...“Brothers to Remember” After reading the story, "The Things They Carried," by Tim O' Brien begins the story from a flashback event that occurred to O’ Brien at an early age at the time of the Vietnam war. The title meaning, weapons, supplies and thoughts from his fellow soldiers who fought in the war with him in Vietnam before they went on their mission to battle. Most his fellow soldiers brought fears inside them for it may be their final day in life. For citizens, back home it may mean not to them, but for a soldier, it means more to fight with a brother next to their shoulder. In a series of events, the action of this novel is O'Brien remembers the past and working details of these memories of his service in Vietnam into a story. Through a linked of semi-autobiographical stories, "O'Brien illuminates the characters men whom he served in the war from their relationships. He describes Lt. Cross as a...
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...The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, is a short story written and based on his own experiences and trials that he faced in the Vietnam war. Many people remain skeptical about the authenticity of the story, as the short passage does contain horrid details that make people question if this drama should be considered a documentary rather than a novel. While writing this short story, Tim O’Brien did in fact mean to portray his work as a fictional story while at the same time continue to use detailed description and realism to capture the audience's attention and try to draw them into the actual events in the story. Tim O'Brien's overall goal was not to create a novel or a documentary but instead help portray the hardships of the Vietnam war to the reader by creating a gateway that would allow each person to experience and feel the burden of the emotional and physical weight on the soldiers who were desperately fighting for their families, countries, and lives. Some of the major themes that are shown in the novel include the terms hardship and baggage. Throughout the story, O’Brien uses the term “baggage” as a symbol to help portray the hardships that these soldiers had to endure day after day throughout the war. As the story goes on it shows not only the literal meaning of what they carried but also symbolically the burdens that...
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...Prompt 2: The Culture of Soldiers One the most present aspects in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is centered around the disconnect between the cultures of soldiers and civilians. Presented through the characters of Martha and Lieutenant Cross, O’Brien manages to express the disconnect through the Cross’ thoughts and feelings toward Martha and examines the case of soldier and civilian culture and identities being almost diametrically opposed to one another. When discussing soldiers work of literature, which I noticed in class, many discuss the differing viewpoints of interpretations between the perspective of war between soldiers and civilians, much like in Warring Memories, or actually more specifically those who experience specific trauma and those who view it from the outside, such as in Silence. In O’Brien’s work, Cross is is forced to experience the trauma and brutality of war which is inflicted upon him, and by him, physically and emotionally. Martha and his memories and feelings of her tie him to his civilian life and role. He thinks of her constantly and questions her letters and feelings in the midst of the War. It is not until after fellow soldier Ted Lavender does he sever his connection to Martha, or as I interpret it, his civilian culture and life....
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...The book The Things They Carried was written by Tim O’Brien it is a series of stories of him and his company in The Vietnam War. Tim describes a series of events that occurred during the war and then he explains how things are now for him and where his company is in this day in age. He talks about how people died in his company and how he killed someone with a grenade, he even described it in great detail. One death that he describes that was not from combat or anything from the war was Kiowa’s death. Kiowa’s died from sinking in mud and sewage. It began to rain and from the rain it caused him to sink down in the mud and sewage causing him to drown. Bowker, Cross, O’Brien played the role in finding Kiowa after the rain stopped they ended...
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...In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien presents the truth of war by using the recurring image of the physical objects each soldier carries to and from the war. While they all carry heavy baggage, they also carry emotional baggage, made up of grief, love and guilt. O’Brien emphasizes on the tangible and intangible objects each soldier brings to the war. Each soldier's physical burden draws attention to their emotional burden. Even after the war, many of the soldiers can still hear the choppers in the background along with the unremovable baggage. O’Briens tells the stories of many of the honorable soldiers such as Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, and his own firsthand experiences during the war; his poetic realism and comic fantasy illuminate the raw and gruesome reality of war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross exemplifies the role of a leader; he comes across grief, love, and guilt throughout the novel. “As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carries a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol that...
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...Hook High School can change and twist a person’s characteristics while they are on their quest of “fitting in”. This process of changing a person’s personality is very similar to what happened to many of the characters in the Book the Things They Carried. Context This book takes place during the Vietnam War and follows the lives of american men who are trying to survive the horrible conditions of Vietnam. Thesis In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien , the author uses the character development of Mary Anne and Rat Kiley as well as his own to show how being in environment like Vietnam can twist your sense of right and wrong and your mental stability because of the things you are exposed to. Body Paragraph One Topic Sentence In the Book...
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...In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, O’Brien makes it clear that the minor characters he includes play a chief role in the story’s significance. For example, Linda is introduced as an insignificant character, but the reader finds out that she plays a critical role in the development of the story’s main theme regarding the power of storytelling, and how the memories from these stories keep people alive. O’Brien constantly repeats himself by stating, “Stories can saves us,” making it a reoccurring theme in his book, and it is especially exemplified throughout his story about Linda. In the last chapter titled, “The Lives of the Dead,” it is the point where O’Brien begins his story about Linda, his lover, at the end of his overall story....
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...The Things They Carried is a variety of short stories all put into one book by Tim O'Brien. The stories in this book tell what life was like during the Vietnam War for many of the young soldiers, and their thoughts and feelings when they returned to the United States. Tim O’Brien earned a Purple Heart when he got hit with shrapnel in a grenade attack in Vietnam (NEA, 2007). During the book one of the main characters talked about goes by the name as Kiowa. Kiowa was a Native American and also a Baptist. He was a very honest and trustworthy soldier who always tried to help his fellow soldiers get through the complicated times of the war. Tragically Kiowa’s death during the war showed no dignity towards him. After a long day the platoon decided to settle down along a river, but they soon decided that they set up camp in a sewage field due to the repugnant smell. The rain came down without an end in sight, and the ground bubbled with the extra rain and heat. Out of nowhere rounds of mortar started to fall onto...
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...The Things They Carried is a work of fiction written by Tim O’Brien. In the beginning of the book, it says “a work of fiction by Tim O’Brien” (1) on the title page. If one was observant, they would have known what genre the book was from the beginning. In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story”, the author writes “in many cases a true war story cannot be believed” (68). This is because the storytellers falsify certain elements to make the story more believable. The stories O’Brien told in his award winning book may have some dishonest facts, although, the overall plot and content is based off of a true story. The twenty year time interval is important to the stories because it shows that the experience still has a powerful impact on the author. Although numerous stories have a pernicious effect on O’Brien and his friends, he still explains them with passion and remembrance. Furthermore, the author clarifies his tales in a way that the...
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...was in someone else’s hands? Both John Wheelwright and Tim O’Brien had these lingering in their minds since the draft. These two men are put into a situation where many do not have a notion on what to do. They made their choices on beliefs and with the help of others. In A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Things They Carried, Tim and John struggle with morality due to the fact that it is a cowardly act to abandon their nation but also cowardly to abandon one's...
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...The Things They Carried 15 Quotes Hunter Saunders "Quote 1: "Whenever he looked at the photographs, he thought of new things he should have done." page 5 / tim o brien Quote 2: "By daylight they took sniper fire, at night they were mortared, but it was not battle, it was just the endless march, village to village, without purpose, nothing won or lost." pg. 15 / tim o brien Quote 3: "My conscience told me to run, but some irrational and powerful force was resisting, like a weight pushing me toward the war. What it came down to, stupidly, was a sense of shame." pg. 52/ tim o brien Quote 4: "Right then, with the shore so close, I understood that I would not do what I should do." pg. 57 tim o brien Quote 5: "It wasn't a question of deceit....
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...In the novel "The Things They Carried," by Tim O' Brien explains the difficulties and horrific scenes that each individual, mostly soldiers, had to experience in The Vietnam War. They present to the audience their challenges and also how they overcame them by including "the things they carried." The character Kiowa carried many things throughout his journey, in which many believed they did not belong in, such as his bible and his faith. Kiowa's most significant physical object that he carried was his bible, this bible defines Kiowa as a person and his character. As stated in chapter one, "Kiowa, a devout baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament..." Kiowa is immensely dedicated to his religion. He enters the brutal and vengeful Vietnam war with his passed down Bible from his...
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...Good Warriors And Good Kings In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, it portrays a young man who is a brave and a courageous warrior because of his experience with many battles. Conversely, in The Things They Carried by Tim O´Brien, he narrates and shows how young men have little experience with protecting their country. In the differing eras, the manner in which they were brought up was different. The era of the medieval time is different than the 1960s era due to the skills of weaponry and attitude. In The Things They Carried, the government took young men away from their lives without giving them a reason due to the Vietnam draft. Each book proves that no matter what time period fighting happens people will still have feelings and hatred...
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...Love VS. War In Tim O’ Brien short story “The Things They Carried”, Tim shares his memories with the reader about the war and the items some of the soldiers carried. Each solider had specific items that they were required to carry for the war, but they also carried things that were important and meaningful to them. The reader could tell that the items were important because no matter how much weight the soldiers already had to carry, they made room for more. Most of the soldiers carried a limited amount of an item that had the same meaning or belonged to the same person. However, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried multiple items who belonged a women by the name of Martha. He loves and cares for Martha in a way that she doesn’t love and care for him. Cross still has hope that she will start to have feelings for him but every time she writes him, the letters are friendly and chatty. The two of them met at a college in New Jersey and they went on a date together to watch a movie some time before Cross left for war. During that movie date, Cross tried to hold onto her knee but she pushed his hand off. Now, every time Cross fantasizes about Martha, he has thoughts about what he should’ve did the night after the movie date. Although the feelings aren’t mutual between the two, they still communicate through letters as friends. Majority of the items Cross carried were related to Martha and caused him to fantasize about her and the relationship he wished they had. Lieutenant Cross...
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...November 2014 Formal Paper 1 The Things They Carried, written by Tim O'Brien carry both the tangible and intangible details of war, death, and destruction. The emotional baggage this literary masterpiece entails will always reach audiences across the globe. The author taps into thousands of veterans, soldiers, and even the family that awaits them at home. It's real, it's American, and it expresses the weight of not just physical but, the emotional burdens soldiers carry. The Alpha Company in O'Brien's story doesn't focus on whether the events were accurate but the result war has had on mankind. It is the content of the story that makes this piece timeless and true to the experience of military in combat. For example, the author uses facts to create a setting. He explains in detail what the soldiers carry, such as Dave Jensen who carried," three pairs of socks and a can of Dr. Scholl's foot powder. . . then he was shot". Details like these are the epitome of mundane events mixed with philosophical thoughts, and tons of detail. From the guilt, grief, and depression to the M16's, comic books, and tranquilizers they carry, this story has it all. Although no one really knows if these events are true, the reader can appreciate the literary range the author reaches. O'Brien's matter of fact approach and character formation is like the Basketball Diaries but with PTSD. Young boys, pushed into war, during the Summer of Love, and everything is confusing: “I was no soldier. I hated Boy...
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