Kevin Scott English 120 Prof. Creeley 2/28/13 Time O’Brien: Depictions of Soldiers Tim O’Brien’s novel‚ The Things They Carried‚ consists of a series of interconnecting narratives that tell the stories of the soldiers in the Vietnam War. Each story depicts the soldiers in a different way. It can be inferred that O’Brien did this purposefully to illustrate to the reader the different sides of every soldier. O’Brien describes the soldiers in two main‚ ironically opposing ways; an honorable
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therefore‚ construction of a new morality is inescapable. Within the stories in The Things They Carried‚ soldiers are required to do so during and after the Vietnam War. War breeds monstrosities and wanton cruelty. When faced with two evils‚ picking the lesser immoral option is not necessarily something to be frowned upon. This is what separates a soldier’s morality and a civilian’s morality. Civilians see things through a black-and-white perspective; fundamental standards that must be obeyed to
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events of violence or gore‚ but‚ rather‚ one that extracts the raw emotions of all who were involved. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien achieves this perfect balance between truth‚ empathy‚ and fiction. American author‚ Elliot Ackerman‚ shares that different experiences or events can encapsulate “the war in miniature”. Composed of short stories‚ each chapter in The Things They Carried could be interpreted as an example of “the war in miniature”. However‚ the chapter that most eloquently encompasses
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The Things They Carried: Catharsis and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder “Men killed‚ and died‚ because they were embarrassed not to” (O’Brien 20). Tim O’Brien is the author of The Things They Carried‚ a fictional memoir written from the perspective of the narrator‚ whose name is also Tim O’Brien. This fictional O’Brien’s experiences cover many themes‚ most notably those of fear‚ guilt and humiliation. In this novel‚ O’Brien uses a distinct blend of fact and fiction as an outlet for his actual experiences
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Exercise 1 The Things They Carried EXCERPT ① 1. How is the term common secret typical of the phrasing of this whole passage? How is run or freeze or hide also typical of the excerpt’s phrasing? In which sentences does O’Brien’s phrasing seem especially clear‚ direct‚ and simple‚ and why is such phrasing so effective? How would you describe the tone of this passage? How might the tone easily have been quite different? For instance‚ how could it have been highly emotional and melodramatic? Why
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Journal Entry 2 The short story‚ “The Things They Carried”‚ by Tim O’brien‚ was my favorite reading of this week. The author states what the company is carrying‚ as well as emotional burdens that they carry. I think that theme of this story can be summarized as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. As I stated in the discussion‚ I think this story makes a profound point about trauma and emotional stress. Physical burdens are easily observable. For example‚ when people see someone in a wheelchair their
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disorder. In the novel The Things They Carried‚ written by Tim O’Brien‚ the author paints a portrait in the readers mind of all the realities of the war atrocities. O’Brien tells a different short story each chapter about characters and all the struggles and difficult encounters they face. Each character carries three things during the war. The first thing the soldiers carry is the physical items necessary for survival: M-16‚ M-60‚ grenades‚ ammo‚ etc. The second thing they carry are personal items
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characters and scenes that are unique. This is the case with Tim O’Brien’s‚ "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong." This is a story where love and war collide after a soldier brings his sweetheart to his Vietnamese post. On the whole‚ this chapter in The Things They Carried is far superior to the film‚ The Soldier’s Sweetheart‚ because it has thorough descriptions of characters’ feelings‚ including symbolism concerning objects and important events. When the audience is able to draw it’s own story around an author’s
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O’Brien characterizes the soldiers as reluctant to kill‚ dying dreadfully when he says‚ “Men killed‚ and died‚ because they were embarrassed not to.” (#) In plain text‚ this quote explains that men killed and died because they would feel a sense of shame if they did not. However‚ by providing embarrassment as an explanation for killing and dying‚ the reader is challenged to consider each soldier as an individual who chose to kill people and chose to die. Generally‚ a war itself is considered responsible
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The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien Plot: 1. RISING ACTION • In the summer of 1968‚ Tim O’Brien receives a draft notice. Despite a desire to follow his convictions and flee to Canada‚ he feels he would be embarrassed to refuse to fulfill his patriotic duty and so concedes to fight in Vietnam. CLIMAX • During their tour of duty‚ the men of the Alpha Company must cope with the loss of their own men and the guilt that comes from killing and watching others die. FALLING ACTION • After he returns
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