The Things They Carried Essay example - 1769 Words

Nikita Keenan 7/14/12 Throughout Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, the persona of the author often serves as a medium between the translation of emotion felt by characters in the story to the reader of the book. By developing fictitious versions of events that transpired while serving in the Vietnam War, O’Brien’s character is able to revive memories from the past as well as spark feelings of understanding and empathy in others. Surprisingly, the tone of the narrator rarely peals away from being passive and humorous, despite the tragic scenes that unfold within the story. Feelings of sorrow and regret intertwine passages in the novel but are never directly addressed, thus, the author’s character seems to be reserved about†¦show more content†¦Many of the words that soldiers used to describe their surroundings and themselves had negative underlying meanings and many of the platoon members and O’Brien (p.54) believed it wasn’t fair that they were out fighting a war while everyone else was back home. The implementation of new words and phrases into the story gave the setting a more authentic feel and added depth to the characters in the book. After reading O’Brien’s book, one sentence that really stuck out to me was earlier in the story (p.39) when the narrator was describing the huge burden that the soldiers not only of his platoon, but everyone in the Vietnam War carried. â€Å"They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity.† The construction of the sentence starts off with a statement that is short but appropriately signifies the epic task at hand. Furthermore, the abruptness of the statement creates momentum for more descriptions to be added later in the sentence. O’Brien begins to list off several grand things such as the atmosphere and gravity which are both obviously impossible to carry and the difficulty of each soldiers job is further magnified to an unimaginable level. This rather long sentence is the most effective found throughout the story because it perfectly describes what ev ery character in the book is feeling and justifies theShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried in the Things They Carried1141 Words   |  5 PagesThe Things They Carried in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† by Tim O’Brien In â€Å"The Things They Carried,† by Tim O’Brien the theme of â€Å"carrying† both physical and emotional objects by the main characters can be found in the novel. While these men carry the same standard physical army gear, they differentiate with personal tangible and intangible items. From Lieutenant Cross’s responsibility of his men, to Henry Dobbin’s girlfriend’s pantyhose for its magic, each man faced the war with these things attachedRead MoreThe Things They Carried880 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien the author tells about his experiences in the Vietnam war by telling various war stories. 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Strong relationships were developed and felt almost as if they were all one personRead MoreThings They Carried2289 Words   |  10 PagesTim OBrien does a fantastic job of blurring the lines of what is true and what is fiction in The Things They Carried. In fact, he often points out that he has made entire stories up, after the fact. He defends his decisions by proposing that what he has done is, in fact, not lie, but rather tell a story-truth. He argues that his reason for doing this is to bring the story to life more than it could live through the happening-truth. I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to kno w why story-truthRead MoreEssay On The Things They Carried1624 Words   |  7 PagesFor the seventeen Soldiers portrayed in â€Å"The Things We Carried† by Tim O’Brien, the physical pain was very minimal weight to carry compared to the emotional scars that they will carry throughout their entire life. This story does an amazing job portraying full human emotion that anyone put into a situation would feel, such as heavy guilt, sadness, anger, lack of motivation, perseverance, horror, and false security. All of these are notorious feelings that every soldier back in history, and now stillRead MoreEssay on The Things They Carried515 Words   |  3 PagesThe Things They Carried The Things They Carried, by Tim OBrien, is a generalization of his own experiences in Vietnam although the story itself is a work of fiction there is still much to be learned from it. Through the actions of soldiers in The Things They Carried we can begin to explore the effect war has on the human condition and the toll it plays on their minds. Some of the themes in the book, The Things They Carried, are bravery and what true bravery is, truth and how the manipulationRead MoreThe Things They Carried Essay1015 Words   |  5 PagesThe text, ‘The Things They Carried, is an excellent example which reveals how individuals are changed for the worse through their first hand experience of war. Following the lives of the men both during and after the war in a series of short stories, the impact of the war is accurately portrayed, and provides a rare insight into the guilt stricken minds of soldiers. ‘The Things They Carried shows the impact of the war in its many forms: the suicide of an ex-soldier upon his return home; the lessening