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How Does Tim O Brien Use Imagery And Repetition In The Things They Carried

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-Introduction- The novel, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, is a narrative composed in a non-linear structure which consists of short stories all drawn from O’Brien's experiences during the war. Each of these short stories are linked together to portray the emotional aspects and burdens young men suffered during this time. For context, The Vietnam War was a conflict between South Vietnam and North Vietnam, with the U.S. as the South's ally. It resulted in over 300,000 American injuries and 58,000 deaths, with the average age of soldiers being only 19. This left many vulnerable to psychological and emotional difficulties at an early age. As a young man during this time in the US, it was highly likely that they would be drafted. They …show more content…

Tim O'Brien critiques society throughout the book to emphasize the emotional burdens the soldiers face during the darkest period of their lives. He critiques the societal normality of men being supposed to take on the role of being strong and masculine. By displaying their emotional burdens, it can ruin the image they desire to set and make them an outcast in society. Tim O’Brien uses imagery and repetition to characterize these emotional burdens as a soldier in the Vietnam War. In the chapter “On the Rainy River”, imagery and repetition are used to highlight the difficult decision the soldier Tim faces between escaping the draft or going to war. The Rainy River, which separates Minnesota and Canada, serves as a symbol for the internal conflict Tim experiences between the choice of the fear of war and the fear of exile. Tim reflects by stating, “I feared the war yes, but I also feared exile. I was afraid to walk away from my own life, my friends and family, my whole history, everything that mattered to me. I feared losing the respect of my parents. I feared ridicule and censure (42).” The repetition of fear emphasizes the intensity of Tim’s emotional struggle he faces. It reinforces the idea that fear is

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The short story “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, is about the experience of a team of American soldiers in the Vietnam war (Julia Guance et al. 323). O’Brien fought in the war of Vietnam himself and used writing as a way to express the realities of war (322). His works are realistic, given his personal experience at war. Each soldier in the story “The Things They Carried” carry specific objects that reflect their personality and priorities. Jimmy Cross is a twenty-four-year-old, American First Lieutenant.

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War is one of the most complex yet completely understood subjects to read or write about. Tim O’Brien has captured the true essence of being drafted into a war. “The Things They Carried” is a novel composed of multiple short stories; Each taking the reader through the perspective of the narrator showing his multiple landscapes, situations, and changing feelings from being drafted into the Vietnam War to surviving it. These stories really help one understand the effects of war on someone’s mind as well as body. Tim O’Brien is the main character and protagonist in this novel.

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For Veterans, war has impacted a majority of their life due to the traumatic events that they encounter, so they are left them with the last decision, which it could be drugs or suicide. In the book, The Things They Carried, Tim Obrien writes several short stories on the Vietnam War. A fictional book based on real events and how he describes the Vietnam War as the most significant event in his life because of the things he and his friends had to face. It studies the nature of young men in a time of war, and what made them do tough decisions in and after the war. The thing that is noticeable at first is how characters go into development, and how they listed the things the men had carried with the profound irony being that is not the physical thing they carried but the nonphysical thing they carried, the emotion, the experience and the guilt they encounter in Vietnam.

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Joining the war the war can be one of the scariest things to happen to someone and can be really discouraging. During war time getting drafted is a life changing thing. “ I remember a sound in my head. It wasn't thinking, just a silent howl. ”(O'Brien, p.26)

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The Things They Carried is a fascinating and illuminating novel written by Tim O'Brien. Published in 1990, it is a collection of interconnected short stories that depicts the experiences of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. In his novel The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien employs Juxtaposition to create the effect of long-term effects of trauma and an abrupt, violent loss of innocence. The chapters “The Man I Killed”, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, and “How to Tell a True War Story” work together to produce this effect.

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By using historical context, narration, and character usage, O’Brien employs the theme of mental health across to the readers to show the mental health of soldiers during this time. O’Brien portrays the story from a monumental historical point, the Vietnam War, to show how mentally oppressive the war was. The soldiers that were drafted

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The short story, “The Things They Carried,” written by Tim O’Brien (1990), appears to be an unpretentious narration that list the tangible items carried by the soldiers while fighting in the Vietnam War. Upon further review it becomes clear that the lists of “things” have a much deeper meaning and carry an abundance amount of emotional weight. Not only is their load a physical burden that consist of hefty equipment that is necessary for survival, but they also bear the burden of internal conflict. The internal conflicts identified in the story center around the disturbing afflictions carried by the soldiers revealing that the men long for an escape from their dreadful surroundings, feel responsible for the lives of their fellow soldiers,

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Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who served as a soldier in the Vietnam War. The topic of the book goes through the experiences of soldiers during the Vietnam War and expresses both the physical and metaphorical things the soldiers had to carry with them while deployed. His purpose for writing the book was to recount his personal experience in the Vietnam War and allow him to comment on the war. I chose this book because I thought it would be an interesting read and I would be able to learn more about how a soldier in the Vietnam War felt while deployed. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a story of his recalling of events that provides an honest depiction while maintaining an enjoyable read which shows how the soldiers were changed in the war.

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“I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth”(O’Brien 171). In “The Things They Carried” Tim O’Brien describes his experience and many other soldiers experiences in the Vietnam war. This book is based off his memory, imagination and storytelling which depicts many perspectives of life before, during and after war. Tim O’Brien uses imagery and symbolism to address that war destroys innocent people and at the same time soliders loss of innocence.

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