ipl-logo

How Does Tim O Brien Deal With Grief And Loss

1730 Words7 Pages

Part of the human experience is dealing with grief and loss, it certainly is never easy but if one can learn to keep those who have passed on alive in their hearts, the grieving process will end in an appreciation for the life they lived. Simba, in The Lion King, is an excellent example of this; when Simba was a young cub his evil uncle named Scar planned to orchestrate a plan for buffalos to stampede his brother Mufasa and his young nephew Simba. Mufasa attempts to save Simba, but is ultimately thrown into a gorge. Simba witnesses his father's death and initially blames himself for the tragedy. Following Mufasa's death, Simba experiences extreme sorrow and self-doubt. He suffers from feelings of guilt and unworthiness, believing he is not …show more content…

To begin, in both books, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, both characters, Tim O’Brien and Holden Caulfield, have lost loved ones in their lives; these losses are difficult for both to process, however, they gain the ability to keep those they lost alive in their hearts, which greatly helps them in processing and understanding their grief. In the novel, The Things They Carried, all characters represent author Tim O’Brien or someone who once knew, therefore the perspectives on grief and death are true to his personal life. This is exemplified when O’Brien states, “But the thing about remembering is that you don’t forget. You take your material where you find it, which is in your life, at the intersection of past and present,” (O’Brien 22). This statement can apply to many situations, but in this context, grief. Tim, a Vietnam War veteran, has witnessed extreme amounts of loss of life due to his experiences. As a result, he has most likely developed a way to honor those who have died by moving forward while also remembering them, never forgetting who they were or the life they lived. This is challenging, especially in the context of war, …show more content…

Alongside gaining the ability to honor who one loved but also lost, a person can internally grow as a human. Tim O'Brien was just an ordinary kid when he went to fight in the Vietnam War, but he came out as a man. Yes, he experienced some terrible tragedies that no one deserves to witness, but he also learned to respect his life and the ones around him far more. Being so close to death allowed Tim and so many others to feel true humanity, “.the presence of death and danger has a way of bringing you fully awake. It makes things vivid. When you're afraid, really afraid, you see things you never saw before, you pay attention to the world. You make close friends with us. You become part of a tribe and you share the same blood—you give it together, you take it together,” (O’Brien 122). When things are fully ‘vivid’ it’s most likely true you’re going to see how important whatever it may be; in this case, it’s life itself. When Tim was so close to losing his life it made it more ‘vivid’ and so he was able to more easily see the importance of valuing it while he still had it. Seeing life for what it is and cherishing it by any means necessary is a wonderful take on life; sure, going to war to gain this perspective isn't ideal, but the results were very worthwhile. Holden Caulfield, after over 5 years of rotting as a result of his life's primary loss, Allie, was ultimately able to learn from his

Show More
Related

How Does Tim O Brien Tell The Story In The Lives Of The Dead

665 Words | 3 Pages

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Lives of the Dead”, no one can die; everyone can live on in stories. This short story is about how to keep people alive through stories. In the war Tim has to cope with an abundance of death; this reminds him of Linda, his first love’s death. The guys in war with Tim would pretend the people never died telling jokes about the people who have died both the dead north Vietnamese and their fallen comrades.

Read More

How Did Lieutenant Jimmy Cross Get Responsible For The Loss In The Things They Carried

725 Words | 3 Pages

During times of war, soldiers would encounter death left and right, either if it were their friends or enemies. As a result, many people, including the characters in The Things They Carried, had been scared physically and emotionally due to the death of allies or enemies. Many people deal with their emotions in different ways, some in positive ways and some in negative ways. Characters such as Tim O’Brien, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, and Norman Bowker were haunted by the deaths of the people around them, and dealt with their grief by internalizing their feelings, getting rid of distractions, and talking to imaginary people. Tim O’Brien is haunted and is reminded by his past actions because he killed what he thought was an innocent young man.

Read More

Decisions In On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

2052 Words | 9 Pages

Most people consider it an honour to be given the opportunity to fight for one’s country but in Tim’s case it is the opposite. He sees it as himself becoming “a coward” (187) by conforming to other’s expectations instead of fighting for his individual beliefs and “for more than twenty years [he’s] had to live with it” (172). The thought of throwing every one of his beliefs away and taking lives just to fit in is extremely degrading for him and makes him feel like the opposite of the hero he dreamed to be as a child. But it is this event that shows him what perseverance really is. Tim survives the war which itself is no easy task, but additionally he has to live with the feeling of betraying himself in the process.

Read More

How Does Holden Affect Allie's Death

886 Words | 4 Pages

Through the effects shown in The Catcher In The Rye, Salinger depicts the struggles of grief and loss in various stages of life. Holden takes Allie's death very harshly. The night that Allie died, he slept in the garage and ended up punching out all the windows in the garage and kept going until his hand was broken and he “had to go to the hospital and all”(Salinger 201). Allie’s death affects Holden as a person, not

Read More

Near Death Experience In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

511 Words | 3 Pages

In war people are sent to experience things they would have never encountered in their past which would help them see life in a whole new perspective, making them become a better person. In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, he talks about his near death experience which he claims has changed him making him see life in a new light. As O’Brien came out of his traumatizing near-death experience he came to realize that “[he was] never more alive when [he was] almost dead. [He would] recognize [what was] the best in [himself] and the world, all that might be lost” (O’Brien 78). When almost dead O'Brien realized that he has taken life for granted all of his life, that he did not really appreciate what he had.

Read More

Coping Mechanisms In The Things They Carried And Tim O Brien

1435 Words | 6 Pages

The main point is how he has to deal with death from a young age to the combat zones. In a way he blames himself for the deaths of his friends or failing to save them, but he failed to understand that it is not his fault. He just needs to find a way to understand since he is forty three years old and has to find closure, O’Brien at the conclusion of his book said “I'm skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy's life with a story.” (233) He realized through his writing that he was carrying things with him that needed to be explained to him or it was going to hurt him mentally and physically.

Read More

A Brief Review Of Tim O 'Brien's The Lives Of The Dead'

792 Words | 4 Pages

Soldiers faced the worst of humanity and, most of the time, were shaped in ways that they couldn’t express to their peers and as such had their own unique method of dealing with the horrors that had to bear witness to. For Tim O’Brien, his method of coping with the loss of life that constantly plagued him was creating stories to keep the dead alive. The effect of O’Brien’s fiction writings was that his war stories were not only love stories, but also life stories that speak volumes about the effect death has on the innocence on people. The story like dialogue, the last couple of lines, and first person point of view in the final passage of The Lives of the Dead portrays O'Brien's attempt with this novel to reconcile his own loss of innocence

Read More

Coping Mechanisms In The Things They Carried Essay

2081 Words | 9 Pages

The soldiers in the Vietnam War are portrayed as losing themselves in the chaos and trauma of combat. Through the stories of the soldiers and their experiences, O’Brien explores the ways in which war strips away one's sense of identity and humanity. The author himself is depicted as losing himself in the war. O'Brien served in the Vietnam War, and his experiences inspired much of the book. Through the character of Tim O'Brien, the author explores the ways in which war can strip away one's sense of self and purpose.

Read More

How Does Tim O Brien Use Story Telling In The Things They Carried

778 Words | 4 Pages

It’s ironic that one would want to relive the horrors of war. Traditionally, a veteran would do anything in his power to forget everything he saw and experienced at war. However, for Tim O’Brien, it’s the exact opposite: Storytelling is the way that he copes, the way he keeps the dead alive, and the way he allows for outsiders to feel what he felt during the war. In The Things They Carried, O’Brien portrays the power of storytelling by using it to rehumanize the soldiers during the hardships of war.

Read More

Summary Of Pigs In Heaven By Barbara Kingsolver

1754 Words | 8 Pages

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver follows the travels of Taylor and her illegally adopted child Turtle from Tucson, their “home,” to Heaven, the Cherokee Nation’s “home.” Turtle and Taylor are each other’s family, but after appearing on Oprah, there are questions brought up by the Cherokee Nation about the adoption. While Taylor is on the run with Turtle, they pass through several towns and states, but the most significant setting is at the conclusion of the book when Taylor takes Turtle to Heaven, Oklahoma. The significance of this place is that this is the home of Turtle’s race, Cherokee, who she has never known nor met. Turtle and Taylor both admit to being scared to travel to Heaven, Oklahoma, but Taylor makes the decision as Turtle’s

Read More

Aphorism In The Things They Carried

1049 Words | 5 Pages

Towards the end of the story Tim dreams of Linda again but this time he has a talk with Linda, finally comes to terms with her death. She explains that she’s not really dead but that she lives on in memories like a book. With the death of his girlfriend, Tim was able to understand and accept the death of all others who has died during the war. Tim’s example of his girlfriend dying shows that everyone dies no matter how strong they may be. They may die but their spirits live on in a better

Read More

5 Stages Of Grief Research Paper

868 Words | 4 Pages

When we receive news that someone has passed or is soon to pass away we cry, we ask GOD why, we state promises to be made within ourselves so that that person is able to live, and after so much time has passed we can finally see the greater purpose behind the event. The phases that we go through are called the stages of grief. Grief is a natural response to death or loss (WebMD, “Grief and Loss”). These stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and

Read More

Personal Narrative: The Five Stages Of Grief

847 Words | 4 Pages

After a death or loss of something close, people usually react similarly by going through the five stages of grief. These stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. During a death of my Great Aunt, my family went through the stages of grief. I was close with her when I was younger, but I do not have many memories I remember with her so I did not experience much grief. On the other hand, my Great Uncle went through a lot of grief since she was his older sister.

Read More

Speech About Coping With Grief

1356 Words | 6 Pages

Coping with the loss of someone or something you love is one of life’s biggest challenges. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. These are normal reactions to significant loss.

Read More

Essay On Loss And Grief

1345 Words | 6 Pages

To be able to know how to deal with the losses that are discussed in the following chapters, it is important to have a clearer understanding of loss and grief and how to cope with grief following

Read More

More about How Does Tim O Brien Deal With Grief And Loss

Open Document