The Things They Carried By Tim O ' Brien Essay

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 the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the 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 standpoint of being young men out at war.

Many may question the true meaning of love. However, there is not an exact description. According to Merriam-Webster, The full definition of love is “a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties-maternal love for a child (2): attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests”. Love played a role in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is the platoon leader. While stationed in the Vietnam, Lieutenant Cross was infatuated with Martha. He used his memory and imagination to escape from the scenes from the war.

     How does death affect the behavior of people? Although death affects everyone's behavior differently, knowledge of one's imminent death is a main force behind behavioral changes. This knowledge causes emotions that motivate people to act in ways that they normally would not. In Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried,'; the knowledge of death and its closeness causes the men in the story to alter their behavior by changing they way they display power, modifying emotions to relieve guilt, and by exhibiting different actions to ease anxiety.

‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien provides a insider’s view of war and its distractions, both externally in dealing with combat and internally dealing with the reality of war and its effect on each solder. The story, while set in Vietnam, is as relevant today with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as it was in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Southeast Asia. With over one million soldiers having completed anywhere from one to three tours in combat in the last 10 years, the real conflict might just be inside the soldier. O’Brien reflects this in his writing technique, using a blend of fiction and autobiographical facts to present a series of short narratives about a small unit of soldiers. While a war story, it is also an unrequited

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story written about the Vietnam War. The title has two meanings. The first is their duties and equipment for the war. The second, the emotional sorrows they were put through while at war. Their wants and needs, the constant worry of death were just a few of the emotional baggage they carried. During the Vietnam War, like all wars, there were hard times. Being a soldier wasn’t easy. Soldiers always see death, whether it be another soldier or an enemy. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien explores the motivation of solders in the Vietnam War to understand their role in combat, to stay in good health, and accept the death of a fellow soldier.

The decision to go to war is not a decision that is taken lightly. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien faces cultural, social and political push factors that end up leading him to forgo his plan to dodge the draft, and to report as instructed, a mere yards away from his destination of Canada. In Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, Rocky and Tayo, two young Native American men, experience cultural, social and political pull factors that draw them into the Army, fighting the Second World War for a country that considers them less than human. The stories of these characters are not unique, they are stories that are representative of the stories of young American men at the time, that faced cultural, social, and political push and pull factors during both conflicts. The purpose of this inquiry essay is to determine what those push and pull factors were, and why they lead these men to willingly engage in two of the most destructive conflicts in human history.

Burdens affect every person daily. From carrying a backpack to school, to dealing with a family member who is causing drama, everyone knows the heaviness of a burden. In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” O’Brien describes the physical and emotional baggage of young soldiers in Vietnam. O’Brien creates a very vivid and relatable feel with his story through the way he describes the physical, emotional, and actions of his characters due to the burdens of war.

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien uses the experiences of characters such as Mary Anne, as well as others like O’Brien himself, Kiowa, and Bowker to define the meaning of courage. During the Vietnam War, many were forced to follow typical American standards of courage, that in order to be courageous, one must express heroism for others. However, others reject this societal ideal by having rare, unpredictable bravery in order to save themselves. Through Mary Anne’s reaction to the war, the reader can continue to define courage by considering the differences between Mary Anne and the men of the war, such as how their acquired morals, or lack thereof, and the expectations imposed onto them affect their war experiences.

Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, describes the adversity a platoon of American soldiers had to overcome in the Vietnam War. Each soldier in the platoon has a specific role they were assigned to before arriving in Vietnam. The majority of things they carried were all necessities, but some also carried certain belongings or mementos back from home to enlighten their moods. The medic, Bob “Rat” Kiley, is affected by the tragedy all around, but it gives us an idea of what he was like back at home before the war.

In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien used many forms of metafiction to aid him in telling the story of war and of storytelling itself. In the novel, O’Brien clearly saw concepts such as time, space, life and death as barriers to getting the true message of a story across. So, in attempt to transcend these barriers, he uses his freedom as an author to fictionalize certain events and characters.

The book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien presents various stories alike in that they contribute to the book’s intention that war is never a good thing. The ninth chapter, Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, focuses on war’s ability to desensitize and dehumanize people, rendering even loved ones foreign. The use of symbolism, irony, and imagery help to develop this chapter, and serve to further its contribution to the book’s purpose as a whole.

The things they carried was written by Tim o’Brien an American novelist who was mostly known for fiction work. This book was published March 28, 1990 as a fiction book. This book is about flashbacks and memories of the vietnam war this story tells a lot of inside first person point of view with the main character o'brien actually being the author. Tim actually fought in vietnam which gets the reader first person point of view.

As one soldier enters the war, another soldier departs physically, but very rarely does he depart mentally. Once left the battlegrounds, tales good and bad are told, altered and passed down for a lifetime, whether in art, speech, or writing. It is not the way a narrator tells a story that evokes the desired emotion; it is when the narrator is so vulnerably honest with the audience that he or she can convey the truth. It is not always graphic descriptions and gory images that best depict the idea of war to various ranges of audiences. Although some critics interpret Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, as an absence of straightforwardness regarding emotion in war, it entices to those who are engrossed in the murky minds of soldiers

In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien portrays his son Timmy as a young girl named Kathleen to exhibit the characterization of women as innocent and shielded from war. In a letter to his son, O’Brien says, “Timmy, you’re in for a world of hurt and heartache and sin and doubt and frustration and despair. You will do fine things, I know, but you will also do bad things.” When talking to his “daughter” he speaks in short sentences, providing no insight into his life at war. When she asks about his experiences, he lies because he feels that she isn’t ready to know the truth about death. This contrast shows how O’Brien believes that girls do not have the same grasp on war and destruction and rather than understanding the causation, they should

If you were in a war what would you take with you? In the book “The Things They Carried” author Tim O’Brien describes the tragic experiences he and other soldiers encounter in the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien tells the readers what each soldier carries around with them. The men carry these items to help them stay sane, to remind the soldiers what they are fighting for and to help them pull through each night and day. O’Brien associates the physical, psychological and emotional weight the soldiers bear. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, carries around letters and photos from a woman he loves named Martha. Martha is a young college student who does not share the same feeling for Lieutenant Cross. Ultimately Lieutenant Crosses downfall stems from his love for