Similarities Between The Things They Carried And The Hollow Men
In “The Hollow Men” and the story excerpt “The Things They Carried” both authors, T.S. Eliot and Tim O’Brien, utilize similar techniques such as imagery and tone, while having a different purpose for writing. In the poem “The Hollow Men,” T.S. Eliot apples imagery and tone to help his audience apprehend how life without a purpose proves to be a waste when the world's final hours are close. As for in the excerpt, “The Things They Carried”, the author uses his techniques to demonstrate the toll that war can have on a person and how it causes some individuals to lose themselves. For the author, Eliot, to illustrate his main idea in “The Hollow Men,” he uses imagery. For example, in the first stanza Eliot writes, “…Our dried voices, when / We
whisper together / Are quiet and meaningless / As wind in dry grass / Or rats’ feet over broken glass / In our dry cellar” where he makes a grand emphasis on the dryness the hollow men are dealing with. By making a strong emphasis and demonstrating the dryness of them and their surroundings, it seems that they, the hollow men, are dead. With so much dryness in them, it seems they lack life, are fruitless, and are oked at the photographs, he thought of new things he should’ve done.” With all the description given in the Lieutenant’s fantasy it seems as if it had actually occurred, but knowing that it hadn’t makes the Lieutenant seem disturbing and helps the reader understand the isolation that comes along with being in war and the desperation to go back home with loved ones. Desperation for home so he could actually be able to do the countless things he had fantasized about Martha, which reveals just some of the effects that war, has on the soldiers; they begin to lose their sanity especially because he wished to have been able to tie her to the bed. Overall, imagery is something that is vital in both the poem and excerpt because it not only helps demonstrate ideas, but it helps the audience understand what the authors are trying to deliver
whisper together / Are quiet and meaningless / As wind in dry grass / Or rats’ feet over broken glass / In our dry cellar” where he makes a grand emphasis on the dryness the hollow men are dealing with. By making a strong emphasis and demonstrating the dryness of them and their surroundings, it seems that they, the hollow men, are dead. With so much dryness in them, it seems they lack life, are fruitless, and are oked at the photographs, he thought of new things he should’ve done.” With all the description given in the Lieutenant’s fantasy it seems as if it had actually occurred, but knowing that it hadn’t makes the Lieutenant seem disturbing and helps the reader understand the isolation that comes along with being in war and the desperation to go back home with loved ones. Desperation for home so he could actually be able to do the countless things he had fantasized about Martha, which reveals just some of the effects that war, has on the soldiers; they begin to lose their sanity especially because he wished to have been able to tie her to the bed. Overall, imagery is something that is vital in both the poem and excerpt because it not only helps demonstrate ideas, but it helps the audience understand what the authors are trying to deliver