The plots are the controls governing the development of the actions. In order to have a plot there must be an analysis of the conflict and its developments. The conflicts that we face in the short story lead up to what we know as the plot. The main conflict in this story is the conflict between Lieutenant Cross and Martha, his letter lover. When the Lieutenant doesn't take part in his duties at the war, they loose men. He realizes that his problem is fantasizing about Martha all of the time. When one of Jimmy's closest and best men dies he is left to make a difficult or even impossible choice, known as dilemma. This dilemma is the decision of giving up on Martha to focus more directly on his job as the first Lieutenant of the Vietnam War. Instead of letting his mind drift off into a daydream over Martha and making a fault, he is strong enough to withhold his thoughts of her until later times. O"Brien uses this dilemma to cause tension in the plot operation and to create interest for the reader. If O"Brien didn't use this method then there would be no interest or appeal to the reader. Not only does he use the conflict with Martha but he also brings out the crisis in Lavender's death and being able to cope with and hold his position at war. Giving all of the conflicts, doubts, tension, and interests, this keeps the reader in suspense, making the story more effective. Here we have a true plot because our "soldier meets girl" story outline contains a major conflict from which a number of related conflicts develop. These conflicts lead to attitudes, choices, and outcomes that make the story interesting. The situation is lifelike; the conflicts rise out of realistic aims and hopes; the outcome is true to life. .
