ipl-logo

Juxtaposition In The Things They Carried

328 Words2 Pages
Literature has many different interpretations, especially during each individual time period. Critic Roland Barthes, “Literature is the question minus the answer” is seen in the post war novel, The Things They Carried written by Tim O’ Brien. O’Brien’s novel raises the central question of how does death affect Tim O’Brien’s, the narrator, life. Though there is plenty of death involved during the war the characters that highlighted O’Brien’s interpretation of Barthes observation were; Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the man from the chapter titled, “The Man I Killed”. The ambiguous stories of each men’s death directly affect the narrator through the use of vignettes and juxtaposition. In order to view the true meaning of Tim O’Brien’s post war novel,
Show More
Related
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
957 Words | 4 Pages

More specifically, the novel depicts the adverse effects war has on soldiers during the war and after the war. O’Brien quickly shows the crippling effects of war through himself. He has been ripped from everything he knows and placed into a foreign land, in which, his life is constantly at risk. As the story progresses there begins to be a shift from the war, to life after it. It is again immediately apparent how difficult it was for soldiers to adjust back to normal life.

Read More
1782 Words | 8 Pages

But Tim O’brien flips those ideas upside down using the chapter “How To Tell A True War Story” in The Things They Carried. The reader learns of a young man whose best friend dies in war, and how he writes a letter to the sister about his life, only to never get one in return. Throughout this chapter, the reader learns how truly contradictory the idea of a “true war story” really is. With a reflective and didactic tone, Tim O’brien effectively teaches those who have not fought in a war how to tell a true war story-- that “a

Read More
705 Words | 3 Pages

Although the soldier he killed was an enemy soldier, instead of vilifying him he was able to humanize the man. O’Brien was able to describe the physical appearance of the soldier and imagine her life before war. The author was able to portray an emotional connection and made the line between friend and enemy almost vanish. This was able to reveal the natural beauty of shared humanity even in the context of war’s horror. O’Brien is able to find the beauty in the midst of this tragic and horrible event.

Read More
1292 Words | 6 Pages

O’Brien presents a variety of stories to present the complexity of war. “On The Rainy River” is a pre-war

Read More
423 Words | 2 Pages

(page 68). This is why Tim O’Brien writes the way he does. He wants the reader to believe his story and get a sense of what war is truly

Read More
1094 Words | 5 Pages

This forewarns the reader that they could be reading something that is real or something that is completely made up. O’Brien is a masterful writer who has created an unique story about the experience of war through his style of writing.

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

Rather, the significance of O’Brien’s work is his utilization of a metafictional novel as a representative vehicle for the Vietnam War. Within The Things They Carried

Read More
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
581 Words | 3 Pages

“How to Tell a True ‘War in Miniature’” A great novel about war is not one that details the events of violence or gore, but, rather, one that extracts and conveys the raw emotions of all involved. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien achieves the perfect balance between sharing truth, instilling empathy, and crafting engaging fiction. American author, Elliot Ackerman, asserts that different experiences or events can encapsulate “the war in miniature”.

Read More
510 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story “The Things They Carried” the general theme revolved around the emotional struggles of all the men and how they dealt with issues of war, love, fear, and loss. The tale is intended to symbolize the internal warfare of soldiers in war and the mental struggles of dealing with the risk of danger on a day to day basis. Author Tim O’Brien being a Vietnam War veteran, experienced this firsthand and uses imagery and physical juxtapositions to compare both the emotional and physical baggage that the men carried throughout the war. One of the main characters in the story, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, who was the leader of the platoon in the story, faced many emotional problems. He was struggling with a love interest back in the United States and torn between putting emotional energies into both the thought of her while still maintaining the wellbeing of his troops and being a respectable officer.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Truth and fiction are what create a real war story. Tim O’Brien conveys this concept in The Things They Carried. In novel he reveals the ultimate emotions contained within war stories. Specifically in the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” O’Brien develops his thoughts behind this. He includes multiple versions of stories throughout the book, to further enhance the interpretation of how sanity is believed to be contained by the imagination in stories, which brings an unreal reality.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

O’Brien’s intended audience was young people who were not educated about the war and he discussed the themes shame/guilt and mortality/death. The chapter “The Things They Carried” gives an introduction about the men in the group, it also shows shame/guilt. The chapter talks about the equipment each soldier carried and how it affected them. During this chapter it focuses primarily on LT.

Read More
688 Words | 3 Pages

He fought a war in Vietnam that he knew nothing about, all he knew was that, “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (38). He realized that he put his life on the line for a war that is surrounded in controversy and questions. Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess.

Read More
306 Words | 2 Pages

Everyone walks around the earth carrying objects, some of them real, some of them metaphorical. Each individual must find ways to cope with the things they carry and be able to pick them up and move on with their life. We deal with these things because just like in The Things They Carried, we are “...too frightened to be cowards” (The Things They Carried 77). I personally have been through some hardships that I must carry with me, however I have a pretty light load compared to some of my peers. Throughout my life, I have carried material objects, such as blankets, necklaces, etc., but those things are far less relevant to me than the memories that I will carry with me forever.

Read More

More about Juxtaposition In The Things They Carried

Related Topics

Open Document