October 1st 2012 The Things They Carried Close Reading p. 1-26 - Pages 3 and 4: So many items being carried… what is the purpose? Quote(s): “Kiowa also carried his grandmothers distrust for the white man…” (Pg. 3) “…The poncho weighed almost 2 pounds‚ but it was worth every ounce” (pg. 3) Meaningful words/ phrases: pounds‚ weighed‚ grunts‚ Kodacolor‚ Bonnie and Clyde Overall meaning/ author’s purpose: The soldiers do not only carry material goods‚ they also carry emotions. Such is Kiowa’s
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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
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Historiographic Metafiction Parody and the Intertextuality of History LINDA HUTCHEON Il y a plus affaire à interpreter les interpretations qu’a interpreter les choses‚ et plus de livres sur les livres que sur autre sujet: nous ne faisons que nous entregloser. -Montaigne The frontiers of a book are never clear-cut: beyond the title‚ the first lines‚ and the last full-stop‚ beyond its internal configuration and its autonomous form‚ it is caught up in a system of references to other books‚ other
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Riham Hermiz T/TH 11-12:30 2/19/13 The Things They Carried There are a few things that I gathered from the story “The Things They Carried”. The boys were all young and inexperienced and it was clear they were drafted bodies for numerical gain. They carried both physical and emotional baggage‚ and it’s never clear which weighs more heavily on them. It seemed that to some of the boys‚ their emotional baggage weighed harsher on them than the physical baggage that they had to carry. Each boy
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In novel The Things They Carried‚ a central theme is reality vs fiction‚ believe bs disbelief‚ O’brien creates an unsteady relationship with the reader that makes one question even the most minute details and descriptions. At it’s core The Things They carried is a work of fiction‚ however this passage is more‚ it’s a piece that teaches a class what makes fiction‚ rather than simply telling them a moralistic war story. While O’brien’s use of fictional techniques such as‚ jargon‚ second person voice
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The Things They Carried was highly symbolic. The items that the men within the platoon had carried symbolized home and comfort. Each man had a unique item with them in the war that provided them with comfort and reassurance. These physical items carried the men through all of the hardships they endured by giving them a peace of mind and hope of returning to their former lives. From carrying a condom‚ a comic book‚ ammunition‚ the bible‚ photographs‚ and many other little material things‚ these
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Mr. Nenopoulos CAI September 2‚ 2014 The Things They Carried In the following book The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien‚ the title of this novel suits the story well because of many reasons. This book is written about the American soldiers that served in the Vietnam War. In the beginning of this book O Brien instantly gives us a huge nudge as to why this book titled this by telling us what each soldier carried on their backs during this war. He explains how heavy the equipment they have to carry
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The Power of the Truth Novelist Tim O’Brian once said “A lie‚ sometimes‚ can be truer than the truth‚ which is why fiction gets written.” In his novel The Things They Carried‚ O’Brian argues that “story-truth is sometimes truer than happening-truth” (171). O’Brian opposes the idea of absolute truth‚ and believes that all truths are subject to change. He believes that a fictional story can be more true than an actual event. However‚ a story‚ no matter what story‚ cannot be more true than an actual
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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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Historiographic Metafiction in The Wars The writing of history has consistently been under heavy scrutiny‚ however it is justifiable. When someone reads a book of history they are never getting the honest-to-god truth. This is because along with the writing of history comes bias. Historiographic literature is a style of writing that is found in The Wars‚ it is a style the critiques or gives somewhat of a commentary on the writing of history. However the historiographic nature of this book is
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