In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” the raw realities of the cruel and unforgiving Vietnam War are authentically depicted. Just in the first five paragraphs sex‚ narcotics‚ and death‚ largely controversial topics in this country‚ are reasonably apparent. One character‚ Lieutenant Jimmy Cross‚ may be physically present but conveys every sign of distraction. He seems to be in a more copacetic quarter of his mind. In this quarter he finds elation and comfort when he thinks of the (so he thinks
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funny joke or a humorous anecdote‚ even the taste of a beloved food. There are however‚ certain subjects and emotions that are not as easily described and spoken about. These subjects are only fully experienced as they happen. In the novel The Things They Carried‚ the author Tim O’Brien makes an effective attempt to bring the feelings and emotions of the Vietnam War to the reader. The characters Mary Anne‚ Linda‚ and Kathleen serve as symbols of his efforts. Using these characters O’Brien conveys the
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Casualties‚ drugs‚ terror‚ violence‚ volatility‚ and mental instability are all well too common for any war. For the Vietnam War‚ it exceeded all of these. In The Things They Carried‚ all of the soldiers were faced with these burdening issues on a day-to-day basis‚ fearing for their lives‚ their perceived loved ones‚ and their own emotional sanity. Because this war put on a great deal of stress on the soldiers‚ there was an eagerness to escape the war and their life that they were fighting for. It
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Shame is a reoccuring theme throughout The Things They Carried. Shame makes people do things they don’t want to do just so they can get rid of the fear of shame. It drove soldiers to do acts they would’ve never done. Many of the characters have shame as a primary motivator. It leads them to war and it keeps them there. It is the one thing that keeps them from shooting themselves in the foot so that they would be discharged from the army or some similar such act. But some characters‚ like Curt Lemon
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Tim O’Brien beautifully details the war zone and its aftereffects on specific veterans in The Things They Carried. Some war veterans leave their respective battle with war stories and life lessons to tell‚ but others leave empty-handed with an empty soul. Despite remedies recently implanted for veterans‚ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) continues to negatively impact not only certain veterans but also society. To begin with‚ veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD have difficulty adjusting to the
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In the reading of the book‚ “The Things They Carried‚” by Tim O’Brien ‚ I had mixed emotion on this book because of how the events were organized and how O’Brien decide to narrator the book. For example in the beginning of the reading it was understandable and made sense‚ however after the first couple of chapters I did not know what or who was talking or being talked about. O’Brien would be talking about some war story or someone ‚ and in reality it was really Rat Kiley‚Curt Lemon or Azar talking
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“The Things They Carried” By Tim O’ Brien This short story is about a young lieutenant that learns the hard way that war can cause serious consequences. While reading this story I got really bored with the way the author names every single thing they carried. I honestly didn’t see the importance of knowing exactly what they were carrying. It was kind of just annoying to me until I read the story all the way through and I realized how important it really was to name all the things the soldiers
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“The Things They Carried” In the short story “The Things They Carried”‚ Tim O’Brien wrote about the experience of war and the feelings young soldiers felt during their long days of travel. During the story he keeps referring back to the things the soldiers chose to carry in their packs. Some of these items included necessity items like grenades and ammunition‚ but they also carry sentimental items like love letters and pictures. These items help the reader better understand each person for
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Jeff Jackson Instructor Barbara Manuel English 112 3 March 2013 Shell Shock: A Bloodless Battlefield A storyteller of war‚ Tim O’Brien‚ author of The Things They Carried‚ keeps the reader mesmerized with PTSD stories of the Vietnam War. This novel represents a compound documentary written on accounts of the Vietnam War. Many of the stories in this book encompass various examples of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are graphical depictions
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Bravery in The Things They Carried “Success is not final‚ failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill (Churchill) Without being courageous‚ you cannot be brave. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary‚ courage is “a mental or moral strength to venture‚ preserve‚ and withstand danger‚ fear‚ or difficulty.” Everyday people show bravery. Every great thing we set out to do‚ whether its raise children‚ start a business‚ study for a degree‚ or change the world
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