Characterization In The Things They Carried

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows the development of a young boy named Huck Finn. We see Huck develop in character, attitude and maturity as he goes on his adventure down the Mississippi River. This is displayed through his search for freedom from civilization and it's beliefs and through his personal observations of a corrupt and immoral society. Most importantly, we are in Huck's head as he goes through his confusion over his supposedly immoral behavior and his acceptance that he will “go to hell” as he conquers his social beliefs.

While many Romantic authors elevate their childhoods to idealistic terms of good or bad, Twain walks the line between Romanticism and Realism. After romantically heralding the position of a steamboatman in Old Times on the Mississippi, a young Mark Twain realizes and expresses his new belief on the unfairness of life because of his recent knowledge about the rise of an ungodly boy to the position of a steamboatman. Twain writes, "This thing shook the bottom out of all my Sunday-school teachings" (275). Instead of glossing over his young self's questioning nature, Twain acknowledges the ability to question the authority of the church, even if it is based on jealousy. Similar in honesty and naivete to the young Twain is the forthright Huckleberry Finn. He will not accept society's conventions about both religion and history, and he denounces the Widow Douglass' story about "Moses and the Bulrushers." Huck states, "so then I didn't care no more about him, because I don't take no stock in dead people" (26). Huck ceaselessly disdains efforts to civilize him, but the Widow Douglass continues to try to change him. After Huck first learns about Hell from the Widow Douglass, his earnest initial response is memorable. Huck covertly thinks, "Well, I couldn't see no advantage in going where she was going, so I

In the beginning of this Huckleberry Finn, Huck was an uncivilized and ignorant boy. When he moved in with the Widow Douglas, she "allowed she would [him]" but he did not want to stay with her because she was so "regular and decent... in all her ways" (2). He did not have what most people would consider morals. He was so against things moral and civilized that

The book introduces Huck as the first person narrator which is important because it establishes clearly that this book is written from the point of view of a young, less than civilized character. His character emerges as a very literal and logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. In this section Huck’s life with the Widow Douglas and her attempts to raise him as a civilized child sets up the main theme of this book which is the struggle or quest for freedom. Huck’s struggle for freedom from civilized society is paralleled by Jim’s struggle to escape from slavery. Irony as a key literary

In “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien the theme of “carrying” both physical and emotional objects by the main characters can be found in the novel. While these men carry the same standard physical army gear, they differentiate with personal tangible and intangible items. From Lieutenant Cross’s responsibility of his men, to Henry Dobbin’s girlfriend’s pantyhose for its magic, each man faced the war with these things attached.

Tim O’Brien writes about both the physical objects they carry as well as their emotional burdens. The objects that these soldiers carry serve as a symbolism for what they are carrying in their hearts and minds. The soldiers carry items varying from pantyhose, medicine, tanning oil, and pictures. Jimmy Cross is an inexperienced sophomore in college, he signs up for the Reserve Officers Training Camp because his friends are doing the course. Jimmy Cross doesn’t want anything to do with the war or anything to do with being a leader. The item that Jimmy Cross carries with him are pictures of his classmate named Martha.

In the beginning of the novel, Mark Twain shows his disdain for the blind faith of religion through Huck’s confusion. For example, when Huck states; “I says to myself, if a body can get anything they pray for,

To start off, Tim O’Brien wrote about normal people being chosen for the war. They carried things that meant a lot to them. “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey”(1). This shows that the first person introduced had left behind a pretty good life before going into war. Some people carried comic books, or items given to them by their father, “Rat Kiley carried comic books. Kiowa, a devout baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City”(3). This is showing that the soldiers have items that are important to them and feel the items bring good luck. “Henry Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter”(9). Dobbins also uses the pantyhose as a good luck charm. But people have different views on the items they carry,

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word "weight" as "a mass or quantity of something taken up and carried, conveyed, or transported." Tim O'Brien's war story The Things They Carried, published in 1990, explores the theme of weight and its importance to men at war in considerable depth. The opening chapter of this book, which was originally written as a short story, is comprised of a collection of lists. O'Brien details for his reader both the physical objects, such as cigarettes, C rations, and packets of Kool-Aid, and the more intangible things, such as fear and silent awe, that weigh these soldiers down. With the amount of space that the author gives to

The Things They Carried is a story based on the experiences of young American soldiers fighting during the Vietnam War. The story begins giving you insight into the thoughts of the soldiers, describing to you what they humped along with them through their walk in the deep jungle of Vietnam. Some of those things were necessities P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing-gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets (81) and some were objects to give them hope. Throughout the story you follow a young platoon of men on their journey through the jungle never knowing which day could be the last day of their lives. The author, Tim O’Brien, using very accurate description and detail gives us

If the soldiers found a weapon worth carrying they would pick it up such as, captured AK-47’s and black market Uzis. All of the men in the platoon carried sentimental items. Some carried good luck items and some just souvenirs from their tour. For example Jimmy Cross carried pictures and letters from a girl that didn’t love him like he wanted. Kiowa carried a bible.

Each soldier carried with them items, some tangible others intangible, which helped them to adapt their minds and escape from the setting so that they could survive the traumatic events taking place. “Ted Lavender carried six or seven ounces of premium dope.” “Rat Kiley carried comic books.” The soldiers in the story do not only have a physical battle to deal with but also a mental one. Most of these items were a necessity in order to bear the war. However, there were a few items that the soldiers carried not because they had to or because they needed it to survive physically but because they needed it in order to survive emotionally. One soldier carried his wife’s pantyhose; another carried a new testament. One soldier permitted his items to take control of him and become an obsession, a trauma that took his focus away from his priorities, the war, and his men.

A major theme of the novel is the hypocrisy and double standards that are evident in the society surrounding Huck. This trait is found especially within Christian and religious types in the novel. Twain shows almost every good Christian in the novel as having a generous and kind side, which completely contradicts much of their actions. Twain believes that this hypocrisy is the underlining element that makes religion skeptical. As it is seen in the book, almost every good Christian contradicts himself or herself in some way. Perhaps Huck's first example of this was when the Widow Douglas did not allow him to smoke, as it was a mean practice. However, “she took snuff too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself” (Twain 2). Another example was the Grangerfords. Huck described this family as very nice and kind and even considered Buck a good friend. But once again, the hypocrisy of religious types was bound to come into play. These same people are slave owners and have a feud with a similar family, the Shepherdsons for reasons they don't remember. Perhaps the biggest example of this hypocrisy was when Huck went to church with the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons. As Huck explains, “the men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees.... it was pretty ornery preaching all about brotherly love” (Twain 83). It is obvious that the two families had their guns in their laps while the preacher talked about

Personal Possessions In the short story “The Things They Carried” Author described in great detail all the things a soldier carries. Their clothes, guns, ammo, survival kits, and personal possessions. He told us what each of these items were and how much they weighed. We were also told of the significance of each of the items; especially the personal mementos that each soldier carried and how they helped to get them through the terrible things they were experiencing.

When Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to “sivilize” Huck with Christian values and manners, Huck dismisses his lessons because they all are about dead people. Huck determines that life is for the living and the living should not be constrained to rules made up