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