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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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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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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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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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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slang‚ O’Brien doesn’t make the conversation sound formal. He avoids making the conversation sound scripted. Journal Entry #18 A.) Simile‚ page 151. “Her eyes were as fluffy and airy-light as cotton candy.” B.) A simile is a comparison of two things using the words ‘as’ and ‘like.’ Here‚ the author is comparing the appearance of cotton candy and eyes. C.) O’Brien compares the fluffiness and airy-light appearance of cotton candy to the subject’s eyes. By doing so‚ he illustrates to his audience
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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
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Can winning a lottery be the ideal thing that could happen in one day? The short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is all contrary. This story starts of as a pleasant‚ beautiful summer day in a small village. Where the children are picking up and accumulating rocks‚ the women are gossiping and the men are telling jokes. A beautiful day to play the lottery‚right? However‚ this is not a lottery you want to win. Two characters that impacted me the most from this short story are the Mr.Warner and
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