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What literary technique does o'brien use in the things they carried
How tim o'brien develops character in "the things they carried,
What literary technique does o'brien use in the things they carried
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Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, of the Alpha Company, carries various reminders of his love for Martha, a girl from his college in New Jersey who has given no indication of returning his love. Cross carries her letters in his backpack and her good-luck pebble in his mouth. After a long day’s march, he unwraps her letters and imagines the prospect of her returning his love someday. Martha is an English major who writes letters that quote lines of poetry and never mention the war. Though the letters are signed “Love, Martha” Cross understands that this gesture should not give him false hope.
“The Things They Carried” Headline: What O’Brien and his team carried both physically and mentally will shock you Newspaper Section: This article would fit the world section of the newspaper. Single-Sentence Summary: Tim O’Brien the protagonist and the narrator of the story is describing lieutenant Jimmy Cross, who is active in Vietnam however Cross is preoccupied thinking about a girl called Martha whom he dated prior to the war. Explanation: This quotation from “The Things They Carried” provides an opinion on why men go to war. O’Brien claims that men who go to war are cowards, not as heroes. They go because they are forced to go and because they didn’t have the bravery to refuse to go.
He couldn’t help it (432).” This tells you that he is still just a boy at this point, but he knows that he should not be thinking of Martha he should be worrying about the lives of his men. Even so, Lavender is now dead and Jimmy holds himself responsible: “He would dispose of his good luck pebble. Swallow it, maybe… (437).” Mainly he is trying to get rid of all feelings for Martha, he cared more for her and himself, but he does care also about his
Claim 1. O’Brien wants his readers to feel the embarrassment of trying to run from his problems. Reasoning and Evidence O’Brien tries to portray embarrassment through his own testimony. Tim starts the reader off by saying that he has not told this story until now because he thought it “would only cause embarrassment(37)”
This chapter “The Ghost Soldiers”, showed us how Tim O’Brien and the other soldiers were dealing with the war both physically and psychologically. It also shows us how the Tim O'Brien behaved and felt when he was shot, wounded and had a bacteria infection on his butt and how the war changed the way he thought, and viewed the other soldiers around him. This chapter also contain a lot of psychological lens. From the way Tim O’Brien felt when he was shot and separated from his unit to a new unit to when he wanted revenge on Bobby Jorgenson for almost “killing” him.
In conclusion, it is reasonable to say that Tim O’Brien needs to be harsh in his self-criticism because he values himself more than he does others. He also believes that society should see him as a high class character who can contribute to the good of humanity. Thought, he displays a good example that supports this argument through his work ethics, both in school and in the pig factory, this only proves that he is incapable of doing the society any good. Since he has a paucity of perseverance which may deplete further if he chose to stay in Canada instead of going to the war. Furthermore, O’Brien displays himself as a vain character who believes that he is above anyone else, and therefore should not have been drafted for the war.
Martha sends Jimmy letters and small trinkets, the pebble and the photos of herself. Both inspire Lieutenant Jimmy Cross to persevere in the war and providing comfort during times of stress. The pebble, Martha wrote,
Along with his military gear, O’Brien states, “Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps” (p. 115). Cross loves Martha, and “More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her” (p. 114), but is unsure of whether she loves him back. Despite his uncertainty,
Ambiguity Lingers On Edith Wharton, who is an American author, states “The novelist must rely on what maybe called the illuminating incident to reveal and emphasize the inner meaning of each situation” (Wharton). Tim O’Brien uses illuminating moments to show how war makes guilt ambiguous. By examining three specific moments, the reader discovers how difficult it is to deal with the ambiguities of guilt. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross suffers from the ambiguity of guilt about Ted Lavender’s death.
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.
He is still in love with her, but she never felt the same way. “I would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire. I would sometimes taste the envelope flaps, knowing her tongue had been there. More than anything, I wanted Martha to love me as I loved her, but the letters were mostly chatty, elusive on the matter of love”. During those years, he only thought about Martha, not about his men or the war.
One might say that Tim O’Brien has valid reasons for being critical in his decision to go to war and therefore shouldn’t be so harsh in his self-criticism. The war, which calls his name, is what severs his chances of earning a bright future which he deserves. He “had the world dicked” (41) and is a hard worker from the start, especially in his academic studies, gaining a “full-ride scholarship for grad studies at Harvard” (41). The Aphorism, a saying that usually expresses a general truth, hints that similarly to great minds like Albert Einstein, also a draft dodger, O’Brien has the ability to contribute to the understanding of the unknown in society, allowing his judgements on himself to be passed. However, the likelihood that O’Brien’s work
In Tim O'Brien's “Enemies” and “Friends”, O'Brien shows the effect the nature of war has on individuals and how war destroys and creates friendships. These two stories describe the relationship between two soldiers, Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen. In “Enemies”, friendship is broken over a fist fight about a stolen jackknife, which leaves Strunk with a broken nose and Jensen paranoid of whether or not Strunk’s revenge is coming. While in “Friends”, you see how the nature of war creates a bond of trust, even between people who first saw each other as enemies.
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.
On the Rainy River is a story about a man, Tim O’Brien, who struggles with a life altering decision. He evaluated his own personal convictions regarding the Vietnam War at an isolated fishing lodge by the Canadian border. Three different forms of isolation are present in this story. These include physical, emotional, and societal isolation – all of which had an effect on how Tim dealt his conflicting emotions. Physical isolation played a prominent role in Tim O’Brien’s final decision to go to war.
