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O Brien's The Things They Carried

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Recommended: Emotional and psychological effects of war on soldiers

The environment that surrounds one will have a big affect on him or her; in a good environment, people will gradually improve, but in a harsh environment, people will be influenced negatively. O’Brien introduce the reality of the soldiers in the Vietnam War and brings to life the setting of the entire novel. The soldiers were primarily teenagers and young men in their early twenties who had not yet had the chance to experience life. O’ Brien states, “war is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love, War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead.” (P322) What is happening in the world is happening inside the characters as well. …show more content…

When a person is explaining their war story they use different paradoxes because they get caught up in their own emotions and end up thinking irrationally, making them not able to express the truth in war. The chaotic environment, such as war, prison, or neighborhood may confuse people about the event that occurred. Gladwell introduces the experiment led by Philip Zimbardo who creates a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University to explore why prisons are such an unpleasant places. Gladwell emphasizes zimbardo’s idea by states that “there are certain times and places and conditions when much of that can be swept away, that there are instances where you can take normal people from good school and happy families and good neighbors and powerfully affect their behavior merely by changing the immediate details of their situation” (P159) Gladwell uses the Law of The Few to explain that no matter how long one is raised in his previous upbringing, it has no effect on how he behave if he is placed in an unfamiliar

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Men went through so many tasks during the Vietnam War physically and mentally. The beginning chapters focus on training for war and being prepared for the worst. For example, when there is a sergeant in a room with the marines. The sergeant walks to the chalk board and writes “AMBUSHES ARE MURDER AND MURDER IS FUN” (36-37). The

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The Paradox Of War In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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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.

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Paradox In The Things They Carried

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Obrien perfectly describes the duality of war saying, “war is nasty; war is fun” and “war makes you a man; war makes you dead” (76). War has many positives for some men, and it gives them a chance to honor their country. War is also horrible and leads to the death of countless young men with bright futures ahead. O’Brien uses the story of the water buffalo to describe all the emotions described in the description of war. The shooting of the water buffalo shows how desensitized soldiers become due to the mindless killing of Vietnam.

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'True In The Things They Carried By Tim O' Brien

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“True” is a word that defines as in accordance with fact or reality ("true: definition of true in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US)", 2016). The Things They Carried, a novel written by Tim O’Brien, defines as a “true” story because it discusses soldiers’ real experiences in the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien wrote his novel based on his experience in the war as a young adult and his account of the Vietnam War has created discrepancy among readers on whether his novel is a “true” story or a glorified piece of exaggerated fiction. The Things They Carried was written to convey soldiers’ real experiences of the war and therefore is a “true” story.

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How Does Tim O Brien Present The Transformation In The Things They Carried

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O’Brien describes himself as an unreliable narrator a couple of times throughout his book, but every thought and feeling of the characters he writes is very real, giving the reader glimpses into what Vietnam was really like. One story told by Rat Kiley embodies the transformation from innocence while in Vietnam. Having someone ship a girlfriend to spend time with them in Vietnam is not very realistic in a war setting; however, the evolution of her character is. Women are often pictured in literature as innocent beings, incapable of taking care of themselves, as in the introduction of the character Marry Anne. She was just "this seventeen-year-old doll in her goddamn culottes, perky and fresh-faced, like a cheerleader visiting the opposing team’s locker room.

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What Is The Theme Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien, the author conveys the theme that the burdens of war last a lifetime through the use of the literary element Characterization. The author conveys the theme primarily through the use of characterization. One example of this is on page 131 of the chapter entitled Ambush in which Tim O’Brien states, “When she was nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had killed anyone… It was a difficult moment but I did what I thought was right, which was to say, ‘Of course not,’ and then take her into my lap and hold her for a while.”

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Women's Role In Vietnam In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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The constant war zone does not only weaken the physical state of soldiers, it can also take away the stability of some men’s mentality. Although O’Brien does not directly state that the other characters in the novel are mentally unstable, he uses the women, who are close to the soldiers, as mirrors of the soldier's emotions. As an example, O’Brien uses his daughter to convey how the fighting in the Vietnam war and how reminiscing on Vietnam has changed him mentally. O’Brien tells a story twice, one time telling it truthfully and the other time “story-truth”(179). He comforts himself through the entire chapter because of this, telling one story and stating that it was untruthful, but it does not become apparent to the reader until the daughter asks, “‘Daddy, tell the truth,’ Kathleen can say, ‘did you ever kill anybody?’

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Introduction The Things They Carried is a text where writer Tim O’Brien the stories he encountered throughout his time in the Vietnam War. These stories, traumatic as well as warm and humorous, are ones that the author will never erase from his memory. It seems that O’Brien is retelling these stories to enlighten those who have never had experience on the battlefield in order to reach a certain level of understanding and to discover repercussions that it brings onto the human condition, both physically and mentally. Evidently, he wants to convey emotion within the reader. The stories also recall the life lessons that O’Brien learned about friendship, forgiveness, respect and reputation as well as foreignness and the other.

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Many soldiers that served in the Vietnam war suffered dramatically pertaining to mental and physical health. O’Brien and many other soldiers also had the same views on the Vietnam War, such as that it was pointless for the United States. Most soldiers were frustrated with the fact that they were fighting for their country with no purpose or benefit for the American people. In the book O’Brian said, “I can’t stop crying. I can’t stop thinking of what a waste it all was” (O’Brian 7).

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The Things They Carried: An Analysis

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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.

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How it was shaped: Tim allowed the draft of the Vietnam war and societal pressures get to the best of him and he slowly tore himself apart, he started off as a confident incorrigible man. His morals later then became corrupted, he gave into the pressures, his self proclaimed Lone Ranger status had been infected and debunked by his end decision of serving in the Vietnam war. Thesis: In the story, On the Rainy River, the author, Tim O’Brien demonstrates that an individual allows societal pressures and expectations to override their core values, morals, and beliefs; peer pressure forces individuals to put their beliefs aside so they can fit in with everyone else. The narrator, Tim O’Brien faces a similar situation when he get’s drafted for the Vietnam War.

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The quote, by Moira de Swardt, emphasises the psychological damage inflicted by war, not only upon the soldiers, but also the civilians connected to the soldiers and anyone who is human enough to care. The South African Border War left psychological wounds on soldiers which could never be repaired and metaphorical scars on those who watched their loved ones suffer, unfortunately in vain for an ideological warfare crafted by a corrupt government. In the play ‘Somewhere on the Border’, by Anthony Akerman, one can witness the psychological damage as a result of war by analysing the characters Bombardier Kotze, Doug Campbell, David Levitt, Paul Marais, Hennie Badenhorst and Trevor Mowbray. The character Bombardier Kotze possess military authority throughout the play as he has been in the army for fifteen years.

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