The Things They Carried is a novel written by Tim O’ Brien that portrays several ideas of the Vietnam War. The novel presents how many dealt with tragic and alarming conditions during harsh times. Men had choices wether or not they wanted to join the war‚ fled the country‚ or stay in Vietnam once arriving. Guilt played a mind game with all of these choices. The fear of being killed and watching someone be killed was horrendous. Through different stories‚ events‚ and mental images of what Vietnam
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Tim O’Brien’s and my list are different in various ways‚ though they both begin with some sort of representation of family‚ showing that kin are highly regarded for each. While both of our lists share this familial aspect‚ they are more different than alike. First‚ O’Brien’s and my definitions of home contrast in that he describes home as his entire town whereas I depict my actual home. In The Thing They Carried‚ he depicted his version of home through
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Luttrell was a member of the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War and wrote this letter twenty two years later: “Dear Sir‚ For [twenty two] years I have carried your picture in my wallet. I was only eighteen years old that day we faced one another on that trail in Vietnam. Why you did not take my life I’ll never know. You started
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feel the same about certain things” (26). The tragedies of war can never be understood by one who has not experienced it‚ and soldiers must overcome the mental barricade of fitting back into an unknowing society when returning from duty. At times‚ this mental barricade‚ combined with the
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soldiers when they returned from war. This story is told by 22 chapters‚ each chapter contains a story‚ all of the stories are linked together. In the beginning of the story the author describes and lists the items that soldiers carry in combat. These items consisted of matches‚ food‚ pictures‚ money‚ ammo‚ grenades‚ etc. In “Spin”‚ O’Brien talks about all of the ordinary things soldiers do while they are at war‚ such as playing chess and card games. In this chapter the author describes the war as
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Tim O’Brien’s emotional anti-war message The Vietnam War was a war of great ambiguity. Flowered up with the illusive ideas of heroism and triumph‚ millions of America’s innocent youth were drafted to fight a war in Vietnam. The consequences for this war were grave and dire. Millions from both sides lost their lives for a seemingly unreasonable cause. In his novel "The Things They Carried"‚ Tim O’Brien changes the glorified way in which media and textbooks portray war‚ telling gruesome stories
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wouldn’t have to go through something he didn’t support. This relates tremendously to war and probably how he felt after it. In war people do things that they aren’t proud off‚ and those things are often left better unsaid. O’Brien aims not to fantasize war like a lot of other novels do but rather show how war really is. He just can’t be one hundred percent truthful because he is ashamed of what he did and some things are left better unsaid. This is because in war the rules you were raised with are
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After Ted Lavender is shot‚ Lt. Cross carries the guilt of his death‚ he felt as though he hadn’t don’t his job protecting his men. “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men‚ and as a consequence Lavender was now dead‚ and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (O’Brien‚ 7). Lt. Cross’ story shows the battles one in the service goes
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of his society by going to war against his will. Before receiving his draft notice Tim O’Brien goes through a basic period of following his own desires in the safety of the society that he lives in. He goes to college and follows his passions. At this point in his life the war is far away and isn’t going to affect him‚ but he does recognize it. O’Brien “took a modest stance against the war‚ nothing to radical‚ no hothead stuff”. He made a decision that his personal desires were more important than
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The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien uses narratives to evoke various thoughts within the reader. Yet Mary Anne Bell’s story is a cautionary tale of the influence the battlefield has on a person. One of the medics‚ Mark Fossie‚ decides to bring his high school sweetheart right into the war‚ not comprehending the cost of his action. The war turns innocent‚ naïve soldiers into brutal‚ desensitized killers; Mary Anne being no exception. Her tale illustrates how the war physically and mentally alters
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