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
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In the first chapter of The Things They Carried‚ “The Thing They Carried”‚ Tim O’Brien uses the motif of intangible weights the men carry and how they have the strength to alter one’s performance and emotional state at war. The intangible weight of Martha’s love is like a barbell Jimmy Cross can never seem to let go of. Continuously carrying extra weight‚ Cross expresses how he "love[d] Martha more than his men" (6)‚ which results in the death of one of his men soldiers Ted Lavender. Cross’s love
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them anymore? After they all have settled into this new place‚ they are separated yet again and put into new families. Never are these children explained to what is happening. In “The Thing in the Forest”‚ Primrose and
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can change and influence many aspects of a person’s life. In the novel The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brien‚ the author teaches the reader how the main aspect in the war that influence his writing was fear.O’Brien utilizes fear with the uses of Tim not wanting to go to war‚ when Mary Bell changes‚ and Rat Kiley’s greif. First‚ one instance in which Tim O’Brien utilizes the theme of fear first by using the character Tim. Tim described his situation as “I was drafted into a wharf I hated”(O’Brien
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object because it was too much to bear? Tim O’brien’s novel‚ The Things They Carried‚ is about men in the middle of the Vietnam War just trying to survive. These men‚ like all soldiers‚ carried many things ranging from the physical items of war to the emotional and mental weight that comes along with the horrors of war. “They carried all they could bear‚ and then some‚ including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.”(O’brien‚7) I believe in this novel‚ O’brien gives many great
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The Things They Carried. Page 174-175‚ Written Commentary Many people ask themselves who is to blame for deaths in war‚ and if it is subjective to a person‚ or if it is contextual. In the following extract from Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”‚ it is impossible to think just about the Vietnam War as situational cause of the death of so many‚ the reader has to view the war person by person‚ each person or situation differing from each other. Right after the death of Kiowa‚ the men go searching
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Heavy Baggage the Soldiers Endure in Tim O’Brien‚ The Things They Carried Often times‚ when we are asked‚ “What is a burden?” we often say that it is something that is difficult to bear‚ something that often leads to a great deal of anxiety and stress‚ and something that acts as the foundation of difficulty and trouble one may face. In the literary excerpt‚ “The Things They Carried‚” written by Tim O’Brien‚ the author illustrates the significance of burdens‚ and how the consequential emotional
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revealed through war. In the novel The Things They Carried‚ the characters of this series of stories embody traits of soldiers in the Vietnam War. Through writing‚ the author‚ Tim O¡¦Brien‚ portrays his feelings as a Vietnam soldier through this novel. He describes the loss of three fellow soldiers‚ Ted Lavender‚ Curt Lemon‚ and Kiowa and depicts the guilt and blame these deaths evoke. Ted Lavender¡¦s death increased the intangible guilt the platoon carried. No one was anticipating death because
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knowledge. In his short story “The Things They Carried” he skillfully reveals realistic scenes that portray psychological‚ physical and mental burdens carried by every soldier. He illustrates these burdens by discussing the weights that the soldiers carry‚ their psychological stress and the mental stress they have to undergo as each of them endure the harshness and ambiguity of the Vietnam War. One question we have to ask ourselves is if the three kinds of burdens carried by the soldier’s are equal in
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The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is based on the hardships of soldiers when they returned from war. This story is told by 22 chapters‚ each chapter contains a story‚ all of the stories are linked together. In the beginning of the story the author describes and lists the items that soldiers carry in combat. These items consisted of matches‚ food‚ pictures‚ money‚ ammo‚ grenades‚ etc. In “Spin”‚ O’Brien talks about all of the ordinary things soldiers do while they are at war‚ such as playing
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