Tim O’Brien and Chris Kyle both use literary devices to contrast two different ideas of war. “There’s no place to go. Not just in this lousy little town. In general. My life, I mean.
Cross wasn’t the guy someone would think as a leader of the war because he kept looking at Martha’s photo (Cross girlfriend) because it gave him a type of hope that everything will be all right. He was young and got drafted to the war, yet it wasn’t his choice to become one or was fitted to be a leader, he was called on random. The Photo of Martha that Cross was looking at distracted him, and eventually got Ted Lavender killed (one of his men). Obrien writes in “The Things They Carried”, “He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war." (42).
He feels guilty because the men in his company are under his command and he was supposed to keep them safe, but he failed because he wasn’t paying attention. He kept daydreaming about Martha, who Lieutenant Cross had a crush on, when he should’ve been paying attention to the battle happening at the time. And as a result, he blames his obsession on Martha and himself for the death of Ted. To atone for the death of Ted, Lieutenant Cross decided to burn “Martha’s letters” (Tim O'Brien 22), pictures, and threw away a pebble that Martha had given him. He threw away all reminders of Martha to make sure that the memory of Martha would never distract him again so that his men won’t have to die like Ted
Over 9 million military personnel served in the Vietnam War, one of, if not the most, controversial wars in American history. Studies conducted in 1968, before and after the presidential election, showed that the majority of people believed that entering the war was a mistake. As well as this, the studies also showed that nearly 60 percent of people believed that America should pull its troops out of Vietnam, either by an active effort to end the war or by pulling out entirely (Lau 474). Despite the fact that it was perhaps the most controversial military operation in history, 75 percent of the total forces in Vietnam were volunteers (Hall 25). This begs the question, what led these soldiers to serve in a war that nearly half the country
Readers, especially those reading historical fiction, always crave to find believable stories and realistic characters. Tim O’Brien gives them this in “The Things They Carried.” Like war, people and their stories are often complex. This novel is a collection stories that include these complex characters and their in depth stories, both of which are essential when telling stories of the Vietnam War. Using techniques common to postmodern writers, literary techniques, and a collection of emotional truths, O’Brien helps readers understand a wide perspective from the war, which ultimately makes the fictional stories he tells more believable.
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.”
The author was writing the story “The Things They Carried” expressed so many thoughts and feelings about what the soldiers had faced, they showed their feelings and duties, life or death, and overall fear and dedication. This story shows the theme of the physical and emotional burdens that everyone is going through in the war. By showing his readers what the soldier’s daily thoughts are and how they handle what is going on around them. Tim O’Brien expresses this theme by using characterization, symbolism, and tone continuously. In the story, physical and emotional burdens plagued several characters as they all had baggage weighing them down.
Tim O'Brien's short story, "The Things They Carried", is a personal narrative of the time he served in the military during the Vietnam War. His experience in the war along with his platoon shows how soldiers have to conform to the specific image of a tough, brave, and emotionless warrior courageously fighting in the heat of battle. However, the story shows young soldiers who try to follow this image, but end up showing individuality by being their true selves. In the nature of war, most soldiers will try to conform to this image, however showing individuality isn't always a negative thing. At first, the group of very young soldiers who have just been drafted try to show their masculinity by hiding their true emotions such as fear.
The Things They Carried “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story set during the Vietnam War. In the story, O’Brien lists many different items soldiers in the Alpha Company carried with them as they humped across the rugged terrain. Many carried necessities such as rations, matches, ammunition and things of that nature; however, many soldiers also carried quite peculiar objects such as condoms, pantyhose, and M&Ms. Readers can grasp a closer insight of the characters’ lives after further examination of the symbolism and meaning of the things they carried.
Response to “The Things They Carried” Whether fiction or partial non-fiction, in this short story of the “Things They Carried” Tim O’Brien tries to place the reader in the soldier’s daily life during the war. He did this by introducing the characters not by describing their personalities, but by using the things they carried to give us a picture of that character. Out of respect or confidentiality he prefers not to use specific characteristics of each person, but instead opts to use symbolic representations through what they carried. He uses this method on each character individually and then proceeds to use the same method to describe the platoon or all the characters as a whole.
A good story is one that makes you think. I think that we are more accepting of stories that pertain to a certain genre that we like, but a good story is one that can draw someone in no matter their tastes. I think that The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a good example. Personally, I am not a fan of doing anything related to war. I don’t like studying it in school
There are multiple examples of the guilt in this book, that match with this quote. The first examples would lie within the first character during the war, Jimmy Cross. After he losses Ted Lavender by a sniper shot he Acosta 3 begins to feel the guilt of the death and tries to blame it on his love for Martha. The second example hits home when Norman Bowker kills himself due to the guilt psychological killing his will to live with the burden of him knowing he could have saved his fellow soldier, Kiowa. Both of these examples from the book show how O’Brien bluntly shows the guilt in and out of
ENG IV 3.5 Outline/Graphic Organizer Gibson I. —Introduction Attn. grabber (Fact; anecdote; quote; startling statistic; etc . . .) “Great is the guilt of unnecessary war” - John Adams this portrays one of the main feelings of men and women that fought in Vietnam. General Statement regarding topic (name of author & title of text)
The Things They Carried is a novel written by Tim O’Brien; in this novel, O’Brien explores a blurred line between reality and fiction. This subjection of truth to storytelling is a major theme throughout the novel, which means that telling war stories objectively makes the story less pertinent. This theme shows that O’Brien is not attempting to tell a war story, but to just talk about the experiences he had while at war. He shows that any facts throughout the novel are not as important as the stories and experiences he tells of, and how what the war meant to the soldiers and how it changed them. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is an autobiographical fiction novel which investigates the obscure line between fact and fiction with his characters
For example, Jimmy has been in love with Martha and carries her letters. These letters are “signed Love, Martha, but Lieutenant Cross understood that Love was only a way of signing and did not mean what he sometimes pretended it meant. " Jimmy’s daydreaming about Martha is a way of escaping the war and his responsibilities as a leader, which later results in guilt. When a comrade is killed he thought that “he had loved Martha more than this men” and that “this was something he would have have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war.” Crosses feels guilty for fantasizing about someone who doesn't even love him and denying his duties as a
