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Theme Of Belonging In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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They are emotions and the burdens every one experience when its that time to go to war. Many of us carried belongings that are worth our entire life. Whether it may be a simple pen or even a simple drawing. In the story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is an example on how the solders carried there belonging to remind them of home. There are millions out there that have to cope with today’s life. For many, their physical disabilities have shattered their lives.
For many Americans, they have suffered. They have been exposed to stress, confusion and as O’Brien says
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What Were the Things They Carried? In the novel The Things They Carried, the author, Tim O'Brien demonstrated both physical and symbolic objects that characters carried throughout their time in the Vietnam War. In the course of the novel, published in 1990, characters cope with sadness, sorrow, and the hope for love. Henry Dobbins is a solider in the Vietnam War whom is very superstitious.

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607 Words | 3 Pages

For example, Ted Lavender is simply a young and frightened soldier that carries dope, tranquilizers, and extra ammo to ease his nerves from the war. Most soldiers had a physical object they carried to get their mind off of the war and had some sort of remedy while on the battlefield. This goes to show the effects the war had on the soldiers and their mental state throughout the violence of war. A few more examples would be Jimmy Cross who carried the photo of Martha. Henry Dobbins carries his girlfriend’s panty hose as his talisman during the war due to being superstitious.

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249 Words | 1 Pages

In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, ambiguity is used to enforce the character of the story. O’Brien communicates the struggle of being on the battlefield, however it wasn’t a choice but a matter of abstract selection in which he couldn’t deny. O’Brien uses series of fear, the savage of the war on the soldiers and how the over certain fear. Repetition of the emphasize the ambiguity of dead. O’Brien fears going to war, he was about to risk his life.

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1292 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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543 Words | 3 Pages

The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, illustrates the experiences of a man and his comrades throughout the war in Vietnam. Tim O’Brien actually served in the war, so he had a phenomenal background when it came to telling the true story about the war. In his novel, Tim O’Brien uses imagery to portray every necessary detail about the war and provide the reader with a true depiction of the war in Vietnam. O’Brien starts out the book by describing everything he and his comrades carry around with them during the war. Immediately once the book starts, so does his use of imagery.

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802 Words | 4 Pages

The novel The Things They Carried was set during the Vietnam War, describing fiction stories that were based off of true experiences. The chapter called “The Things They Carried” described the many things the soldiers had with them, and throughout the story it showed how these things affected their lives. Many of the things that the soldiers had with them were things that they needed, like ponchos, guns, matches and more. “Together these items weighed between 12 and 18 pounds,”(2). They may have had lots of necessities, but that didn’t stop them from bringing the things that meant the most to them.

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1509 Words | 7 Pages

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.

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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.

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620 Words | 3 Pages

The Things They Carried In the historical fiction The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien presents himself, the narrator, being faced with a war draft to a war he didn't agree with, in order to convey a message about going to war instead of fleeing the draft ultimately illustrating that message of being a coward for going against what he believed in. Tim O’Brien conveys a message of himself being a coward for going against what he believed in. In the text Tim had recently graduated from college when he got drafted to the war, O’Brien stated “In June of 1968, a month after graduating from Macalester College, I was drafted to fight a war I hated.” O’Brien makes it extremely clear that his views did not align with the war.

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1388 Words | 6 Pages

“I survived, but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to war” (61). A main theme in The Things They Carried is how a man must find a way to overcome fear.

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758 Words | 4 Pages

Death, especially of a close family member or friend, can cause one to lose hope. Death could include a loss of a loved one, a loss of oneself, or a loss of a passion. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien reveals the significance of death each soldier must come to terms with and the impact that death has on them, their character, and their actions. Each soldier carries objects that represent who they are, what they long for, and what they love. This is what remains constant for the boys in a world of war and death.

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637 Words | 3 Pages

The things they carried is a novel by Tim O’Brien. About the Vietnam war. About the lives of people going there. It’s a collection of war stories. Some of them true, some of the untrue and that’s the main topic that’ll be discussed in this paper.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

Things They Carried Analysis draft In the short story “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’brien uses the literary element of symbolism to portray how people carry different items to represent certain things, and to represent the harsh realities of war and life. He also uses symbolism to show how people become attached to items, and how they take on deeper meanings in times of stress. The story takes place during the Vietnam war, and O’Brien talks about an army detail, and the different things that they carried. This story is a great example of the use of symbolism to represent many different things at once.

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688 Words | 3 Pages

“That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future ... Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (36). The Things They Carried is a captivating novel that gives an inside look at the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War through the personal stories of the author, Tim O’Brien . Having been in the middle of war, O’Brien has personal experiences to back up his opinion about the war.

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Tim O'Brien's “The Things They Carry,” tells a story about the lives of young men during war. The narrator tells his story from first person, marking all of his adventures and experiences of his companions. O’Brien crafts his piece through the use of repetition, symbolism, and metaphors to convey the idea of physical and psychological hardships of soldiers during war. Though the literary device of repetition, O'Brien portrays the physical and psychological hardships of a soldier.

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