Tim O’Brien’s semi-autobiographical novel‚ The Things They Carried‚ illustrates the trauma and horrors veterans face during war‚ especially during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War ushered in a new era of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder‚ but unlike the veterans of wars before‚ there has been more research to help those suffering from the mental disability. O’Brien‚ like many veterans‚ uses writing as a medium to help ease the pain of the trauma he has suffered through the war
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seriousness of a particular event? Situations in history exist only in our thoughts rather than our presence. As past events have unfolded so has the opportunity for growth. One such era includes the Vietnam War. Tim O’ Brien’s novel entitled The Things They Carried creates an atmosphere of knowledge surrounding the struggles related to the Vietnam War. To grasp the concept of such a brutal historical event one must understand the struggles and decisions made by people during that era. Thus giving
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“The Things They Carried” focused on the experiences of soldiers who faced war and how they were effected mentally and emotionally. Many soldiers constantly needed to escape from the catastrophic reality of war. They used “things” as defenses against the reality of war and also to keep hold of themselves. Although these “things” were unique to their personalities‚ Tim O’ Brien uses these “things” to show detachment from reality of the soldiers. “The Things They Carried” took place in Vietnam from
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oneself‚ have always been omnipresent. From cracking O’Brien to etching a painful scar in my mind‚ pressure from expectations has always led people to make significant decisions‚ yet not all of these decisions are necessarily good. In The Things They Carried‚ O’Brien is faced with the major decision of whether he should partake in the Vietnam War. While making the decision‚ O’Brien mentions how “All those eyes on me- the town‚ the whole universe- and I couldn’t risk the embarrassment. It was as
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A. Park The Things They Carried The symbols in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” are essential to understanding the soldiers and their lives during the Vietnam War. At the opening of the story‚ Lieutenant Jimmy Cross would dig into his foxhole and read the letters while imagining romance with Martha; however‚ at the end of the story after the death of Ted Lavender‚ he “crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters” (402). The inner feelings of Cross would be mistakenly
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Samantha Schulz Mrs. Nilles English 12-5 05 November 2012 O’Brien’s Theme of Rejection and Disconnect Why does O’Brien use the theme of rejection to convey his experience in war? In the book‚ The Things They Carried‚ Tim O’Brien writes about his experience in the Vietnam War. He uses many themes to show how the war has changed the soldiers and how the citizens perceive the war. Throughout the book‚ he uses the theme of rejection to show the disconnection between the soldiers at war
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Surreal In The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien tends to use surrealism to tell his war stories. What is surrealism? It is a mix between fact and fantasy‚ which makes it bizarre. For example in the chapter How To Tell a War Story he tells three surreal stories. O’Brien tells us how to know when someone is telling a true story and when someone is lying. One of the story is about Mitchell Sanders telling about six men going crazy. They went crazy in the forest because they been up there for days not
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In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” the raw realities of the cruel and unforgiving Vietnam War are authentically depicted. Just in the first five paragraphs sex‚ narcotics‚ and death‚ largely controversial topics in this country‚ are reasonably apparent. One character‚ Lieutenant Jimmy Cross‚ may be physically present but conveys every sign of distraction. He seems to be in a more copacetic quarter of his mind. In this quarter he finds elation and comfort when he thinks of the (so he thinks
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The Weight of The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien makes a very big deal out of the concept of “truth” throughout his novel The Things They Carried; such a big deal‚ in fact‚ that over the course of his work he continually redefines and even contradicts himself as to what “truth” really is. In the chapter entitled “How to Tell A True War Story”‚ O’Brien offers a multitude of criteria that supposedly defines what does and does not make a true war story. O’Brien offers the first commandment for
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Comp Horvath T‚R 7/31/2013 Escape What is Real‚ Feel What is Right Casualties‚ drugs‚ terror‚ violence‚ volatility‚ and mental instability are all well too common for any war. For the Vietnam War‚ it exceeded all of these. In The Things They Carried‚ all of the soldiers were faced with these burdening issues on a day-to-day basis‚ fearing for their lives‚ their perceived loved ones‚ and their own emotional sanity. Because this war put on a great deal of stress on the soldiers‚ there was
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