single man. How can we really know what the truth is? In Tim O’Brien “the things they carried’ what really defines a war story being true? Its never moral‚ the uncertainty‚ or is it the horror and honor? The things that happen in war are never moral. War has a dirty bloody‚ gorier‚ and violent side to it. Well that’s what war is? "War is nuts war is fun‚ war is thrilling‚ and war is drudgery war makes you a
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opinion‚ when you first handed us The Longman Reader I thought to myself how boring this book looks. They always say you can’t judge a book by it’s cover‚ but I sure did. I’m not a big fan of reading books since I don’t have much free time. The font in this book is very petite compared to other book. As I was reading this first chapter I was asking myself why someone put such simple steps in a checklist in the book. To add some positively to The Longman Reader I can say some important facts that they
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Tim O’Brien‚ in his collection of short stories called “The things they carried”‚ develops the theme of soldiers ‘carrying’ many burdens throughout their lives. Through his persona‚ also named Tim O’Brien‚ O’Brien contradicts the stereotypical reason as to why the men joined the war. Jimmy Cross explores the unwanted burden placed on a Lieutenant of the platoon member’s responsibility. Further O’Brien explores the affect of the Vietnam War on the soldiers on their wellbeing through Norman Bowker
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The formalist method of literary criticism is primarily focused on the text itself‚ rather than external topics such as history and background‚ the author’s biographical information‚ or the social contexts which surround a piece of work. In the formalist perspective‚ we ask ourselves‚ why did the author choose to write his or her work in this specific style? Why did he or she choose to include certain literary elements? "What matters most to the formalist critic is how the work comes to mean what
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that guy Mark Fossie who shipped his girl over to Vietnam to spend time with him‚ I couldn’t believe it. He says he saw the whole thing‚ and that he was there when everything happened‚ but I doubt it; Rat is the type of guy who would lie to get his story more interesting. But anyhow‚ I agreed for him to tell me the story even though I was very sceptical about the whole thing. It almost seemed like he was fooling me. So I crossed my arms‚ and let him amuse me with his anecdote. Although
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As the lone outlier‚ Brad is not only isolated but also made to suppress his morally righteous and principled beliefs. Saunders’ highlights the oppressive nature of conformist societies through the actions of Doris and Wayne. This is evident in the first scene when his wife Doris and Chief Wayne recount what they’ve learned (albeit superficially) after Buddy‚ the puppet dog‚ ran way. Although the other characters state‚ “I guess we all learned…” when Brad adds “I guess so‚” only he is antagonized
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O’Brien’s The Things They Carried The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word "weight" as "a mass or quantity of something taken up and carried‚ conveyed‚ or transported." Tim O’Brien’s war story The Things They Carried‚ published in 1990‚ explores the theme of weight and its importance to men at war in considerable depth. The opening chapter of this book‚ which was originally written as a short story‚ is comprised of a collection of lists. O’Brien details for his reader both the physical
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There are many different controversies on the information in “The Things They Carried”. Some believe to tell a good story‚ there’s only facts and no truth‚ but some think that there needs to be all fictional elements and no facts to make a good story. A majority of people say that an excellent story starts with facts and adds in other elements like metaphors‚ symbolism‚ and imagery because visualizing the story helps the reader connect to the unfamiliar event. Using imagery is a smart way to engage
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The Things they Carried is seen as one of the most honest depictions of the Vietnam War that has ever been written. Tim O’Brien has a way of creating Vietnam around the reader. However‚ despite the clear depiction of war‚ this novel raises the question‚ “What is true?”. Through analyzing this novel‚ it is clear the author believes that the happening-truth of a story is far less important than the emotional-truth. One of the central chapters of the novel is titled‚ “The Man I Killed.” However‚ only
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soldiers. It’s different from all the other cliché‚ patriotic war movies. Like Tim O’Brien writes “A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct‚ nor encourage virtue‚ nor suggest models of proper human behavior‚ nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral‚ do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted‚ or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste‚ then you have been made the victim of a very
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