One of the main themes of the novel is the allure of war. This trope‚ common in war literature‚ is made more complex here as O’Brien adds the layers of a Conrad-esque “heart of darkness” fascination in the character of Mary Anne. The seductive allure of war is inextricably linked to the tendencies of human nature in O’Brien’s novel. War‚ more specifically the act of killing‚ acts as a catalyst for some individuals‚ causing them to become primal versions of themselves‚ to become less human‚ to
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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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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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To be raised in a barn often means you lack the mannerisms deemed acceptable by society. To be raised by the circus means your mannerisms are only slightly more acceptable than one who was raised in a barn. Riley’s situation was the later. The story begins when two lovers Kwangsoo and Sohee Ahn had ran away from Genao to Reno in hopes to start a new life together. Trouble was to arise as Kwangsoo neglected to tell Sohee his grave secret. Fearing for the fate his child ‚ Kwangsoo tried to explain
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Assignment 1 In Tim O’Briens The Things They Carried‚ the character of Mary Anne‚ in the chapter Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong serves as a metaphor for the loss of innocence that the soldiers lose during their time in the war. “The guys sometimes liked to kid her...- but Mary Anne would just smile and stick out her tongue”(96). As a child‚ you would stick out your tongue to make fun of someone or use it as gesture towards someone who was making fun of you. In the beginning‚ when Mary Anne
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The Things They Carried‚ written by Tim O’brien is a novel‚ which depicts the Vietnamese war‚ specifically experiences of the soldiers during and after the war. Youth is portrayed in the novel as a significant factor‚ which influences not only the idea represented in the novel but also the author himself. Although this is no explicitly stated throughout the book‚ there are a couple of characters that are more significant to Tim O’brien than others. These characters are Linda and Kathleen. By analyzing
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plants the seeds of terror in the young man by imposing him his radical‚ yet catchy theories of life. In the beginning of the book‚ when he meets Dorian‚ he tells him "[An influenced person’s] virtues are not real to him. His sins‚ if there are such things as sins‚ are borrowed. As Lady Narborough notes to Dorian‚ there is little (if any) distinction between ethics and appearance: “you are made to be good—you look so good.” Lord Henry‚ his corrupter. The Supremacy of Youth and Beauty
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Ross Mosier Writing and Literature 1020 Mrs. Wiarda 3-29-17 Things Fall Apart Literary Response The novel‚ Things Fall Apart‚ by Chinua Achebe encompases multiple different themes. The one idea that is emphasized throughout though is the theme of fear and its role in the decisions life presents. Almost every character in the novel exhibits fear in response to a circumstance. This theme of fear is first shown to the reader at the very beginning of the novel when Okonkwo is introduced and it resurfaces
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Anon Fear is a distressing state of mind aroused by impending danger‚ evil‚ and even mental pain. The idea of fear is greater than fear itself. It is an emotion that we subconsciously create‚ it is the emotion evoked by the idea of believing illusions‚ lies and false information. Fear is what drives us to execute actions that we would never normally do‚ unrestrained from the presence of fear we act with morality‚ thought and discipline. In Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe‚ fear is evident
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