The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 917 Words

The Things They Carried is an autobiographical novel written by Tim O’Brien that details his time as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Considered to be â€Å"the best work of fiction ever written about Vietnam, some even think it is the best about war,† (Greenya 1). The stories that are contained within the novel talk about themes such as loss, burdens, and the horrifying truths of the Vietnam War, the first war to take place during a more ‘modern’ era, as the tragedies of the war could be broadcasted through television. Much like many soldiers that fought in the war, Tim O’Brien was forced to face through many tragedies. Due to this, the book is used to preserve those who have died in Tim O’Brien’s life. The two chapters within The Things They Carried develop the importance of O’Brien’s coping mechanism. In The Little Brown Reader, ‘Snapshot: Lost Lives of Women’ by Amy Tan contains a similar structure to the two chapters of O’Brien’s novel. I believe that Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is similar to Amy Tan’s ‘Snapshot: Lost Lives of Women in the structure detailing the past and the idea of keeping people’s lives preserved through the art of storytelling, O’Brien’s last two chapters are essential in showing this similarity. People often carry mementos as a sense of comfort or in order to remind themselves of something in the past, in the case of the men of Alpha Company the things that they carry is a sense of who they are. Tim O’Brien starts the beginning of the novel withShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in the book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thread of suffering from mental unpredictability. DesensitizationRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 Pageslove to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Thin gs They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I reflect on the many conflicts America has been a part of, none can compare to the tragedies that occurred in The Vietnam war. As told in The Things They Carried (O’Brien), characters such as NormanRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1242 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1169 Words   |  5 Pagesbut are set in the past and borrows things from that time period. A story that fits this genre of literature is The Things They Carried. The story is about Tim O Brien, a Vietnam veteran from the Unite States, who tells stories about what had happ ened when he and his team were stationed in Vietnam. He also talks about what he felt about the war when he was drafted and what he tried to do to avoid going to fight in Vietnam. The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien was precise with its portrayal of settingRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1004 Words   |  5 Pages Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross c arried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1369 Words   |  6 PagesMany authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter â€Å"The Lives of the Dead,† O Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of s torytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the abilityRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 Pages       Our introduction stated that in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncommon things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war –