confusion” for the decision he has to make. O’Brien’s use of first person narration in his old age‚ evokes a sense of embarrassment which he feels for choosing to fight in a meaningless war. O’Brien conjures up one such paradox of courage and fear. He explains that he was "ashamed to be doing the right thing" in following his conscience and going to Canada. Because this paradox is a complete reverse of commonly held
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I disliked the book‚ The Things They Carried‚ more than I can say I liked it. It wasn’t because I’m not into reading books or stories about war‚ but because I loathed the gruesomeness of certain scenes. The scene that got to me the most was the event of Curt Lemon’s death‚ and how Rat Kiley felt about the whole ordeal. Not only was Lemon’s death traumatic to think of‚ but also the misery and torture of the baby water buffalo‚ which was quite disturbing to read. The scene was also interesting to me
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“Spin” Passage: The Things They Carried The function of the passage from the episode “Spin” is to introduce a different interpretation of the concept of “boredom‚” one that pertains to the war and the soldiers specifically and not often experienced by civilians. The type of boredom described by the narrator in the passage is tenser‚ and encompasses many more emotions that the Alpha Company comes across. Throughout the passage‚ the reader gets the idea that the soldiers are not bored in the irritated
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Pride Many of the characters in The Things They Carried exemplify tremendous pride in their actions‚ causing them to do good or bad things that they would not have the courage to do otherwise. O’Brien’s personal experience shows that the fear of being shamed before one’s fellow soldiers is a powerful motivating factor in war. He does not want to fight in a war he believes is unjust‚ but he does not want to be thought of as a coward. This same attitude among numerous characters sets a consistent
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What is the role of shame and fear in the lives of the soldiers? Does it drive them to acts of heroism or stupidity? Or both? What is the relationship between shame and courage? Plan -Soldiers fear being ashamed‚ it gives them courage -Fine line between heroic and stupid - The week he spent with Elroy Beerdal‚ fear of shame‚ courage The roles of shame and fear play a large part in the soldier’s lives. If it wasn’t for the fact that the soldiers were so afraid of being ashamed they may have never
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are “Boys” by Rich Moody and “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brien. “Boys” doesn’t use any paragraphs‚ and is told through the repeated words “Boys enter the house…” (Moody). The piece true there story of two twin boys who grow up as normal‚ mischievous boys. As they grow up‚ they go through hardships and drift apart. It isn’t until they exit the house after the paramedics take their father’s body or are they “no longer boys” (Moody). “The Things they Carried” features the story of an American
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and it shows her becoming a woman and really maturing. "In her second week Eddie Diamond taught her how to disassemble an M-16‚ how the various parts worked‚ and from there it was a natural progression to learning how to use the weapon" (98). As the story goes on it shows that she is becoming more of a soldier. She in the end acted very differently than most women‚ this for women was a positive thing because it is giving her power‚ and a new look on life. This can be negative as well because Mark Fossie
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Within a war‚ there are two battles fought: the battle inside each individual soldier‚ and then what is actual done on the battlefield. These internal and external conflicts are equally detrimental‚ the only difference between the two is that when the physical engagement is over‚ the gruesome battle with in the soldiers remains. War leaves numerous mental scars on any person who takes part in it: regret‚ depression‚ anxiety‚ fear‚ or post-traumatic stress disorder. In the novel The Things They Carried
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In the book The Things They Carried‚ written by Tim O’Brien‚ O’Brien writes about American soldiers in the Vietnam War‚ which took place in 1954. Within the book‚ O’Brien uses all five sensory details‚ sight‚ sound‚ taste‚ texture‚ and touch; however‚ the most effective sensory details he uses are sight‚ texture‚ and touch. O’Brien uses these details to make the book seem realistic to the audience‚ and make them feel as if they’re actually with the characters. O’Brien uses sight details when he says
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Dialectical Journals of The Things They Carried Idea/Stylistic aspect | Quotation | Response | Truth | “Among the men in Alpha Company‚ Rat had a reputation for exaggeration and overstatement‚ a compulsion to rev up the facts…it was normal procedure to discount sixty or seventy percent of anything he had to say.” | The narrator‚ in making a seemingly offhanded comment about Rat’s tendency to lie‚ reveals another major point of the novel: the truth of a particular story is differing from person
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