Preview

Essay On Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
690 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'
There are many different controversies on the information in “The Things They Carried”. Some believe to tell a good story, there's only facts and no truth, but some think that there needs to be all fictional elements and no facts to make a good story. A majority of people say that an excellent story starts with facts and adds in other elements like metaphors, symbolism, and imagery because visualizing the story helps the reader connect to the unfamiliar event.
Using imagery is a smart way to engage an audience and keep someone on their seat to keep reading. Tim O'Brien uses imagery to connect and entertain his audience in an effective way. “..not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic... after a day's march, he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light pretending.. He wanted Martha to love him as he loved her” (1). This quote gives the reader evidence that imagery can create a new picture and really help you understand a story in a deeper level. This is more suitable than using facts because using facts can not create a vivid, lasting picture in the reader’s mind. …show more content…
“He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay with one leg bent beneath him, his jaw in his throat, his face neither expressive nor inexpressive. One eye was shut. The other was star-shaped hole.”(124). Instead of Tim O'Brien telling us facts about this man, he was describing what was happening and how the man looked. Using the 5 senses can help describe in a meaningful way. That is because using the 5 senses can connect with the reader and create an image in their mind to understand what is happening on a deeper
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'
    • 230 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary Of Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'

    In chapter nine of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, O’Brien tells a second-hand story of a girl, Mary Anne. The story is set a few months prior, when Rat Kiley is assigned to a small medical camp, which is referred to as “ideal” (87), because there is never strenuous work to be done. This undemanding atmosphere prompts a soldier to jokingly wonder if a woman can be snuck in, but another, Fossie, takes his remark seriously and writes to his girlfriend back home. Six weeks later, a young, effervescent blonde arrives. At first, many of the men objectify and belittle her because of her gender, but she proves them wrong when she take genuine interest in combat and the culture around her. As the weeks pass, Vietnam changes Mary Anne. She transitions…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'
    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'

    | |In May 1974 his writing career was launched off he worked for the Washington |…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analyctial Essay Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried
    • 2108 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Analyctial Essay Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried

    The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a very descriptive story about a group of soldiers and their experiences during and after the Vietnam War. Included in this story of their experiences , is the physical weight of the objects they had to carry during the war. O’Brien not only tells the reader about the physical weight of war material , but also of the mental and emotional weight the war had on the soldiers. He goes into depth about the burdens of guilt, love, memory and terror the war had on his fellow men. O’Brien is sure to exaggerate these emotions in the story and makes it apparent to the reader that the physical weight of the war is heavy, but the emotional and mental weight are both heavier.…

    • 2108 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Intangible Weights In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Intangible Weights In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    In the first chapter of The Things They Carried, “The Thing They Carried”, Tim O’Brien uses the motif of intangible weights the men carry and how they have the strength to alter one's performance and emotional state at war. The intangible weight of Martha's love is like a barbell Jimmy Cross can never seem to let go of. Continuously carrying extra weight, Cross expresses how he "love[d] Martha more than his men" (6), which results in the death of one of his men soldiers Ted Lavender. Cross’s love for Martha distracts him from his responsibility as a lieutenant to have the backs of and “love” (6) his men. The intangible weight of Martha's love that he can't return distracts Cross from his duty as a lieutenant. Being distracted from his responsibilities…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

    In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien there were many characters that could be considered a “lead character” but by far First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was the character who demonstrated an enormous amount of leadership, courage, and determination. Throughout the story it is difficult to see where First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross gathers his strength from. In the beginning of the short story, he seems very strong but towards the end of the story he also seems to still be gathering strength from somewhere. Due to Cross having immense feelings and connections to the world outside of the war, he is unable to focus on his men and his surroundings. So much so that he has a man killed on his watch, to which he feels undeniable grief and responsibility towards. Martha was his link to helping him stay out of the war, mentally and emotionally. All of his emotions and thoughts lay with her, lay with all she symbolized of leaving behind and all he wanted to return home to. That is why throughout the story “Martha never mentioned the war, except to say, Jimmy take care of yourself.” was so important and valid. That statement all throughout the book showed she was not involved in the war, in his hardships across seas, just in seeing his was safe in what he was doing. She helped and hindered his day to day duties.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Struggle of "Weight" in Tim O'Brien's the Things They Carried
    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Struggle of "Weight" in Tim O'Brien's the Things They Carried

    The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word "weight" as "a mass or quantity of something taken up and carried, conveyed, or transported." Tim O'Brien's war story The Things They Carried, published in 1990, explores the theme of weight and its importance to men at war in considerable depth. The opening chapter of this book, which was originally written as a short story, is comprised of a collection of lists. O'Brien details for his reader both the physical objects, such as cigarettes, C rations, and packets of Kool-Aid, and the more intangible things, such as fear and silent awe, that weigh these soldiers down. With the amount of space that the author gives to enumerating the weight of these objects, one might assume that these objects are what are really important to these soldiers, but in reality it is the incalculable weight of their spiritual burdens that truly weigh them down.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Things They Carried: Book Review
    • 1135 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Things They Carried: Book Review

    Often times, it’s difficult for generations set apart from a historical war, or for those who never served in the military, to truly understand the consequences of being a soldier. History books spell out the political and official side of a war story but it is only through personal accounts that one can come to appreciate the reality of the unnerving terror offered by war. In his novel, The Things They Carried, author Tim O’Brien creates a work of historical fiction that gives new meaning to personal accounts. The characters and situational plots bring a sense of depth to the Vietnam War that is not always confronted or even appreciated.…

    • 1135 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Symbolism In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    In the story, “The Things They Carried” symbolism had a big role in how the write gave…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis

    The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, recounts the horrible experiences of soldiers at war in Vietnam. Throughout the novel, the author not only tells war stories, but tales about his own life, often referencing and dwelling on those who have made an impact on his life. He stresses the importance of these people and stories, often referring to them as “war stories” although many of these are not true. They serve as an outlet for O’Brien, allowing him to let go of these horrible memories but also letting him keep the importance that they had on his life. These stories and messages are emphasized through the symbols displayed in the novel, the imagery used throughout, and the anecdotes that recount his memories.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Literary Devices Used in the Things They Carried
    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Literary Devices Used in the Things They Carried

    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.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Critical Review for "The Things They Carried"
    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Critical Review for "The Things They Carried"

    On October 1st 1946, author Tim O’Brien was born. He would soon go on to right the intense, detailed, and slightly-gory novel titled The Things They Carried. In this memoir, O’Brian tells a plethora of short stories about his time in Vietnam fighting for the United Stated Army. O’Brian includes a dozen of his fellow privates of which were in the very same platoon as himself. Many of the short stories in this worldly novel take place somewhere within Vietnam Canada, and the small home towns of a couple other characters. Author Tim O’Brien uses a plethora of short stories to compose the book "The Things They Carried"…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Were the Things They Carried
    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What Were the Things They Carried

    An author commonly uses literary devices in their text to both interest the audience, and to create a bigger depth to their work. In “The Things They Carried”, there are a few different elements Tim O’Brien uses to captivate his audience. Imagery, symbolism, and theme were a few of the devices he chose to use in this work. Throughout the story, he explains what the men carried, and by doing so, created a depth to this story that wouldn’t have been shown otherwise. The things they carried were of importance to them, as well as important to explaining their story and their life at war.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    “Story Truth” and “Happening Truth” in the Things They Carried
    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages

    “Story Truth” and “Happening Truth” in the Things They Carried

    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 the truth, it is still possible to analyze his work and come to a diffident conclusion as to what is “happening truth” and what is “story truth”. “Happening truth” is the actual, factual occurrence of an event, but the real “happening truth” would mean nothing if it were not made believable, enjoyable and readable by applying “story truth”. A few chapters of the book stand out more than others when it comes to this concept of truth that Tim O’Brien tinkers with. These chapters include “Love”, “How to Tell a True War Story”, “The Man I Killed”, and “Good Form”.…

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Reflection Of Memory In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Reflection Of Memory In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    Every person at some point in their lives feels embarrassment or if they are not enough to reach the goal or be a hero. After these feelings replay in our minds we to try to make up an excuse for not being able to achieve this standard but in reality it was a weakness we could not overcome. Everyone desires approval and are very competitive through everyday situations. We know if we do not live up to the standards of society and the ones we have set for ourselves, our minds become scared that other people will think of our self image as cowardly. In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses the reflection of soldiers past memories to show cowardly self thought and concern of not being worthy in defective situations. These examples…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

    Summary: The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien at first seemed to be just another war story. As I started reading I thought I was not going to have any interest at all in the story however after I got into the story I found myself more interested than I thought I was going to be. This story is an excellent depiction of war itself. It is very realistic and easy to relate to even without any personal experience with war. The title itself paves the way for the entire story, it could not be any better for the story then it is. The entire story is about “the things they carried” and the author does choose to go into great detail about the things that they did carry.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics