How Does Tim O Brien Lose Innocence

What is “truth”? In The Things They Carried, the reader has their eyes opened to a new kind of “truth”; a “truth” that is not based on the honesty of events, the “happening-truth”, but the honesty of human nature, the “story-truth.” The novel itself, The Things They Carried, is comprised of many different stories based on the author Tim O’Brien’s service in the Vietnam war. Recalling from memories of his service, Tim O’Brien intricately weaves fact and fiction into his novel to force the reader into a turmoil of emotions by telling “true war stories,” that are not, in fact, war stories. Although many readers believe that “truth” is the act of retelling reality, “truth” is, in O'Brien's reality, the act of portraying emotions; that is why a “true war story” is not about war, but emotions.

Throughout The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien it is difficult to separate what is fictitious, and what is true. During the entire work there are two different “truths”, which are “story truth” and “happening truth”. “Happening truth” is the actual events that happen, and is the foundation or time line on which the story is built on. “Story truth” is the molding or re-shaping of the “happening truth” that allows the story to be believable and enjoyable. It is not easy to distinguish “happening truth” from “story truth”, and at times during the novel O’brien reveals which is which. On the other hand, when the reader is blind to

In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien uses many short stories to describe his experience in Vietnam. The story that captured many aspects of writing was “How to Tell a True War Story” because it acts as a guide to writing a true story. O’Brien uses many different rhetorical strategies, narrative techniques, and establishes a theme in this story to help develop his characters and story line.

In The Things They Carried, Tim O 'Brien uses a variety of stories to explain the life experiences that he and many of his fellow soldiers endured during a single year in Vietnam. He tells these stories in a way that we can connect to these experiences. We never spent time in Vietnam, but O 'Brien wants us to feel like we were there. O 'Brien uses what he calls "story-truth" to write these stories. The outcome or the people may be different but the feeling is real; that 's the truth in the story, the feeling. He wants us to feel what he felt, see what he saw. He doesn 't just tell us what was happening exactly; he tells a fictional story that conveys the same emotion. He plays with the truth, that 's the reason why this book is a work of

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien expresses the importance of a story-truth, as opposed to a happening-truth by use of literary elements in his writing. The novel is about war and the guilt it leaves on everyone involved in the war. Story-truth is not exactly what happened, but uses part of the truth and part made up in order to express the truth of what emotion was felt, which an important thematic element in the novel is. The three literary devices he uses to express this are diction, imagery, juxtaposition, and hyperbole. All of these elements allow the reader to identify emotion that is expressed in each story, as though that were the complete truth.

The central theme and true meaning of courage is shown vividly in numerous instances throughout Tim O’Brien’s classic novel The Things They Carried. O’Brien’s novel begins with the courage of coming of age, along with the author’s loss of his innocence. Tim, the protagonist of this novel, goes through an incredible change in belief when he must choose to either run away from the Vietnam War or unwillingly join the bloody battle, of which he strongly did not have faith in. The main courageous occurrence that O’Brien was showing the reader was the fear of going to war, and the integrity behind holding ones beliefs and morals in fighting for their country. The Things They Carried shows

Our introduction stated that in “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 “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.   As it was noted: "Stories about war – especially today – usually emphasize heroism and supporting our troops. Yet, these are completely absent in “The Things They Carried,” again I find this to be true also.  In attempting to Analyze why there is an absence of heroism and heroic acts in “The Things They Carried” I discovered that the author comes at his stories from a completely different view point and it is complex.  Example: he names himself as a fictional character and a Protagonist.  Although this is a fictional story it reads like a biography or a set of memory 's from the war in Vietnam, in which all the stories connect.  An unnamed narrator describes in third person the thoughts and actions of Lt. Jimmy Cross, a lieutenant in the Army.  Lt. Cross thoughts are of a woman named Martha, who he dated, her letters seem to serve somewhat as torture as he wonders if she feel the same way about him as he does about her, the letter give him no clue and make him wonder even more.   Lt. Cross is a inexperienced, somewhat

In “The Things They Carried” Tim O’Brien uses this story as a coping mechanism; to tell part of his stories and others that are fiction from the Vietnamese War. This is shown by using a fictions character’s voice, deeper meaning in what soldier’s carried, motivation in decision making, telling a war story, becoming a new person and the outcome of a war in one person. Tim O’ Brien uses a psychological approach to tell his sorrows, and some happiness from his stories from the war. Each part, each story is supposed to represent a deeper meaning on how O’Brien dealt, and will deal with his past. In war, a way to

Tim O’Brien brings the Vietnam War back to life in The Things They Carried (1990) and elucidates the wounds suffered by soldiers during and after the war. The three main characters in this novel that exemplify the physical, social, and emotional wounds are Tim O’Brien, Norman Bowker, and Mark Fossie. These men go through immense pain both during and after the war, which is not easy to heal.

There are many levels of truth in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. This novel deals with story-telling as an act of communication and therapy, rather than a mere recital of fact. In the telling of war stories, and instruction in their telling, O'Brien shows that truth is unimportant in communicating human emotion through stories.

Tim O’Brien depicts some of the effects it has on them, as well as some coping mechanisms they use, in The Things they Carried. Some of the things the soldiers lose include their innocence and a few of their fellow soldiers. Everyone was affected by this differently, some felt guilt, others just pretended things were fine, or dreamt them back to life. The reactions of those experiencing loss also help define it and how powerful it can be. When Kiowa died, one of the boys felt the effects of immediate loss, leading him to believe he was to blame for his death. He felt that “he was alone. He’d lost everything. He’d lost Kiowa and his weapon and his flashlight and his girlfriend’s picture. He remembered this. He remembered wondering if he could lose himself” (O’Brien 171). Like him, many people feel very lost during hard times and question how much longer they can stay sane and handle the situation. In some unfortunate cases, when loss becomes too much, some commit suicide, or react violently. However, an alternate way of coping with loss (of lives and of sanity) that is seen in the novel is to completely ignore it. O’Brien recalls how “in Vietnam, too, [they] always had ways of making the dead seem not so dead. Shaking hands, that was one way. By slighting death, by acting, [they] pretended it was not the terrible thing it was…” (O’Brien 238). The thoughts of one of the characters portrays how much everyone

The narrator in the book, The Things They Carried, Tim O’ Brien has a very peculiar life. He has been a lot of different things in his life. He worked in a slaughterhouse, served in the army, and hardest of all, raised a family. Tim O’ Brien has also had trials and tribulations. He has tried to leave America, he killed someone, and he still holds burdens of guilt and disappointment to this day.

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried was written as a collection of short stories centered around the Vietnam War and the after effects it had on the men that fought in it. The truth is one of the central themes in and around this book. The collection is classified as a work of fiction, yet there are many aspects of the book that leave its readers wondering whether these stories are rooted in truth. Since its publication in 1990, many readers have researched the author’s career as a soldier in the Vietnam War and compared what they know about his experiences there with what was written in the book. The truth is debated throughout the main character’s retelling of his war stories. “By telling stories, you objectify your own experiences. You

Tim O’Brien’s, The Things they Carried is a riveting tale of struggle and sacrifice, self indulgence and self pity, and the intrapersonal battles that reeked havoc on even the most battle tested soldiers. O’Brien is able to express these ideas through eloquent writing and descriptive language that makes the reader feel as if he were there. The struggle to avoid cowardice is a prevailing idea in all of O’Brien’s stories.

In many respects, Tim O 'Brien 's The Things They Carried concerns the relationship between fiction and the narrator. In this novel, O 'Brien himself is the main character--he is a Vietnam veteran recounting his experiences during the war, as well as a writer who is examining the mechanics behind writing stories. These two aspects of the novel are juxtaposed to produce a work of literature that comments not only