The Things They Carried Literary Analysis
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a semi-autobiographical novel based on O’Brien’s experience in the Vietnam War. In the book, O’brien tells about the events leading up to him being drafted, war stories, and some narratives about his comrades. He says that he did not join the war because of morals, but because he was scared not to. Throughout the book, the characters have been coping with death/mortality, social obligations/pressures, guilt/shame, and moral conflicts. O’Brien shares his thoughts on what makes a “true war story” which is very interesting. Overall, O’Brien induces thought and feeling through the interesting medium of stories and language.
The way O’Brien describes stories and language themselves is intriguing. He tells …show more content…
He tells a different story about Lemon who “had a tendency to play the tough soldier role,” (82). One day, a dentist was coming to see the men. According to O’Brien, Lemon, “didn’t mind the blood or pain—he actually enjoyed the combat — but there was something about a dentist that just gave him the creeps” (83). So when it was his turn, “It was over fast. He fainted even before the man touched him.” (83). When Lemon woke up, O’Brien says “The embarrassment must’ve turned a screw in his head. Late that night he crept down to the dental tent… The dentist couldn’t find any problem, but Lemon kept insisting, so the man finally shrugged and shot in the Novocain and yanked out a perfectly good tooth. There was some pain, no doubt, but in the morning Curt Lemon was all smiles” (84). Lemon’s actions are confusing at first, someone so scared of the dentist deciding to go and ask for help. However the humiliation he faced after being exposed as not a “tough soldier” drove him to take the actions he took. “Maybe it was a low opinion of himself that he kept trying to erase” (82) and he felt he had something to prove to himself and others by living through the terror of the dentist and making that fear seem small. Only then, could he rightfully feel valid once
The way O’Brien describes stories and language themselves is intriguing. He tells …show more content…
He tells a different story about Lemon who “had a tendency to play the tough soldier role,” (82). One day, a dentist was coming to see the men. According to O’Brien, Lemon, “didn’t mind the blood or pain—he actually enjoyed the combat — but there was something about a dentist that just gave him the creeps” (83). So when it was his turn, “It was over fast. He fainted even before the man touched him.” (83). When Lemon woke up, O’Brien says “The embarrassment must’ve turned a screw in his head. Late that night he crept down to the dental tent… The dentist couldn’t find any problem, but Lemon kept insisting, so the man finally shrugged and shot in the Novocain and yanked out a perfectly good tooth. There was some pain, no doubt, but in the morning Curt Lemon was all smiles” (84). Lemon’s actions are confusing at first, someone so scared of the dentist deciding to go and ask for help. However the humiliation he faced after being exposed as not a “tough soldier” drove him to take the actions he took. “Maybe it was a low opinion of himself that he kept trying to erase” (82) and he felt he had something to prove to himself and others by living through the terror of the dentist and making that fear seem small. Only then, could he rightfully feel valid once