The Things They Carried: On The Rainy River Essay

Tim tells us on page 193, “And I began making plans. The first thing I did was to go see Colonel Persons. He put me off twice because he knew what I was coming for, but as he was quartered next door to us he knew he’d have to see me sooner or later, and finally he did.” When Tim tries to tell the officer that Sam is innocent, the officer is not dissuaded. Although his attempts are unsuccessful, this shows that Tim is growing up. Tim is finally taking charge for his brother.

Written by author Tim O’Brien after his own experience in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in “The Things They Carried” guides the reader through the complex development of characters by establishing their humanity during the inhumane circumstance of war, articulating what the men need for emotional and spiritual survival, and by revealing

In the memoir The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the chapter titled: On the Rainy River has a central idea of resentment, embarrassment and eventual acceptance to change. The author creates this central idea with the use of a regretful tone, man vs society conflict, and dreary imagery. The theme of this chapter contributes to O’Brien’s intentions for the book because it demonstrates the struggle, shame, and or confusion each man drafted into the war experienced.

The Things They Carried is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War that the author, Tim O’Brien, uses to convey his experiences and feelings about the war. The book is filled with stories about the men of Alpha Company and their lives in Vietnam and afterwards back in the United States. O’Brien captures the reader with graphic descriptions of the war that make one feel as if they were in Vietnam. The characters are unique and the reader feels sadness and compassion for them by the end of the novel. To O’Brien the novel is not only a compilation of stories, but also a release of the fears, sadness, and anger that he has felt because of the Vietnam War.

The novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien begins by Mr. O'Brien describing his dramatical events that happened during the middle of his Vietnam experience while he was fighting in the war. Mr. O'Brien received his draft notice in the month of June in the year of 1968. When he received this notice Mr. O'Brien had feelings of confusion, and that drove him to go north to the Canadian border, and it had him contemplating if he wanted to cross it or not because he does not want to be forced to fight in a war he really does not believe in. However, Mr. O'Brien finally decides that he would feel guilty if he avoided the war and he also feared that his family would be disappointed. Not only does this novel tell us readers about his

A significant portion of the soldiers who fought and served in Vietnam did not know the determining factors for being drafted and sent to fight this controversial war. The novel imparts to the reader how soldiers withstood their subjective experience associated with the austere environment of Vietnam applying the specifics of all the things the men carried. Through recounting, the principal thought in the novel is conveyed hence the basis for the novel’s title. Through it, we become more acquainted with why Tim O 'Brien, chooses the title. The author explains in this story the significance of carrying, "to carry something (is) to hump it. Be that as it may, in this story, it infers the burdens the soldiers carried (O’Brien).

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

He cannot face making the decision to go in front of a long-dead nine-year-old girl, let alone everyone else. His imaginings are so vivid, Tim feels like he has to make a decision under the scrutiny of everyone he has ever known, or will know. And he cannot do it. Even as he sees the innocent lives that he will inevitably take if he chooses to stay and fight, still he cannot take the embarrassment of running away. Finally admitting it to himself, Tim thinks, “Embarrassment. That’s all it was.” (1016). Tim thought that he could make the decision to save himself, but he cares too much about what the world thinks about him.

Unlike most war stories, in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” the war in Vietnam is not glorified and instead, the story is believable and raw. The horrors of war that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his squadron experience in an unfiltered, yet emotionally detached way that molds the structure and the language. This story, through its structure and techniques, displays the idea of how disillusionment and loss of innocence create unimaginable burdens for the American soldiers. O’Brien portrays the characters’ burdens with a monotonous and lulling tone through the use of flashbacks, setting, imagery, and metonymy.

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

They met in middle school here at Jefferson. She didn't like him at the time because Tim came to school smelling like manure and she thought farmers were gross. When high school came, they dated for a very long time. They are married now. She has influenced him in more than a few ways. One of the ways she impacted Tim was, she helped make him the best he could be. She influenced him to stay in school and she also keeps an eye out for him. She is his partner in crime. A second impact in Tim's childhood, was his brother, Ted. When he and his siblings were all around middle school age, all the boys had to help move a few of the farm tractors to Tim's farm. Ted didn't want to help that day, but Tim needed his help. He told him he had to and so Ted listened. When Ted was driving the tractor, he took too hard of a turn. It tipped over and he passed away. This impacted Timothy a lot. He blamed the accident all on him and has still yet to forgive himself. He doesn't break out of his shell very often anymore to have a good time because of what happened around 20 years ago. He has gone to a medium with his wife, Lindsey to talk to Ted. Ted told him to have fun more often and play jokes on his family. He even told him to get a tattoo. Tim's third impact was his Grandpa Cota. His grandpa taught him how to do everything on the farm. His grandpa was the person that inspired him to become a farmer and own his own farm. Tim's grandpa was one of the biggest people in Tim's life growing up. His Grandpa Cota was his inspiration and role

The novel, The Things They Carried is a story of one man’s accounts resulting to his tour of duty in Vietnam. Many of the men that are discussed in the book continued to be effected by the war, long after they returned home. Men were left emotionally scared, even if they managed to get out of the war physically unharmed. The

In the book The Things They Carried by, Tim O’Brien portrayed different stories from Vietnam War. Nobody really knows the different things that happen to soldiers in Vietnam. They get paranoid, lose their sense of morality they become angry and frustrated. No one will ever understand the things they are experiencing unless you were in their shoes. In the book there were stories about different historical events and situations the soldiers portrayed. Soldiers who are in the war sometimes do not know the severity and horrors of it all. Some of them have seen and been through a lot. In the war people suffer from physical, mental, and emotional anguish. The one thing they have a hard time doing is coping with it all. There are a lot of issues such

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