preview

The Man I Killed Rhetorical Analysis

Decent Essays

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is a portrait for war stories. Sandy Kempner's letter paints a clear picture. His role in Vietnam proves the toll it takes on mind, body, and spirit. The author uses the rhetorical devices of imagery, irony, and anaphora to illustrate his environment.
In the novella "The Man I Killed," O'Brien describes one of his major actions in Vietnam... the man he killed. Being involved in situations like that, is what takes the toll on a distressed soldier. Sandy says, "... we managed to kill a few probably innocent civilians..." Killing people, "innocent" or not, is Sandy's job, just like it was for O'Brien. The opening to "The Man I Killed," describes the dead man's wounds. Although Sandy's letter doesn't use imagery as vivid as this, his imagery still shows through. Sandy states, "I spent a three-day 'walk in the sun' (and paddies and fields and mountains and impenetrable jungle and saw grass and ants, and screwed-up radios and no word and...)" His imagery shows his surroundings along with his frustration. More so showing his environment, Sandy also uses anaphora. This shows repetition using the article "and" before each noun. …show more content…

Visualize being on a secluded trail, middle of the night, scared out of your mind, and hearing noises. O'Brien and his team are hunkered down outside a village in My Khe after midnight. He spots a young man walk out in the trail they were watching. Reacting on instinct and adrenaline, he throws a grenade that exploded at the man's feet and killed him. Sandy writes in his letter, "I was walking along a trail doing a village sweep all alone, and here comes Charlie, rifle in hand, with not a care in the world..." Sandy and O'Brien share some similarities in that

Get Access