ipl-logo

If I Die In A Combat Zone By Tim O Brien

970 Words4 Pages

If I Die in a Combat Zone, author Tim O'Brien argued that the Vietnam War was evil through his depictions of the harmful actions against the Vietnamese, first hand experiences of the soldiers, and lastly, his opinion throughout the war. O’Brien demonstrates the mutilation and murders of the innocent Vietnamese people by explaining how the soldiers belittled the orientals. The soldiers captured three old men and decided to tie them up (130). These old men were treated poorly by the soldiers because they were being gagged and restrained. Most of the company wasn’t concerned about the old men’s physical condition, since they were prisoners. The reason they killed all these people, was because they saw everyone there as an enemy and justified …show more content…

At the beginning of the book, O’Brien explains his thoughts on how the war was misguidedly conceived and inadequately justified (18). O’Brien didn’t believe that the war was morally right because it resulted in people dying, thus conveying to the reader that it was in fact evil. He insinuates the idea that he didn’t want to observe the war, let alone join it. O’Brien didn’t want to kill the people because he hated them, but he was scared for his life (98). O’Brien knew the war was evil, but he had to undergo these situations to fulfill his duties as a soldier. He didn’t want to die trying to be a nice guy to the enemies. The author also wanted to deliberately expose the arrogant people who fought in the war and the war itself (93). He felt that this war wasn’t something the people should be a part of and he would attempt anything to get rid of it. O’Brien was determined to show how the war was evil and expose the idiotic people involved with it. In the entirety of the book, O’Brien’s readers understand that although he didn’t justify his decisions, he still sustained the events of the process he was going through, and overcome the desires to run away (138). He didn’t want to humiliate his family or people from his hometown by running away. He felt guilty and realized that the only way to make it out alive was to suffer through the

Show More
Related

Lee Strunk's War In 'Friends, By Tim O' Brien

392 Words | 2 Pages

At this point in the book O’Brien has decided he is going to the war. Not really for himself but for the people in his town. He doesn’t want the embarrassment of not going, he doesn 't want people looking down on him. He ultimately does it for everybody but himself. It comes from the story “On the rainy river”.

Read More

Internal Conflict In On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

862 Words | 4 Pages

First, Tim O’Brien shared some key statements signaling the presence of the major internal conflict going on within him when he stated “My conscience told me to run, but some irrational and powerful force was resisting, like a weight pushing me toward the war” (O’Brien 49). This was a powerfully written sentence because it truly shows the reader the internal conflict that he is battling against with himself, and that going to war was definitely not going to be a super easy decision to make. The use of this conflict makes the reader engaged in the story, wondering what the main character will do about said conflict and whether or not he will make the choice people want him to make or whether or not he will make the choice he wants to

Read More

Tim O Brien Quotes And Analysis

599 Words | 3 Pages

In this book, Tim O'brien uncovers all his encounters in insight about the war; and also stories about his kindred warriors, and makes a genuine, yet over the top about them. He clarifies how he feels through stories that are hard to unmistakably distinguish as "genuine." This book has a great deal of subjects, demise and brutality is one of the real topics. A major topic and point in Tim O'Brien's novel is what number of circumstances hurt the warriors' lives.

Read More

Doing The Right Thing In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

465 Words | 2 Pages

Being a soldier was well respected in his conservative hometown, and not fighting would cause disgrace to fall upon his family. Despite his morals being against it, O’Brien decided to go war and fight, “I survived,” he explained, “but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war” (O’Brien 79). Although O’Brien was against fighting in the war, he still fought because he was ashamed and afraid that he would be scorned if he did not.

Read More

Thoreau, Tim O Brien, And Frederick Douglass: Literary Analysis

919 Words | 4 Pages

After the death of Ted lavender the soldiers fight out of rage and revenge of a friend in a war that had no previous meaning. O’Brian does not leave out any of the gory horrifying details of soldiers deaths and the conditions of war .The war was pointless in the eyes of the soldiers, which is why O’Brian never mentions a reason for the war. In this story O'Brien refuses to make war look in anyway positive, nor does he justify the killing of people. Instead he shows war in a bad light, bringing only sorrow and death because he does not believe in the glorification of war.

Read More

Moral Dilemma In On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

284 Words | 2 Pages

At this moment, O’Brien is going through remorse for himself. He does not think that he should be forced to fight in this war when he does not believe in what they are fighting for. O’Brien believes that the war was unjust because “certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (1002).O’Brien

Read More

Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: A Literary Analysis

1292 Words | 6 Pages

In the short story, “The Man I Killed,” O’Brien focuses on this to show that everyone fighting in a war has a story. He spends the story describing the man he killed and searching for justification of his actions. He carries around guilt with him because of it, and his fellow soldiers try to help him justify and come to terms with his action by saying things like, “You want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down= you want that? I mean, be honest,” (126) and “Tim, it’s a war.

Read More

Physical Trauma In On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

474 Words | 2 Pages

Like all wars the Vietnam War had Physical and Psychologial scars. Fifty-eight thousand people were killed, two thousand captured, and three hundred thousand wounded. I could talk more about the physical trauma, but I want to talk about the psychological damages the war caused O’Brien and other soldiers. O’Brien was a part of the war and through the story you can see his bitterness and how the war affected his mind. Like loosing his best friend Ted Lavender, the chapter I chose to do is On the Rainy River.

Read More

Things They Carried Theme Essay

499 Words | 2 Pages

In Tim O’Brian’s book, The Things They Carried, he tells the story of Tim who serves in the Vietnam war and is immersed in a war filled with death. O’Brian through his theme of death helps create a story that illustrates the horrors of war, and shows how soldiers carried death both physically and psychologically. For instance, O’Brian conveys how closely war and death are associated together. On page 77, O’Brian writes, “At its core, perhaps, war is just another name for death, and yet any soldier will tell you, if he tells the truth, that proximity to death brings with it corresponding proximity to life” (77). This quote illustrates, how by coming close to dying, one can appreciate life that much more.

Read More

PTSD In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

1504 Words | 7 Pages

This quote epitomizes the trauma caused by war. O’Brien is trying to cope, mostly through writing these war stories but has yet to put it behind him. He feels guilt, grief, and responsibility, even making up possible scenarios about the life of the man he killed and the type of person he was. This

Read More

Complex Emotions Of War Rhetorical Analysis

909 Words | 4 Pages

While deciding, he talks about his fears and also says “I would go to war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to” (O’Brien 57). The only reason O’Brien decides to go to Vietnam is because he is afraid of the embarrassment and dishonor that comes with fleeing to

Read More

Examples Of If I Die In A Combat Zone

1179 Words | 5 Pages

This quote stated by O’Brien shares how himself and other soldiers felt about the war, and how they felt like their fight and war tactact was overall useless for the United States. O’Brien also mentions that he feels frustrated that the government would let thousands of Americans' lives to end just for a war that had no benefit or meaning for the country. O’Brien is a great representative for American soldiers who served in the Vietnam War because of the emotion and frustration he felt about the war and the war’s

Read More

The Things They Carried: An Analysis

688 Words | 3 Pages

War was so much more than just war to O’Brien and he able to share this through his writing. " But this is true: stories can save us. ... in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world." (page

Read More

Ethos And Pathos In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

699 Words | 3 Pages

The knowledge of ethos, logos, and pathos develops and improves yourself as an analytical reader by recognizing the appeals the author uses throughout their text for the readers. It helps reveal the author’s approach in their writing, such as appealing to the reader’s emotions, setting themselves as an credible and reliable source, or uses facts and data to back up their approach. It develops a deeper understanding of the text and the author’s way of addressing the audience. The things they carry are both physical and emotional burdens that weigh them down. O’Brien repeats the weight of each physical item they carry: “for a total weight of nearly 18 pounds...the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds...starlight scope, which weighed 6.3 pounds…” (page

Read More

The Asians Dying Analysis

852 Words | 4 Pages

By 1975 the Vietnam war had claimed over 5 million lives, many of which were civilians. This has made it a war that Americans have been ashamed of and tried to forget. W. S. Merwin was outspoken on how he felt about war, which he shows in “The Asians Dying.” He makes a statement on the inhumane way the Vietnam war took human lives. ” The Asians Dying” will shock readers with its gruesome imagery and force them to look at what war does.

Read More

More about If I Die In A Combat Zone By Tim O Brien

Related Topics

Open Document