Contents Of A Dead Man's Pockets: A Literary Analysis

“He was realistic about it. There was that new hardness in his stomach. He loved her but he hated her. No more fantasies, he told himself. Henceforth, when he thought about Martha, it would be only to think that she belonged elsewhere. He would shut down the daydreams. This was not Mount Sebastian, it was another world, where there were no pretty poems or midterm exams, a place where men died because of carelessness and gross stupidity. Kiowa was right. Boom-down, and you were dead, never partly dead. Briefly, in the rain, Lieutenant Cross saw Martha’s gray eyes gazing back at him.”

The Man I Killed is the story of the man that Tim O’Brien killed. However, this story is not true. He later mentions that he did not in fact kill the man, yet he was present and that was enough. This story, according to him, is told to show the reader how he feels, because O’Brien feels as though the truth is that by doing nothing, he killed the man, so in his story, he does kill the man. Imagery is the biggest literary device seen in this story, but diction also helps make the story seem more true, it helps the reader to truly believe that O’Brien did in fact throw the grenade that killed the man. This story is told from O’Brien’s point of view, which would be first person, despite the fact that the word “I” is

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional stand point of being young men out at war.

Part One: Compare and contrast this persona of Death with the familiar personification of the Grim Reaper. How is Death from The Book Thief like the Grim Reaper, and how is he significantly different?

In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, he emphasizes a chapter on “The Man I Killed”, which describes the characteristics of a young Vietnamese man in which O’Brien may or may not have killed with a grenade. The novel is not chronologically sequenced, which leaves more room for the reader to engage in a critical thought process that fully bridges the author’s mind to their own. In O’Brien’s chapter, “The Man I Killed”, he attempts to humanize the enemy in a way that draws little separation between the enemy and himself by relating the enemy’s life prior to the war to his, and illustrates the war through the eyes of the soldiers who fought it.

Most authors when writing like to provide clues about the character for the reader to fill in the blanks called a direct characterization some authors tell the reader exactly what the character's personality is leaving nothing to the imagination which is called direct characterization some authors use both indirect and direct characterization Jack Finney who wrote contents of the Dead Man's Pocket uses direct characterization as well as a direct characterization in Contents of a Dead Man's Pocket Jack Finney uses direct characterization at the beginning of the story Finney writes he was a tall lean dark-haired young man a pullover sweater who looks as though he had played not football probably but basketball in college in other words finny

There are two types of people that fight in wars; those who consider their patriotic duty an honor and those who entered the war by force. In 1990, twenty years after returning from the Vietnam War, Tim O’Brien published The Things They Carried, a disturbing and remorseful collection of short stories that gives detailed, yet fictional, accounts of the horrific events that occurred during the war. Later in 2012, after his tour of duty, Chris Kyle released American Sniper, a humble and passionate memoir that describes what Kyle had to face during his tour. While The Things They Carried utilizes symbolism and similes to inform the reader about the horrors of war, American Sniper uses flashbacks and imagery to demonstrate that some people “come alive” during the war.

War is often thought about as something that hardens a soldier. It makes a person stronger emotionally because they are taught not show it and deal with it internally. People say that death in war is easier to handle because it is for the right reasons and a person can distance themselves from the pain of losing someone. However, there is always a point when the pain becomes too real and it is hard to maintain that distance. In doing so, the story disputes the idea that witnessing a traumatic event causes a numbing or blockage of feelings. Rat Kiley’s progression of sentiment began with an initial concern for the buffalo, transforming into an irate killing of the animal, and then ending with an ultimate acceptance of death. These

"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien portrays a detachment of soldiers serving in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War starts amid the 1960/70's in the nation of Vietnam. It is a curiously severe war, and numerous veterans experience for a long time after their awful encounters. The author recounts every one of the things they carry from weapons to the passionate weight of wartime. Short memories evoke, and bits of knowledge to the characters create as everything the soldiers carry reveals. The author describes stories of a significant number of the soldiers' missions and tricks. The Author viably utilizes the components of fiction: tone, style, and imagery to enable the peruser to comprehend the soldiers' hardships in the Vietnam War.Tim O'Brien utilizes the tone of the story to improve the perspective of the hardships the soldiers confront. All through the story, an officer named Ted Lavender specified. An enemy murders him, and his death addresses frequently. The author utilizes a cold, dispassionate tone to make Ted Lavender's passing a typical subject. O'Brien expresses in the story that “Ted Lavender a soldier. He was scared at that moment, and he got shot in the head while carrying thirty-four rounds at the place Than Khe. He died, and there was no twitching or flopping (325).” The levelness communicates by the author utilizes to demonstrate the hardships of the fighter's mental state. O’Brien states again that “Another soldier named

Soldiers have their own way of coping with death. Some might try to make a joke out of it and make it humorous while others might think about what they could have done differently to prevent the death from occurring. Soldiers will often put the blame on themselves for the death. As soldiers go into war they know that they have a chance of dying. They also know that the friends they are going to make during this time have a chance of dying. There is no “right way” to cope with death. There are positive and negative outcomes by making the idea of death humorous or by dwelling on it.

Life changing situations happen all the time, but not a lot happens like they do in these three short stories. The text “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, “Contents of The Dead Man’s Pocket” by Jack Finney, and “The Leap” by Louise Erdrich, are all strong texts that show all risks have consequences. Even though the authors form their risks differently, they all have a lot in common. This text will help you get an understanding of the similarities and differences between the three stories through theme, setting, and character.

Don’t waste life working. In “Contents Of The Dead Man's Pocket” the main character Tom Benecke is a very hard worker. This helps establish the theme in the story because Tom is always working and he never has any free time because he is always working which wastes his life.The use of symbolism,characterization,and conflict in the story “Contents Of The Dead Man’s Pocket” helps create the theme don’t waste life working.

All three stories could have the same theme. They all teach us that things don’t always go to plan. In, “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” the last sentence includes, “As he saw the yellow paper…”, “Sail out into the night and out of his life, Tom Benecke burst into laughter….” After being so close to death for that paper, he laughs because he didn’t expect it to end that ay at all. At the end of “The Trip”, “the guard takes him to a moldy cell…” This didn’t pan out the way he thought it would at all. In the beginning it even says, “We spent hours thinking about what he would do once he was on the other side, imagining the job, the car, the house.” Jail was definitely not part of

Much can be interpreted by what people write.  The great thing about interpretations is that different writings can be interpreted differently.  Just like in the writings by Tim O'Brien.  His book titled "The Things They Carried," is a very deep and touching collection of stories about the Vietnam War.  The book is written, as a whole under the title "The Things They Carried," but is a collection of many people’s experiences in this destructive war.  One story that is a touching and very intriguing is titled, "The Man I Killed."  If anyone knows anything about Vietnam it is that many lives where lost in this disastrous war.

Fictional novels, in this case, The Graveyard Book, can teach us about ourselves. A fictional novel is imaginary and is not necessarily based true facts. The Graveyard Book was published in 2008 by Neil Gaiman. This book is about a normal boy named Nobody Owens but is known to his friends as Bod. Bod is raised in the graveyard by educated ghosts, a solitary guardian who is neither living nor dead and is under attack by the Man Jack. Two ideas that have been demonstrated throughout the novel is that life is full of endless possibilities and relationships are a key part of our identity. This novel teaches us about ourselves and the experiences that we have with our relationships with other people in our life with