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Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis

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The Things They Carried was written by Tim O'Brien and he writes about the stories he remembers relating to the time he spent in the Vietnam War as well as how he feels about other stories from the War. The stories that O’Brien writes are about the fate of all the soldiers he served with and how their lives are after the war. Most of the stories that he writes are strange and he changes the point of view in which each chapter is written. To a large extent, the narrator's closeness to, or being a part of the story leads to the readers being persuaded of the realism within the story. Specifically, in “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” and “Spin”, the use of first person and the author inputting his emotions makes the reader think that the events …show more content…

In “Spin”, O’Brien writes about how war is so that someone who has never had the experience can imagine what it would be like. He also writes about the state of mind he is in after the war and many years after the future. In the first person, the author writes, “I'm forty-three years old, and a writer now, and the war has been over for a long while. Much of it is hard to remember. I sit at this typewriter and stare through my words and watch Kiowa sinking into the deep muck of a shit field, or Curt Lemon hanging in pieces from a tree, and as I write about these things, the remembering is turned into a kind of rehappening. Kiowa yells at me” (O’Brien, 2012, p. 31). From this quote, the reader gains personal details about O’Brien. These person details give this story truth. O’Brien recalls specific periods of the war that have stuck with him and claims that it is “kind of rehappening”. Being able to recall specific periods makes these stories seem accurate. It is easier for the reader to make connections with the author when they can form an image of him and make connections between them and themselves. In addition, it shows that O’Brien has flashbacks just like everybody else. This quote highlights that’s the author is someone who the audience can relate

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