Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried And Death By Landscape'

Carrying Death: A woman looks back on her memories from summer camp as a girl and relives the horror of her friend committing suicide. A soldier deals with the monotony and fear of being in the front lines of the Vietnam War and works through the trauma of having one of his men killed. At first glance, “Death by Landscape” by Margaret Atwood and “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien seem to have nothing in common, but a closer look reveals a clear similarity. In this essay, I am going to argue that although these stories are different in their structure and style as well as in the ultimate response of the main characters, the theme, tone, and general events are very similar. In both stories the main characters had a close encounter

Although both stories have a style that lends itself well to their overall tone and topic, their way of presenting it is done in a unique fashion. In “Death by Landscape,” the style is clearly reminiscent, with Lois appearing to look back at her life. The story begins in the present, with Lois moving into a new condominium after having lost her husband, shifts to remembering Lois’s childhood, and finishes with another view of Lois’s current life. There are several instances of Lois commenting on the events that had happened from an adult point of view while still remembering her childish perception of them. For example, when thinking back to the Indian campfire ritual right before the canoe trip, Lois “finds it disquieting. She knows too much about Indians this is why. She knows, for instance, that they should not even be called Indians . . . but she remembers, too, that she was once ignorant of this.” (299) There are also numerous switches of verb tense during the narrative, which also suggests the reminiscent, reliving feel the story structure gives. When the conversation with Cappie after Lucy’s death is related, the verb tense is in present form, contrasting to most of the rest of the story, which is told in traditional past tense. The section opens with “Lois is sitting in Cappie’s office,” (304) and continues as if Lois is reliving the horror of that interview in intense detail.

“Death by Landscape” has a lot of hints and foreshadowing, but it is done in a more subtle fashion, not quite giving away the main event while constantly alluding to it. For example, Lois comments about the camp song “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and describes the actions, adding that “she will never be able to forget them, which is a sad thought.” (295) When the story reveals how Lucy committed suicide by throwing herself into a lake and never being found, Lois’s aching memory of this seemingly innocent camp song makes much more sense. “Death By Landscape” also contains hints about Lucy’s growing unhappiness and unsettledness, not just with her home life but with life in general. Lucy tells Lois about not liking her stepfather, about not being allowed to see her boyfriend, and about wanting to leave home. (298) As the canoe trip is begun, Lucy is “apathetic about” it (298) and later tells Lois that she doesn’t want to “go back . . . to Chicago,” (301) hinting at Lucy’s deep emotional turmoil that is only realized after her suicidal act. The foreshadowing in “The Things They Carried” is more obvious and also more varied in the different events it foreshadows. Hints about Jimmy’s doubts of true love in his and Martha’s relationship are given. Already in the very first paragraph, these doubts are surfacing between