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Damage In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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Damage. When something is damaged it can never be the same again. If you rip paper in half you can tape it back together, but it can never be the same again. Soldiers were damaged by the war. This is seen in the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Especially in the chapter Stockings and Style.

Soldiers came back from the war with many hardships and effects from what they experienced. Also as a result of their experiences, many soldiers had little lucky charms they used in war and back home. “The magic doesn’t go away”(pg. 112). “Had the properties of a good-luck charm” (pg. 111). Mentally the soldiers knew that whatever was going to happen would happen, but these little charms comforted them. Each soldier had a different experience, but each one was hard. All they wanted was to be home and the “magic” that was in these charms gave them a little bit of home. The “magic” couldn’t bring them home, but it helped. Ironically, the charm had an opposite effect when they finally got home. As time progressed the experiences they had in Vietnam stayed with them forever, and so did their magic. …show more content…

This was a result of what they went through and how they reacted to it at the moment. “But, Henry Dobbins who moved gracefully for a big man took Azar from behind and lifted him up high and carried him over to a deep well and asked if he wanted to be dumped in. Azar said. “Alright then,” Henry Dobbins said, “Dance right.” In this section, you see the two perspectives of how soldiers felt. Azar coped with it by joking and poking fun. On the other hand, Henry let himself feel what he was doing. Both were hard and both feel the effects of it even after they returned

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The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried Summary. The Things They Carried is a collection of twenty-two stories, or chapters. All focus on the Alpha Company and the fate of its soldiers after they return home to America. A character named Tim O'Brien (same name as the author) narrates most of the stories.

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Dobbins appreciated the girl’s dance enough to stand up for her and threaten Azar, “Dobbins, who moved gracefully for such a big man, took Azar from behind and lifted him up high and carried him over to a deep well and asked if he wanted to be dumped in. Azar said no. ‘All right, then,’ Henry Dobbins said, ‘dance right.’” (86). Dobbins is compassionate enough to understand grieving, but this doesn’t make him a pacifist he’s also stressed about this war, but instead of letting the idiocy of a comrade get to him, he keeps his temper in check and threatens the guy instead. Dealing with a stressful is challenging but possible in any way you can.

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In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the author skillfully presents a paradox about war and how it is both horrible and beautiful. Through O’Brien’s vivid storytelling and sorrowful anecdotes, he is able to demonstrate various instances which show both the horrible and beautiful nature of war. Within the vulnerability of the soldiers and the resilience found in the darkest of circumstances, O’brien is able to show the uproarious emotional landscape of war with a paradox that serves as the backbone of the narrative. In the first instance, O’Brien explores the beauty in horror within the chapter “Love.”

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