AP English Language 21 September 2010 O’Brien’s Diction The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a historical fiction novel that presents a variety of anecdotes and dialogues exposing the reality and impact of the Vietnam War. The stories of several characters let the readers understand the wide impact of the war. O’Brien presents all these stories by the use of dialogue‚ and he does this successfully by maneuvering his diction. By the use of slang‚ soldier jargon‚ and vulgar language the author
Premium Slang
As explained his own book‚ The Things They Carried‚ O’Brien was enjoying his post-graduate freedom‚ a steady job and a girlfriend at home during the summer of 1968 when he received the draft letter from the army. He describes how he reacted to receiving the letter: “I remember opening up the letter‚ scanning the first few lines‚ feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes… It couldn’t happen. I was above it” (O’Brien‚ Carried 41). His reaction shows that he‚ as an anti-war‚ educated
Premium Fiction Truth World War II
PHI 101 September 3‚ 2012 Journal 1 This week our assignment was to read some fictional literature called “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. At first I thought this was going to be another boring assignment for another class but this book caught my interest quickly because even though it was considered fictional Tim O’Brien really did go to war; the Vietnam War to be more specific and he told his stories od what it was like to be drafted and all the horrific processes of being a young
Premium Vietnam War Vietnam
The Power of the Truth Novelist Tim O’Brian once said “A lie‚ sometimes‚ can be truer than the truth‚ which is why fiction gets written.” In his novel The Things They Carried‚ O’Brian argues that “story-truth is sometimes truer than happening-truth” (171). O’Brian opposes the idea of absolute truth‚ and believes that all truths are subject to change. He believes that a fictional story can be more true than an actual event. However‚ a story‚ no matter what story‚ cannot be more true than an actual
Premium Fiction Short story Truth
line of death by natural causes and when Claudia starts to dig‚ neither does she. The death is complicated; Mark had a pacemaker‚ and heroin was found in his bloodstream. He was also writing a book; commissioned by an unknown client to write the best-seller of the century. The manuscript and his disks are missing‚ and the hardrive on the computer has been wiped. Marks girlfriend Sally Villos is the daughter of his heart surgeon and a spoiled brat. She blames the drugs for Marks death and tries
Premium English-language films Murder Debut albums
In “The Things They Carried‚” a short story by Tim O’Brien‚ the reader is able to see‚ in great detail‚ each of the characters ways of dealing with the atrocities of the Vietnam War by what they choose to carry; how symbolically they use these objects as a means for remembrance of what they have left behind‚ to escape what they deal with each day‚ and for some‚ a false sense of security and/or control over the violence and death that surrounds them. Each soldier in the story “humps” an object
Premium Vietnam War New Testament Short story
shame and loneliness. In The Things They Carried it is clear that most of the soldiers in the war do not come back with a sense of pride or honor. Most come back wishing they had never gone at all. Tim O’Brien reveals that because Vietnam precipitated such traumatic experiences‚ his storytelling is a great way to cope with his shame and loneliness‚ emphasizing that the war experience is not one of patriotism and heroism‚ but one of loneliness and guilt. The "things" part of the title represents
Premium Vietnam War Army Proxy war
Chad Ehrlich History Tim O’Brien Essay Tim O’Brien’s‚ The Things They Carried‚ contained different memoirs that truly bring the actions of war to life for the reader. Obrien’s book expresses the real feelings a solider faces while getting ready to go into war‚ in war‚ and post war. Through his vivid descriptions the reader is able to emphasize with the emotional burdens and stresses solders must go through while on duty. We are able to observe the different coping mechanisms solders must endure
Premium Army Vietnam War Fiction
always remains‚ whose war are we fighting? In Tim O’Brien’s short story "The Things They Carried" there are many examples of the psychological loss of innocence of a young soldier. Similarly‚ in Louise Erdrich’s "The Red Convertible‚" the reader becomes acquainted with the effects of war after returning home. In both works the trauma that a young soldier experiences is made painfully real. In essence‚ each soldier "carried ghosts" (O’Brien 1107)‚ while painstakingly walking through the elephant grass
Premium Army Vietnam War Vietnam
Literary Devices Used In The Things They Carried By: Tom Vennemann The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien expresses the importance of a story-truth‚ as opposed to a happening-truth by use of literary elements in his writing. The novel is about war and the guilt it leaves on everyone involved in the war. Story-truth is not exactly what happened‚ but uses part of the truth and part made up in order to express the truth of what emotion was felt‚ which an important thematic element in the novel is
Premium Emotion Feeling Fiction