ipl-logo

Theme Of Guilt In The Chapter Love 'By O' Brien

462 Words2 Pages

The theme of guilt is prevalent throughout the Chapter “Love”. After many years that the Vietnam war had ended, Jimmy Cross visits O'Brien at his house located in Massachusetts. They drink coffee and look at old photographs of them and their partners in the war of Vietnam. When they come across a picture of Ted Lavender, Cross stated that he had “never forgiven himself for Lavender's death (pg 26)”. Cross’s guilt has not faded away after many years. The guilt and thought of Lavender's death were still haunting him.O’brien uses allusion in chapter “Love” (2). After O’Brien conversed about Lavender's death with the veteran Lieutenant, O’Brien decided to break the ice, change up the conversation, and ask about Martha. Cross left the scene and …show more content…

It was the volleyball shot. Martha bent horizontally… her hands in sharp focus. (pg 32)’’ O’Brien remembered Martha, even after many years had passed. Cross responded with a picture that alluded to the strength of O'Brien's memory.
O’Brien uses many similes. An example can be found in chapter “Spin” (3), “...even if you were careful you could end up like popcorn (page 32)”. This adds a very humorous sense to a very serious matter. Another example of simile found in chapter 3 is “...you'd feel the boredom dripping inside you like a leaky faucet. (page 33)” This describes how annoying boredom was to them at that time. How it annoyed the soldiers to be annoyed because there was nothing to do to get their minds out of anything. The author also uses a metaphor. “The memory-traffic feeds into a rotary up on your head...” this shows us, the audience,

Show More
Related

The Thing By Tim O Brien Rhetorical Devices

747 Words | 3 Pages

This flashback serves as a way for the reader to connect with the character Lt. Cross. O’Brien uses the flashback to demonstrate the emotional toll war took on him. Cross focused on that evening with Martha because he did not want to focus on the war itself. Instead of focusing on the blood and gore involved with her he chooses to concentrate on Martha. The sexier image of Martha back home waiting for him was much more comforting than the reality of

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

467 Words | 2 Pages

Gunnar Olson 7/12/17 Lincoln’s second inaugural address Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address was anchored in the president’s awareness of the Union citizens’ growing anxiety about the grave causes and effects of the then Civil war conflict. In order to compel Union citizens to stay motivated towards this restoration of the Union by excusing Confederate insurgents and seeing through the necessary war, Lincoln transitions between inclusive pronouns to binary diction to capture conflicting and shared beliefs among Americans, as well as allusions to God’s religion to portray the war as repayment for the act of slavery. In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln surprised his audience by not giving a speech regarding politics, but instead using harsh and then encouraging diction and biblical allusions to inspire Americans and show them that they need to continue to work for peace.

Read More

How Does Tim O Brien Tell A True War Story?

901 Words | 4 Pages

Having this constant burden and responsibility soldiers had to be able to think efficiently and in a timely manner or take the chance of losing one another (Tian n. pag.). Thus, throughout the chapter, O’Brien uses telegraphic sentence to embody a soldier's mindset. He writes “There is no virtue,” “It all happened,” “Nobody said much,” “Nobody listens [and] Nobody hears nothing”(O’Brien 65-75). By using telegraphic sentences, O’Brien clearly portrays a soldier’s thoughts. Because a telegraphic sentence is short and to the point, it illustrates the short, quick thinking that the soldiers had to make during the war (Harris n. pag.).

Read More

Irony In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

572 Words | 3 Pages

Also, considering the survivors of the war, they underwent psychological challenges and feelings associated with it. The feelings survivors have include confusion, guilt, and grief, thus, the collection stories indicate how the war experience is linked to the piece of art. In regard to this, Jimmy in the story laments of the feeling he has about death, as the author in the book says, “Jimmy Cross confides in O’Brien that he has never forgiven himself for Ted Lavender’s death” (O’Brien 30). According to the book, a number of lessons, episodes, and characterization depict an art form, especially the accurate portrayals. This is evident from a myriad of experiences as put forward by the

Read More

On The Rainy River Diction

713 Words | 3 Pages

The novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien uses many effective rhetorical strategies throughout. In the chapter On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien tells the audience a story he has never told anybody. Not even his parents, siblings or wife. He narrates the events and emotions that he experienced after receiving a war draft notice during the summer of 1968. O’Brien is ashamed about how he dealt with the notice and he feels as though he is “too good” to go to war.

Read More

All Is Not Fair In Love And War Analysis

1009 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

Imagery In The Things They Carried

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.

Read More

Emotional Burdens In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1509 Words | 7 Pages

He accepted the blame of Ted Lavender’s death because he was more focused on Martha than he was about his troops. Wesley states that while Jimmy Cross accepts the blame he thinks this will make it all better by accepting heroic responsibility. This relieved the stress upon Cross and made him feel as if he was even more of a leader and not a coward. When Ted Lavender died they treated it as if it was nothing but a daily routine.

Read More

Ambiguity In Tim O Brien

934 Words | 4 Pages

Tim O’Brien states, “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” (O’Brien 16). In this quote, Tim O’Brien explains that since Jimmy Cross blames himself about Ted Lavender’s death, he will always be in lieutenant’s head. Thus, the lieutenant will always feel the guilt. With this, Tim O’Brien makes the reader think that Jimmy Cross is the person to blame since he is the head of the group and he has to pay more attention to his plans. Having questions about his love, Martha, in his mind instead of being careful about his men is the reason of him feeling guilty that “the lieutenant’s in some deep hurt” (17).

Read More

Symbolism In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

648 Words | 3 Pages

Jimmy Cross is the first lieutenant who carries pictures and letters from Martha, the woman he loves who—sadly—does not love him back. The pictures and letters from Martha symbolize Jimmy’s longing to be loved and comforted. It is ironic that although he is the first lieutenant who is expected to take charge and lead others, yet he never took charge of his own love life. This is a regret and burden Cross carries to the end of the story. “It was very sad, he thought.

Read More

Things They Carried Shame Quotes

159 Words | 1 Pages

In The Things They Carried, O'Brien explores how shame can be shown in different ways for soldiers, including shame over their own actions, shame over their weaknesses, and shame over their inability to connect with or help others. One of the most notable examples of shame in the novel is the character of Jimmy Cross, who feels intense shame and guilt over the death of one of his men, Ted Lavender. Cross blames himself for Lavender's death, feeling that he was too distracted by his own thoughts of Martha to properly lead his army. This shame continues to trouble Cross long after the incident, even after he has left Vietnam.

Read More

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.

Read More

Psychological Warfare In Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'

772 Words | 4 Pages

Guilt is an emotion that O’Brien wanted to bluntly throw at the reader because the guilt is something a lot of soldiers faced in and out of war. There are multiple examples of the guilt in this book of all the trauma and all the love,the guilt starts to find its way into the characters. Continuing this, O’Brien runs with the psychological theme of guilt, and he does this masterfully. "They carried shame for almost dodging the draft. The weights they carried couldn’t be left behind and for some of the soldiers in O’Brien’s unit, they carried these intangible weights for more than twenty years after returning home from war"(Clark).

Read More

Jimmy Cross Martha Quotes

601 Words | 3 Pages

Martha had a big effect on Jimmy cross 's during his adventure in Vietnam. “Jimmy Cross 's had loved Martha more than his man , and as a consequence lavender was dead now and this was something he had to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war and life.” Martha was a young lady that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was obsessed with. It was very possible the distraction of Martha caused lavender to die. Although Martha never loved cross.

Read More

The Things They Carry Rhetorical Analysis

702 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Theme Of Guilt In The Chapter Love 'By O' Brien

Related Topics

Open Document