In several stories from The Things They Carried‚ by Tim O’Brien deals with the way that American soldiers of the Vietnam War related to being "in country‚" or out of their own country and halfway across the world. O’Brien creates the concept that Vietnam‚ and the war there‚ is of "another world" throughout his stories. None of the soldiers he writes about feel at home in Vietnam‚ and none of them successfully adapt emotionally to being so far from home. O’Brien subtly introduces the concept of
Premium Army Vietnam War South Vietnam
an example of a simile. Similes use like and as to make explicit comparisons between unlike things‚ such as eyes and stars. Metaphor Her eyes were pools of liquid light. Again‚ her eyes are literally human eyes. Figuratively‚ they are being compared to pools of liquid light. However‚ the comparison is implied‚ not stated. This is an example of a metaphor. Unlike similes‚ metaphors compare unlike things without explicitly stating the comparison with “like” or “as.” Personification Her eyes followed
Premium Irony Rhetorical techniques Rhetorical question
In the novel The Things They Carried‚ author Tim O’Brien offers the “happy ending” described by Fay Weldon through his own “spiritual reassessment and moral reconciliation.” While the novel itself is not a series of happy memories or events‚ the telling of them allows the author to come to terms with the loss of his innocence and his own limitations. As the author closes‚ he finally concludes that while his war-time experiences change him from the person he once was‚ telling stories is the way he
Premium Short story Fiction English-language films
Charlie was a molestation victim as a child‚ a fact he repressed until urged to enter into a sexual situation he could not deal with. While his breakdown provides the epilogue for the book and places him into a mental hospital‚ he comes out of the whole thing as a supposed fuller individual who is more self actualized than he would have been without realizing the sexual trauma of his youth or‚ more drastically‚
Premium English-language films Sociology Social
Love: Motivation or Distraction? Love is something that everyone desires‚ but when the thought of love takes over your thought process; it can be very dangerous. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross knows the feeling of love and its dangerous effects. Lieutenant Cross is currently at war in Vietnam and he is repeatedly visited by the thought of his lover Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey‚ and this is where the lieutenant fell in love. He took her to a movie and during
Premium Love
Martha was Jimmy Cross’ first “love”. He was obsessed with her even though she only thought of him as a friend. They wrote each other letters in a friendly way but Jimmy Cross thought of it as more than that. “He would sometimes taste the envelopes flaps‚ knowing her tongue had been there… More than anything he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her‚ but the letters were mostly chatty‚ elusive on the matter of love.” (1) Linda was O’Brien’s childhood love. She died at the age of nine because
Premium Death Love Brain tumor
How was your understanding of cultural and contextual consideration of the work developed through the interactive oral? Through this discussion‚ I noticed how easy it was to relate to the social and cultural context issues that the soldiers went through in this book. For example‚ when Tim did not want to go to war and almost fled to Canada he realized that he rather go to war and die before he gets talked about by his community. This shows how far a person will go to prevent being embarrassed
Premium High school Truth High School Musical
Historiographic metafiction is a term originally coined by literary theorist Linda Hutcheon. The term “historiographic metafiction” was coined by Linda Hutcheon in her essay “Beginning to Theorize the Postmodern” in 1987 and then further developed in her seminal study A Poetics of Postmodernism ( 1988 ) to describe “those well-known and popular novels which are both intensely self-reflexive and yet paradoxically also lay claim to historical events and personages.” According to Hutcheon‚ in "A Poetics
Premium Postmodernism Fiction History
THE MEANING OF THE TITLE “THE THINGS THEY CARRIED” “The Things They Carried “simply emphasize that what the person may carry depends on the personality of the person.May it be for his necessity or passion he may carry the weight voluntarily or mandatory.Literally‚ the things the soldiers carried are‚ may be tangible or intangible.Tangible things such as P- 38 can openers‚ pocket knives‚heat tabs‚ dog tags‚ mosquito repellent‚wrist watches‚ chewing gum‚ candy‚cigarettes‚salt tablets‚ packets of
Premium Army Vietnam War South Vietnam
In the short story‚ "The Things They Carried”‚ Tim O’Brien writes about the soldiers of Vietnam and the burdens they had to carry with them. In this story‚ O’Brien uses symbolism‚ irony and the theme of burden and guilt to portray how the war has affected the men and the ways they cope. O’Brien’s usage of these literary devices serves as a remembrance of what the soldiers have left behind and a false sense of security about the violence and death that surrounds them. We are able to see the way each
Premium Irony Literary technique Army