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Minor Characters In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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Minor characters can add a significant meaning to the plot of a story. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien includes a few minor character to help readers understand his purpose of writing. These minor characters are Mary Anne Bell, Kathleen, and Linda.

Mary Anne Bell is a character that demonstrates the loss of innocence. She was first described as a feminine girl. She had a bubbly personality, friendly atmosphere, and happy smile. The soldiers enjoyed Bell’s presence because it was nice to see a pretty girl after a hard day of work. Mark Fossie brought Bell over to Vietnam primarily for a source of comfort. Fossie exposed Bell to Vietnam, and she learned to love it. After her arrival, Bell started to eagerly follow the soldiers on missions. She became excited to take part in ambushes …show more content…

O'Brien introduced Linda to readers as the girl he loved. Linda died at the age of nine due to a brain tumor. Linda symbolizes remembering loved ones through the connection of love and death. She reveals O’Brien’s inner feelings along with his method to cope with death. After Linda’s death, O’Brien starts to go to bed early to dream about her. In O’Brien’s dreams, Linda is alive and well. He imagines both of them talking and ice skating together. O’Brien could not save his friends physically, so he is keeps them alive in his heart. This is a way O’Brien uses to convince himself that his friends are not really dead. His heart refuses to accept the fact that Linda is gone. O’Brien includes Linda’s death as a comparison to the death of the soldiers that he saw. He implies that death affects veterans the same way Linda’s death affected him. Furthermore, O’Brien reveals that he copes with his troubles by writing novels. Through stories, O’Brien was able lessen his guilt and keep his friends alive. The purpose of this chapter was for readers to empathize with veterans and show more

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