The Things They Carried‚ by Tim O’Brien‚ is about the experience multiple soldiers go through during the Vietnam War. There are stories about the love‚ hardships‚ friendships‚ and loss all the soldiers go through. By going to war‚ the soldiers all lose a part of themselves. I believe the message Tim O’Brien is trying to convey in his novel is people who do not go to the war‚ do not understand what it is like. I think throughout this novel‚ O’Brien tries his best to give the people who are not
Premium Emotion Posttraumatic stress disorder
The character I have chosen is Lt. Jimmy Cross from the story “The Things They Carried.” Jimmy Cross is the leader of Alpha Company in the war of Vietnam‚ although he seems like he is not part of it. “He had difficulty keeping his attention on the war […] but then he would slip away into day dreams‚ just pretending‚ walking barefoot along the Jersey Shore” (p.279). This quote clearly shows that he was living in a parallel world between the war that he was living at that moment and his obsessed love
Free Short story English-language films New Jersey
Phil Costner English – Rough Draft In the novel‚ The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien‚ he vividly depicts the situations of war-life in Vietnam using very interesting characters. Though some of the characters he uses are not actually real people‚ but just made up to serve as symbols in his story. In some cases these characters serve more to the story through their symbolism rather that their character. The three characters who embody this the most are Kiowa‚ Mary Anne Bell‚ and Kathleen.
Premium
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
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
Shame is a reoccuring theme throughout The Things They Carried. Shame makes people do things they don’t want to do just so they can get rid of the fear of shame. It drove soldiers to do acts they would’ve never done. Many of the characters have shame as a primary motivator. It leads them to war and it keeps them there. It is the one thing that keeps them from shooting themselves in the foot so that they would be discharged from the army or some similar such act. But some characters‚ like Curt Lemon
Premium Shame
What is the role of shame and fear in the lives of the soldiers? Does it drive them to acts of heroism or stupidity? Or both? What is the relationship between shame and courage? Plan -Soldiers fear being ashamed‚ it gives them courage -Fine line between heroic and stupid - The week he spent with Elroy Beerdal‚ fear of shame‚ courage The roles of shame and fear play a large part in the soldier’s lives. If it wasn’t for the fact that the soldiers were so afraid of being ashamed they may have never
Free Hero Courage Conscription in the United States