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Civil Rights Movement In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past that they can only learn about it from second hand sources. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, it becomes very apparent that the Vietnam conflict has proved to be one that many of the participants have not been able move away from. Throughout the 60s people were constantly fighting for their rights as citizens to protest war. It was more common than not for soldiers to never return home and many tried to keep the youth from going. The 60s was a time for change, a time for people to stand up for what they believe. They saw that they had nothing to lose and if they did have something to lose, it would be worth it for the sake of maintaining their rights. The masses came together for movements like the civil rights movement, the student movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, the women’s movement, the gay rights movement, and the environmental movement. Each, to varying degrees, changed …show more content…

It seems to me that in the 60s friendships were extremely strong between people who believed in the same ideologies and were a part of the same groups. The antiwar movement became a mass crusade in which millions of Americans participated. It involved people of all ages, organized in hundreds of diverse local and national groups. Just as the friendships between the characters in The Things They Carried become extremely varied but critical during and after they fight in the war. One of the most important things that helped the soldiers is their friendship with each other. This bond that the soldiers form helped them to survive, and helped the men of Alpha Company to cope with the war after they returned to the United States. The bond that men form with each other in the heat of battle is incomprehensible to those who have not experienced warfare for

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Post World War II America was one of the most militarily active periods in American history, having been involved in three wars, spanning roughly from 1947 to 1992, in order to stop the spread of communism. Overall, the United States permanently broke its previous isolationist policy in an attempt to promote democracy throughout the world; however, the wars proved to have serious negative effects on America. America was impacted by the military involvement in the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War. Shortly after the end of World War II, America and Russia, the two super world powers emerging from the war, divided various parts of Eurasia—namely Germany and Korea—between themselves. Following America’s decision to maintain world

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In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, he describes the different way war impacted him, and his Alpha brother in short stories. In the stories he elaborates vividly about the different experiences that they lived through. For instance, Tim O’Brien and Norman Bowker had things in common. Certainly they were both consumed with guilt, shame, and remorse. The war had killed them deep inside, where they no longer had sense of any emotion.

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Local draft boards were becoming too picky about the men they sent to serve America in the Vietnam War, and they began to believe they knew what was right for their country. Similarly, to the New Jersey example, there were issues when it came to the boards that had World War II veterans on them. There was also bias within those boards because the veterans had their own view on what a war should be like, and they believed that fighting for the US should be a honor. The war veterans were also known for viewing the Vietnam War like it was similar to their experience in The Second World War. An example of times when these veterans tried to relate to young men being drafted during Vietnam was when parents would call the boards expressing their concern for their sons.

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"I say we make our deaths count for something" ( Evans 287) . Not only was this impervious group of friends loyal to each other, but to their beliefs too. Even if they did not live to see the glory and celebration of their win, they could die happy, as it was understood that what they fought for was

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A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo shows the hard work and difficult tasks the men had to go through to prove themselves and protect their country. The war will change the men’s attitudes and the way they do everything. Men made sacrifices in the Vietnam War most people would never make in a lifetime, they will not just sacrifice but push themselves physically harder than most any other men. The men will also emotionally change from constantly watching other men die, or killing other men. The mens first kill was always the hardest for them, mentally they had so many thoughts of the other mans close ones back home and what they would go through and how it would be all their fault.

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The 1960’s and early 1970’s was a period when America was involved in many conflicts overseas, including the Vietnam War. This began a time when media spread quickly as well as influenced the public heavily and wars were first televised. These conflicts ultimately caused citizens to protest and question the motives of the federal government. A large number of these protestors were students who sought to combat problems through various tactics to get authority figures to remedy the problems they identified. Student protestors sought to combat many immediate and long-term problems involving this time period and the Vietnam War.

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Social Issue-Vietnam War Cost of Vietnam The Vietnam War that took place between the dates of 1959-1975 changed Americans culture. 58, 000 Americans died America spent 111 billion dollars on the war, according to the Department of Defense. Mr. Frenchy watched his brother, cousins, and acquaintances join the war efforts against communism. Likewise, he participated by joining the army. Not only did this give Mr. Frenchy a reason for leaving New York, but this also posed as an opportunity to stop selling and using drugs.

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Readers, especially those reading historical fiction, always crave to find believable stories and realistic characters. Tim O’Brien gives them this in “The Things They Carried.” Like war, people and their stories are often complex. This novel is a collection stories that include these complex characters and their in depth stories, both of which are essential when telling stories of the Vietnam War. Using techniques common to postmodern writers, literary techniques, and a collection of emotional truths, O’Brien helps readers understand a wide perspective from the war, which ultimately makes the fictional stories he tells more believable.

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The war changes the way that soldiers feel and interact. A soldier cannot perceive that they are killing another woman or man’s husband or wife, son or daughter, or brother or sister. He simply does it for his own survival. These soldiers are used to witnessing other soldiers and friends die in front of their faces which causes their feelings to be dehumanized. “It is not fear.

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On April 4, 1967 Doctor Martin Luther King Jr gave the speech, “Beyond Vietnam-A time to Break Silence.” In this powerful speech Dr. King addresses his followers, and explains why the same people who are advocating for civil rights, should also protest the war in Vietnam. Dr. King’s main appeal is towards pathos because he is explaining his reasons, most of which are moral in some way. Dr. King develops the central claim of the speech by explaining how the war is taking away resources from the poor, how the soldiers are disproportionately poor people, and lastly how the war is completely against his morals. His central claim of the speech revolves around war being an enemy of the poor.

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The Vietnam War in American history exceeds a reputation of being one of the most unpopular, violent, and unnecessary in its time. Although there was a big support basis at the beginning of the war, many soldiers that were drafted or enlisted to fight realized the dangers of the event amongst each other, and had to help each other strive through to make it out alive and hopefully maintain a healthy conscious. During the times of war, relationships in the platoon can be rough, undesirable, and even violent in certain moments, but in reality, soldiers culminate into a brotherhood and family. At some points in war, many soldiers have rough relationships with their comrades.

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The war in Vietnam to do this day has gone down as one of the influential and controversial wars in United States history. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975.The nation as a whole began to uproar over the war and the major consequences of the war. There were many reasons why so many Americans were against the war. Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third of Americans believed that the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops to fight in Vietnam (Wikipedia). Not to mention, many young people protested because they were the ones being drafted while others were against the war because the anti-war movement grew increasingly popular among the counterculture and drug culture in American society and

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1079 Words | 5 Pages

Young or old, male or female, the war was told differently by every person who was involved in the battle, no matter how small their role. Despite the cacophony of standpoints vying to tell the definitive tale of what happened in Vietnam, the perspective of

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841 Words | 4 Pages

Comradeship “We are brothers and press on one another the choicest pieces.” (Remarque 96) All Quiet on The Western Front introduces the major themes of comradeship, because the soldiers depend on one another when in danger, they have love for one another, and they have the common goal to survive with one another.

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The chapter “Friends,” is a very good chapter showing friendship. There are many details of how good of friends people can become during a war. Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk weren 't good buddies for a while but they eventually started to trust each other. “In late August they made a pact that if one of them should ever get totally fucked up- a wheelchair wound- the other guy would automatically find a way to end it,” (O’Brien, 62).

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