The Things They Carried Theme Questions 1. What was taken from Ted Lavender after he died and why did they use it? Who was blaming himself for his death? They took his dope and smoked it. This was to help relieve the stresses of the war. Jimmy Cross held on to the guilt of letting Ted die because he was distracted from the war. 2. Many of the characters were superstitious‚ for example Dobbins wore pantyhose around his neck even after she broke up with him. How does their superstition
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The role of symbols in The Things They Carried Symbolism in O’Brien’s The Things They Carried runs rampant and plays a part in conveying the author’s message. O’Brien uses symbols to link ideas together. Symbols can be decrypted by the reader to unearth the true essence of the work. Symbols appear in all forms in the work‚ recurring as both tangible and intangible. O’Brien chooses to embed symbols everywhere in the text‚ in the structure‚ the characters. Some symbols are more discreetly
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“The Things They Carried” is about the thoughts and actions of Jimmy Cross‚ a lieutenant of an Army unit on active combat duty in the Vietnam War. Lt. Cross is worried by thoughts of Martha‚ a young woman he dated before he joined the Army. He thinks about letters she wrote him‚ whether or not she is a virgin. And about how much he loves her and wants her to love him. Her letters do not indicate that she feels the same way. The narrator lists things that the soldiers carry with them‚ both tangible
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and unguarded) was suddenly gone; when you land‚ everything you see is different. Would you feel a loss? Within the works of The Things They Carried‚ Girl‚ Interrupted‚ and “Letter from Marion Kempner”‚ the characters experience loss in several ways. The central theme in these three works is a sense of loss. Tim O’Brien‚ the author of The Things They Carried‚ experienced many instances of this feeling‚ particularly with losing relationships and innocence. He writes about his friend Jimmy
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Kiowa Kiowa is a very unique character in the book The Things They Carried he seems to be the "ideal" soldier. He is very full of life and caring. Even in horrible situations‚ he knows the right things to say. For example in the chapter "The Man I Killed" Kiowa knows just what to say to O’Brien while he is in shock after killing a young man. "All right let me ask a question You want to trade places with him." Turn it all upside down- you want that. I mean‚ be honest." p 126 Unlike Azar
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Cited: O ’Brien‚ Tim . The Things They Carried. New York‚ NY: Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence‚ 1990. Print. “195: War Stories” This American Life. National Public Radio. 2001. Web. 28 September 2001. Transcript. Tom Paxton. Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation. 1965. Document.
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O’Brien characterizes the soldiers as reluctant to kill‚ dying dreadfully when he says‚ “Men killed‚ and died‚ because they were embarrassed not to.” (#) In plain text‚ this quote explains that men killed and died because they would feel a sense of shame if they did not. However‚ by providing embarrassment as an explanation for killing and dying‚ the reader is challenged to consider each soldier as an individual who chose to kill people and chose to die. Generally‚ a war itself is considered responsible
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A time; a moment of examples of friendship/kindness that had a significant impact on a character/person or characters/people‚ as it helped someone through a difficult time. Was shown in the two books that i read‚ “Kaffir boy” and “The Things They Carried”. To begin with. Kaffir boy shows a wide spread of the friendship and kindness throughout the book considering how he is dealt with his family life‚ his surrounding in Johannesburg and how living in a 3rd world-poor country has affected him emotionally
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both alter his life completely. Number one is to run to Canada where he can live free of war and live his life by his own standards. Number two requires his submission to the judgmental remarks of his townspeople and society by fighting in the war. Tim O’Brien‚ the author‚ ultimately chooses option two‚ and states he chose the coward’s choice of a solution. Setting plays a key role in illuminating O’Brien’s life-changing decision and what swayed him to choose the cowardly option. The meat factory
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In Tim O’Brien’s novel‚ The Things They Carried‚ numerous themes are illustrated by the author. Through the portrayal of a number of characters‚ Tim O’Brien suggests that to adapt to Vietnam is not always more difficult than to revert back to the lives they once knew. Correspondingly the theme of change is omnipresent throughout the novel‚ specifically in the depiction of numerous characters. Tim O’Brien is drafted one month after graduating from Macalester College to fight a war he hated. Tim O’Brien
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