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Summary Of The Thing They Carry By Tim O Brien

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In the novel The Thing They Carry the book it depicts the many issues a person faces going to the war and problems they face during the war. At the beginning of the book we are introduced to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and a girl named Martha back home whom writes to him. These letters and one-sided love blinded the Lieutenant which resulted in the death of one of his men. He had the responsibility of keeping his men safe and making sure they were gonna get out of the war alive. However, his feeling towards Martha got the best of him which got Ted Lavender killed. As the men carried the decrepit corpse of Lavender to a secure area waiting for extraction, the narrator stated, “Lieutenant Cross felt the pain. He blamed himself.” (O’Brien, 6) Lieutenant …show more content…

For instances, when O’Brien had worked in the slaughter house over the summer, it had foreshadowed the things he’d see abroad, the blood, guts, and gore. As depicted by Tim O’Brien, “It was not pleasant work. Goggles were a necessity, and a rubber apron, but even so it was like standing for eight hours a day under lukewarm blood shower.” (O’Brien, 43) In the perspective of war, one would say it was a necessity to carry a rifle for protection and wear a helmet to keep themselves safe, and a blood shower. As said by George S. Patton, “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.” War is never pleasant, but becomes necessary if the freedom and independence of the country is in danger. In the final chapter, The Lives of the Dead, we learn about death and how the platoon of men handled it when someone had died. The men welcomed death and toasted to those that have left us, and kept the dead alive those stories. When Ted Lavender had died O’Brien stated, “When Ted Lavender was shot in the head, the men talked about how they’d never seen him so mellow, how tranquil he was, how it wasn’t the bullet but tranquilizers that blew his mind.”(O’Brien, 239) The same can be said about Linda, the girl whom died at a young age due to an illness. Although dead in reality through

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The Things They Carried Jimmy Cross Character Analysis

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The short story “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, is about the experience of a team of American soldiers in the Vietnam war (Julia Guance et al. 323). O’Brien fought in the war of Vietnam himself and used writing as a way to express the realities of war (322). His works are realistic, given his personal experience at war. Each soldier in the story “The Things They Carried” carry specific objects that reflect their personality and priorities. Jimmy Cross is a twenty-four-year-old, American First Lieutenant.

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Lieutenant Jimmy Cross In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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In the book “The things they carried” by Tim O’Brien is about a first Lieutenant Jimmy Cross who was in love with a girl named Martha who was attending Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. He carries pictures and letters that she sent. Cross was a distracted soldier O’Brien states “at dusk, he would check the perimeter, then at full dark he would return to his hole” (2). After returning to his hole he would relaxed and daydream about Martha. While he was daydreaming one of his group members got shot in the head, he blames himself for the soldier’s dead.

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How Does Jimmy Cross Tell The Story In Chapter 1 Of The Things They Carried

723 Words | 3 Pages

In this chapter, Lieutenant Cross shows deep grief over what happened to Ted Lavender. Cross was distracted that day, wondering whether Martha was a virgin or not. As the soldiers waited for the helicopter to carry Lavender's body away, they smoked his marijuana and told jokes, and because he carried tranquilizers they said he was probably too high to feel pain when he was shot. The methods of dealing with their grief were substance abuse, and joking around just to make it all seem like it was not real. Cross doesn’t participate in any of this, as he feels too guilty to mourn in this way.

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Summary Of Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

1000 Words | 4 Pages

In every part of the novel, the author cuts through mask of romanticized war to show these men as brave, flawed, afraid and above all, human. Tim O’brien uses the characters and plotline of his novel, The Things They Carried, to argue war is damaging and a ghastly experience for soldiers both mentally and physically; further research about the mental health effects of serving war supports this belief by arguing that war puts stress on many soldiers which related symptoms can increase their chances of having PTSD. On the author’s point of view, he claims that war is damaging to those who see others hurt or killed. On the first chapter of The Things They Carried, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross describes all the men of the company had carried of their preparations of dead men and their mental state of mind.

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Figurative Language In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

772 Words | 4 Pages

This is made clearer when Jimmy Cross blames himself for Ted Lavender's death, as O’Brien explains, “He felt shame. He hated himself. 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” (16). Jimmy’s decision to place the tragedy upon himself shows how quick soldiers try to resolve traumatic experiences, subconsciously setting themselves up to rot with the emotional burdens they create. Moreover, O’Briens simile instantiates the emotional vulnerability of soldiers which distinctly outweighs the horrors of war by creating endless stress and

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Summary Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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The story “The things they carried” is a touching story that depicts the emotional and physical baggage they carried. Each Man carried something according to their size and rank, but all carried the feeling of fear of what is to come as well as love. In the story “The things they carried” by Tim O’Brien, it illustrates the experiences of soldiers at war in Vietnam. Tim first describes the feelings and movements of Lt Jimmy Cross and his thoughts about a lady named Martha, whether she is a virgin or not.

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Summary Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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This quote goes on to show that not even the soldiers could fully understand what items they had and the power they possessed. O’Brien effectively encapsulates the pure trauma that soldiers feel for actively partaking in the war, but they have no choice but to continue. " The jungle was hot and wet and the foliage seemed to slither" (O’Brien). The oppressive physical environment of the jungle, described as "hot and wet" with foliage that "seemed to slither," contrasts with the soldiers' psychological discomfort and fear, emphasizing the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the war zone. O’Brien

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All Is Not Fair In Love And War Analysis

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Throughout the text, Cross “could not stop thinking about [Martha]” (p. 116), unable to concentrate on the war or the men he is charged with leading. Consequently, Cross’ distraction and inadequate leadership result in Lavender’s death. Cross finds himself accountable because “he loved [Martha] more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” (p.

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Emotional Burdens In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1509 Words | 7 Pages

When the author expresses the feelings within Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s troops we see their individual personalities. When the author used characterization, symbolism, and tone, they truly brought out the theme of physical and emotional burdens throughout “The Things They

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The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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For example as the author writes, “It was the burden of being alive….They would repair the leaks in their eyes….light cigarettes, try to smile…After a time someone would shake his head….someone else would laugh….” (O’Brien, 123). This line is a very powerful line in order to show how for the soldiers seeing death has become a ritual for them. The soldiers would laugh and talk and touch the dead body showing that they are seeing life in a differently familiar manner. In other words, for them seeing so much death has made them used to the situation, but, they tried to make death seem different and un-real as they laugh out their pain through this dead body.

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The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1874 Words | 8 Pages

Here, “it was like a funeral without the sadness”, and there was no feeling associated. The lack of feeling turned it from something meaningful, as it was for Lavender, to the mockery talking to the dead is here. Tim explains why people found this disrespectful storytelling appealing, “In Vietnam, too, we had ways of making the dead seem not quite so dead. Shaking hands, that was on way. By slighting death, by acting, we pretended it was not the terrible thing it was.

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The Things They Killed Jim Cross Character Analysis

820 Words | 4 Pages

Viet Nam War was a terrible phobia to Vietnamese and American whenever it is mentioned; It was horrible, dolorous, and sanguinary war. O'Brien with a success of the story " The things They carried'', and he also said some aspects of Vietnam war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a protagonist of the story; he has a mad love with Martha. Although Jimmy Cross is very young, he is '' As a lieutenant and platoon leader First. '' (Brien 36)-- his duty is '' Responsibility for the lives of his man. ''

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Juxtapositions In The Things They Carried

510 Words | 3 Pages

After the death of character Ted Lavender it was obvious that many of the men dealt with the loss in many ways. They coped by joking about the situation and discussing the event multiple times. Each of the men all had to deal with the death as well as the potentiality of their own death themselves. While the men were scared of death they also secretly longed for a release from the hellish situation of war that they were forced into. Throughout these grievances, the men still had to remain strong throughout the situation.

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Reflective Essay: The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

747 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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Guilt And Shame In The Things They Carried

580 Words | 3 Pages

There are so many people affected by the deaths of their comrades. After O’Brien kills a man, and he feels bad, but also realizes that life goes on. That even though a tragedy happened, he has to keep going. It’s about the beauty of life instead of death. (118-125)

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