Comparing Things They Carried 'And Jane Eyre By Tim O' Brien

When asked to write a comparison essay between “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, one could wonder how that was possible. While both novels were intriguing, their plot lines were rather different. Tim O’Brien wrote about his experience in Vietnam and his time as a soldier – although he makes the reader question the believability of the entire book. Charlotte Bronte, on the other hand, wrote an autobiography about Jane Eyre, a young girl who grew up in Europe and experienced personal conflicts throughout the novel. If a reader were to analyze both stories, they would find more differences than similarities. The differences would be rather obvious: the plot lines, the settings, the main characters, the

Yes, readers could believe that Jane Eyre grew up as an orphan and became a successful governess under the power of Mr. Rochester. However, the idea that every single event in the story is not exaggerated is putting a lot of faith into the author. For example, the character of Bertha Mason, the abandoned wife of Mr. Rochester, seemed to be a little extreme. In chapter 15, when Bertha sets Mr. Rochester’s bed on fire – and the accident is ignored by the majority of the household – readers can question the believability of the incident. In reality, if a bed caught fire and almost burned the master of the house, certain precautions would be taken. In fact, every event in the novel that includes Bertha Mason appears to be over-exaggerated. In chapter 20, when Bertha attacked Richard Mason, readers were both surprised and a tad bit scared. Mr. Rochester’s explanation for the woman, however, did not give insight as to why she would attack anyone. The idea that she was insane was believable, but the idea that she was as monstrous as the novel seemed to describe her was not realistic. When Jane saw her in the bedroom the night before the wedding, she stated, “It was a discolored face – it was a savage face. I wish I could forget the roll of the red eyes and the fearful blackened inflation of the lineaments!” (Page 116) Insanity is one thing; however it does not cause a woman to have red eyes

In “The Things They Carried”, the characters offered a different perspective to the war and provided a sense of reality among the lies. However, some readers could believe that the characters were mentioned because they all related to O’Brien in a way. For example, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was a brave man yet was unsure of how to correctly lead the group. The same goes for O’Brien; in the beginning, the author wanted to be courageous but wasn’t sure if he should act on it. The medic on the field, known as Bob “Rat” Kiley, suffered from insanity throughout the war. Many readers could believe that O’Brien experienced mental distress during or after the battle in Vietnam. The deaths of both characters Curt Lemon and Ted Lavender show the physical impact that the war had on the people. Norman Bowker, the man who witnessed Kiowa’s death and never recovered from the incident, related to all of the men on the battlefield – none of them were able to forget. Of course, readers were touched by the author’s constant mention of his daughter, Kathleen. The idea of Kathleen seemed to push O’Brien to continue writing his war stories, even if they all weren’t true. Another touching moment in the story came through a character named Linda. O’Brien claimed to have loved Linda at a young age and was heartbroken when she died due to a brain tumor. In this way, readers could learn his obsession with