnam, there was one night where it all went down. The VC had planned an attack on every major city in Vietnam that was being occupied by the Americans. Toby's battalion was under