“The Things They Carried” is about the thoughts and actions of Jimmy Cross‚ a lieutenant of an Army unit on active combat duty in the Vietnam War. Lt. Cross is worried by thoughts of Martha‚ a young woman he dated before he joined the Army. He thinks about letters she wrote him‚ whether or not she is a virgin. And about how much he loves her and wants her to love him. Her letters do not indicate that she feels the same way. The narrator lists things that the soldiers carry with them‚ both tangible
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“Story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth." This concept may be confusing to those who read Tim O’Brien’s book‚ The Things They Carried‚ for the first time. By using a number of different literary devices‚ such as juxtaposition‚ paradox‚ metaphors‚ and metafiction‚ O’Brien separates truth and fact from one and the other in his novel about his time in the Vietnam War. He shows the truth of what he was feeling through the war and after without being factual. O’Brien’s explanation for not
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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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“The Details of Military Life in Vietnam in Tim O’Brien’s ‘The Things They Carried’” “The Things They Carried” is a story based on the experiences of young American soldiers fighting during the Vietnam War. The story begins giving you insight into the thoughts of the soldiers‚ describing to you what they humped along with them through their walk in the deep jungle of Vietnam. Some of those things were necessities “P-38 can openers‚ pocket knives‚ heat tabs‚ wristwatches‚ dog tags‚ mosquito
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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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“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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thought to be a horrid war. The things that the American soldiers saw and experienced were unlike any other experiences. These experiences are shared in Tim O’Brien’s book‚ The Things They Carry. Although many of these stories seem to be war stories at a first glance‚ they can actually be seen as love stories because of the emotional connection each character has with each other. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a good example of how the stories in The Things They Carried are love stories. Lieutenant
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I carried myself up for those first few steps. I carried a worn-out build-a-bear when I was small. Its fur was frayed‚ its button eyes almost popped‚ and its stuffing had seen better days. But to me‚ it was my protector‚ my confidant. I carried it everywhere‚ clinging to the softness and warmth‚ believing it could shield me from anything that lurked in the dark. I carried a notebook too‚ filled with crayon drawings of stick figures with strangely large hands and a sun with large rays. Each page was
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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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Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is not a novel about the Vietnam War. It is a story about the soldiers and their experiences and emotions that are brought about from the war. O’Brien makes several statements about war through these dynamic characters. He shows the violent nature of soldiers under the pressures of war‚ he makes an effective antiwar statement‚ and he comments on the reversal of a social deviation into the norm. By skillfully employing the stylistic technique of specific
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