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Reading Literature: The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

957 Words4 Pages

Ravnit Atkar Robert Polski English DE 19 February 2023 Reading Literature Reading literature is for individuals like myself to escape reality. Literature is meant to entice its readers and form some sort of problem and solution to the narrative. Literature increases one's ability to empathize, perceive, and connect to the characters portrayed in novels. It is a spiritual act, in a way that unlocks an individual's point of view and mentally absorbs us into a conversation with a character, to get to know them better and their understanding of the world revolving around them. When I get into the world of literature, I animate the readings, mentally painting a picture in my brain to essentially comprehend the characters and amuse myself. I predict …show more content…

For instance, although O'Brien deconstructs the importance of each character's personality through the symbolic items each character possesses, the extent of the information he provides about the characters is augmented upon and guided in the subsequent chapters. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien states that Henry Dobbins is armed with a machine gun and his girlfriend's underwear. Dave Jensen carries soap, dental floss, foot powder, and vitamins. Mitchell Sanders carries a yo-yo, condoms, brass knuckles, and the unit's radio (1). Henry Dobbins is portrayed as a representative of the average American man, with qualities of machoism, but also the morals and pride of an American soldier. Dave Jensen exhibits qualities of hygiene and living an organized life. Mitchell Sanders is a type of father figure; being one of the most likable soldiers, he has easygoing qualities and a strong sense of justice and his ability to communicate the intangibles of war brings the group together. Through the reading, I animate these characters based on their personality and how they are represented in the …show more content…

I anticipate that the next section of literature will help one learn from the experience in order to make better estimates and to be a guiding tool of the book. What I aim to gain from my literary experience is the development of my analytical abilities, the presentation of opportunities to broaden my perspective on emotional consequences, and the strengthening of my ability to analyze findings from reading literature. My responsibility as a reader is to give justice to characters by assigning them the qualities that the narrator wants to represent. As a reader I expect the author to provide tasteful unpredictability in a way that keeps me engaged, with twists and turns within the story that leads to comforting

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