The Things They Carried Literary Analysis Essay
The Things They Carried Literary Analysis Final Draft In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the theme “Rape of Innocence” presents itself in many different ways. Rape of Innocence means their innocence is violently diminished or destroyed due to the war and the life changing aspects that come along with it. Not only can war put a physical burden on someone, but it can also affect them mentally. Throughout this book,
O’Brien and the Alpha Company face a lot of adversity. Whether it’s with the help of love, comfort, or superstition, he makes you experience what he went through. The first chapter, “The Things They Carried”, is the first instance of rape of innocence. “..and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M&M’s for especially bad …show more content…
wounds..” (Page 5) Although they are dealing with the complications of death and war, M&M’s provide them with an outlet of being a kid. When I think of my childhood, one of the first things to pop into my head is the taste of chocolate and the warm, fuzzy feeling that would come over me. They bring comfort to those who are dealing with an especially bad wound, they treat something more than gauze and tape can. O’Brien uses M&M’s as a metaphor to express the mentality of American soldiers in Vietnam. Another display of rape of innocence is shown in the chapter “Spin”. “Or Ted Lavender adopting an orphan puppyfeeding it from a plastic spoon and carrying it in his rucksack..” (Page
36) Ted Lavender had a strong connection with the puppy. He treated it as if it were a baby.
Shortly after Lavender adopted the puppy, Azar strapped it to a mine, explodes it, and then tries to play it off like he did nothing wrong. “Like when Azar blew away Ted Lavender’s puppy.”What’s everybody so upset about?” Azar said. “I mean, Christ, I’m just a boy.” (Page 37)
Dogs are without a doubt a man’s best friend. When Ted Lavender discovered the puppy, he
used it as a way to escape. He wanted to feel they way he did before the war stripped him of his innocence. The puppy symbolizes purity and playfulness, but when it meets an explosive, it’s obliterated into smithereens.
It can be compared to killing an enemy in battle. The soldiers become so used to killing that it desensitizes them. No wonder Azar acted as if nothing were wrong, the Vietnam War had victimized him relinquishing his innocence. Ted Lavender’s encounter with the puppy foreshadows how many Vietnam Veterans cope with PTSD. They use the comfort of a dog to help them get through day to day activities, such as going to the grocery store or sleeping at night. In “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, Rape of Innocence is expressed through a different window of the world. “Mary Anne Bell and Mark Fossie had been sweethearts since grammar school. From the sixth grade on they had known for a fact that someday the would be married..”
(Page 94) When Mary Anne first arrives to Vietnam, her eyes were as blue as the ocean. Fossie thought he had the jackpot, his girl was finally there by his side. Mary Anne represents the outsider, she didn’t belong there by any means. “Twice, though, she came in late at night. Very late. And then finally she did not come in at all.” (Page 99) Mary Anne was no longer herself,
She transformed from a pretty allamerican girl to an animallike hunter who wears a necklace
of tongues. This portrays the drastic change all young men encounter after entering Vietnam. Such as O’brien, who went from the boy who loved school to the man who plotted an evil revenge against Jorgenson later in the book. In the Vietnam War, it was impossible to escape without somehow losing your innocence. By the end of her stay, Mary Anne’s eyes had become a sharp grey. The color grey represents a sense of calm and composure, a relief from a chaotic world.
Most importantly, it shows that once her innocence was lost, it could never be regained. This can
be closely linked to O’Brien, who expresses his sense of sadness of never getting his innocence back through Mary Anne Bell. The chapter “Stockings” also show a critical example of Rape of Innocence.”..he sometimes slept with the stockings up against his face, the way an infant sleeps with a flannel blanket, secure and peaceful.” (Page 117) Henry Dobbins was sentimentally attached to the pantyhose.
He said the stockings were a goodluck charm and he would wear them around his neck into battle. The pantyhose comforted him in times of hardship and death. He even tripped a Bouncing
Betty, but it failed to detonate. They acted as a suit of armor although they couldn’t protect a fly.
“But then, near the end of October, his girlfriend dumped him.” (Page 118) Even after his girlfriend dumped him, Dobbins doesn’t let that take away from the stockings’ power. The superstition is what he needs to carry him through and make him feel safe against the constant threat of death. “The Lives of the Dead”, is the greatest example of rape of innocence, but ironically, it occurs before the Vietnam War. “Over the next few weeks Linda wore her new red cap to school every day. She never took it off..” (Page 233) Nine yearold O’Brien was in love, it was obvious.
When he saw Nick Veenhof teasing Linda he didn’t do anything, but deep down inside he wanted to. He wanted to make Linda’s suffering go away with a snap of his fingers.After she died of a brain tumor, O’brien lost his innocence. “In my heart, I’m sure, I knew this was Linda, but even so I couldn’t find much to recognize.” (Page 242) He was exposed to death at an early age and in a way that aided to his desensitization. He recalled seeing Linda’s body just as he saw the old man’s body by the pigpen. That’s why he couldn’t tease or torture the remains, it reminded him too much of his childhood love. O’Brien could put himself in the shoes of the
person who was close with the old, Vietnamese man. He wouldn’t want someone tampering with
Linda’s remains, so he displayed the same courtesy. Throughout The Things They Carried, the theme of rape of innocence is extremely evident.
He tells numerous stories about the war and how it changed his life as well as his friends and family. Although these stories aren’t completely true, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t similar to what really happened. Without a doubt, the Vietnam War changed the lives of many Americans, and the sad thing is, they won’t be able to get their innocence back. Now, they have to deal with the struggles of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and not being accepted by the American people.
The Vietnam Veterans sacrificed their innocence for their country, whether they wanted to or
not.
O’Brien and the Alpha Company face a lot of adversity. Whether it’s with the help of love, comfort, or superstition, he makes you experience what he went through. The first chapter, “The Things They Carried”, is the first instance of rape of innocence. “..and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M&M’s for especially bad …show more content…
wounds..” (Page 5) Although they are dealing with the complications of death and war, M&M’s provide them with an outlet of being a kid. When I think of my childhood, one of the first things to pop into my head is the taste of chocolate and the warm, fuzzy feeling that would come over me. They bring comfort to those who are dealing with an especially bad wound, they treat something more than gauze and tape can. O’Brien uses M&M’s as a metaphor to express the mentality of American soldiers in Vietnam. Another display of rape of innocence is shown in the chapter “Spin”. “Or Ted Lavender adopting an orphan puppyfeeding it from a plastic spoon and carrying it in his rucksack..” (Page
36) Ted Lavender had a strong connection with the puppy. He treated it as if it were a baby.
Shortly after Lavender adopted the puppy, Azar strapped it to a mine, explodes it, and then tries to play it off like he did nothing wrong. “Like when Azar blew away Ted Lavender’s puppy.”What’s everybody so upset about?” Azar said. “I mean, Christ, I’m just a boy.” (Page 37)
Dogs are without a doubt a man’s best friend. When Ted Lavender discovered the puppy, he
used it as a way to escape. He wanted to feel they way he did before the war stripped him of his innocence. The puppy symbolizes purity and playfulness, but when it meets an explosive, it’s obliterated into smithereens.
It can be compared to killing an enemy in battle. The soldiers become so used to killing that it desensitizes them. No wonder Azar acted as if nothing were wrong, the Vietnam War had victimized him relinquishing his innocence. Ted Lavender’s encounter with the puppy foreshadows how many Vietnam Veterans cope with PTSD. They use the comfort of a dog to help them get through day to day activities, such as going to the grocery store or sleeping at night. In “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, Rape of Innocence is expressed through a different window of the world. “Mary Anne Bell and Mark Fossie had been sweethearts since grammar school. From the sixth grade on they had known for a fact that someday the would be married..”
(Page 94) When Mary Anne first arrives to Vietnam, her eyes were as blue as the ocean. Fossie thought he had the jackpot, his girl was finally there by his side. Mary Anne represents the outsider, she didn’t belong there by any means. “Twice, though, she came in late at night. Very late. And then finally she did not come in at all.” (Page 99) Mary Anne was no longer herself,
She transformed from a pretty allamerican girl to an animallike hunter who wears a necklace
of tongues. This portrays the drastic change all young men encounter after entering Vietnam. Such as O’brien, who went from the boy who loved school to the man who plotted an evil revenge against Jorgenson later in the book. In the Vietnam War, it was impossible to escape without somehow losing your innocence. By the end of her stay, Mary Anne’s eyes had become a sharp grey. The color grey represents a sense of calm and composure, a relief from a chaotic world.
Most importantly, it shows that once her innocence was lost, it could never be regained. This can
be closely linked to O’Brien, who expresses his sense of sadness of never getting his innocence back through Mary Anne Bell. The chapter “Stockings” also show a critical example of Rape of Innocence.”..he sometimes slept with the stockings up against his face, the way an infant sleeps with a flannel blanket, secure and peaceful.” (Page 117) Henry Dobbins was sentimentally attached to the pantyhose.
He said the stockings were a goodluck charm and he would wear them around his neck into battle. The pantyhose comforted him in times of hardship and death. He even tripped a Bouncing
Betty, but it failed to detonate. They acted as a suit of armor although they couldn’t protect a fly.
“But then, near the end of October, his girlfriend dumped him.” (Page 118) Even after his girlfriend dumped him, Dobbins doesn’t let that take away from the stockings’ power. The superstition is what he needs to carry him through and make him feel safe against the constant threat of death. “The Lives of the Dead”, is the greatest example of rape of innocence, but ironically, it occurs before the Vietnam War. “Over the next few weeks Linda wore her new red cap to school every day. She never took it off..” (Page 233) Nine yearold O’Brien was in love, it was obvious.
When he saw Nick Veenhof teasing Linda he didn’t do anything, but deep down inside he wanted to. He wanted to make Linda’s suffering go away with a snap of his fingers.After she died of a brain tumor, O’brien lost his innocence. “In my heart, I’m sure, I knew this was Linda, but even so I couldn’t find much to recognize.” (Page 242) He was exposed to death at an early age and in a way that aided to his desensitization. He recalled seeing Linda’s body just as he saw the old man’s body by the pigpen. That’s why he couldn’t tease or torture the remains, it reminded him too much of his childhood love. O’Brien could put himself in the shoes of the
person who was close with the old, Vietnamese man. He wouldn’t want someone tampering with
Linda’s remains, so he displayed the same courtesy. Throughout The Things They Carried, the theme of rape of innocence is extremely evident.
He tells numerous stories about the war and how it changed his life as well as his friends and family. Although these stories aren’t completely true, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t similar to what really happened. Without a doubt, the Vietnam War changed the lives of many Americans, and the sad thing is, they won’t be able to get their innocence back. Now, they have to deal with the struggles of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and not being accepted by the American people.
The Vietnam Veterans sacrificed their innocence for their country, whether they wanted to or
not.