Essay on The Things They Carried

Submitted By thickpiss

Words: 431

Pages: 2

Open Document

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is loosely based on the author’s personal experiences while fighting in Vietnam. O’Brien makes the book into a work of fiction by adding and embellishing actual events as well as giving the reader bits of personal information through stories about his war experiences, home and his childhood. O’Brien often brings up the concept of “truth” in his stories by letting the reader understand that although he is not necessarily providing a historically accurate version of something that occurred (such as the killing of an enemy soldier) it doesn’t really matter because it could have happened and it could have happened to anybody who was really there.
The book starts off with a chapter that defines all of the items that the soldiers carried with them. It is interesting to read because one expects it to just be a list of gear, food, drugs and guns but O’Brien makes a point to explain that they are all carrying deep, personal problems such as depression, love, homesickness, guilt and fear. For example, the First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries letters and a pebble sent to him by a young woman that he knew from home. He spends a great deal of time day-dreaming and fantasizing about what she might be doing at that exact moment and wondering if she is thinking about him. All of this emotional baggage distracted him and eventually led to the death of one of his men. Shortly thereafter, Lt. Cross burns the letters and becomes a much more focused and solid leader. O’Brien attempts to

Things They Carried

they held is now gone, which bring these men nothing but a charge of new worries and emotions. In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, also known as the first chapter, is a captivative, up close story about the soldiers in the Vietnam War. Many soldiers do not want to be there and many are young as well.The first chapter connects to the title by stating the things the men carried. O’Brien not only lists the items they took on their duty, but demonstrates the emotional baggage that lies heavy in…

Words 772 - Pages 4

Storytelling In The Things They Carried

and in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, storytelling is definitely defined as a control feature. In Annie John, there are scenes where characters tell stories.. Annie’s autobiography the moments when she recognizes how what she tells has an impact in how others see her and that she can manipulate the truth for effect and so does her mother. Annie also imagines her “story” moving to Belgium, and recognizes her own “self” and it is created by the sum of her experiences. In The Things They Carried…

Words 1093 - Pages 5

Things They Carried Shame

In The Things They Carried, a novel written by Tim O’Brien, the reader is introduced to the everlasting psychological effects of war through his recollection of his own experiences. He incorporates fiction into his story and into the perspectives of other characters whom all faced their own tragedies. Tim O’Brien’s purpose in writing The Things They Carried is to explore the impact of shame on the youth who were forced to join the war. To commence, O’Brien displays the emotional baggage these men…

Words 578 - Pages 3

Thesis For The Things They Carried

How would it feel being in the front line during the war? What if soldiers felt alive instead of fear itself? In the story, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien takes place in the Vietnam War. The story summarizes a young soldier, Jimmy. Jimmy and all of the other soldiers bought the equipments of being prepared for the war. On the other hand, Jimmy is in love with an English major by the name of Martha. Jimmy write and send love letters to Martha. He is madly in love with her, but this love…

Words 914 - Pages 4

The Things They Carried Essay

and it now lives through war. Wars have split countries and even created factions within religions. Perhaps one of the most overlooked consequences of wars are the effects it has on the people who fight them. War is a hellish thing. Only a few people return from wars without changing. In The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, explains the burdens of war through symbolism. The physical and psychological consequences war has on soldiers transforms them into shadows of their former selves. During times of war,…

Words 915 - Pages 4

Essay On The Things They Carried

Carried“The Things They Carried” – The American Civil War, 1861-1865 A soldier fighting in the Civil War had mixed feelings of compelling patriotism, notably with the Confederates but undeniably just as present in the Union, and strong disgust. Battles often consisted of fathers, uncles, sons and brothers all fighting the American states bordering their own. Specific to the Civil War: * Scabbard w/ or w/out detailing (depends): Bayonet scabbards were issued to each soldier as standard…

Words 596 - Pages 3

Ptsd In The Things They Carried

most soldiers have long term effects on their physical and mental health. Hallucinations, paranoia, and suicide are just some of the many effects of PTSD suffered by veterans of war and even those who are still in combat. The chapter of The Things They Carried titled “How to Tell a True War Story” contains examples of soldiers affected by PTSD based on many of O’Brien’s personal experiences. A story of O'Brien's that impacts the story as a whole starts with six soldiers in the midst of Vietnam who…

Words 1611 - Pages 7

Surrealism In The Things They Carried

In the novel, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, it has multiple instances that have surrealism. The simple meaning of surrealism is unusual or dreamlike. Surrealism is something that would be rare to happen in the real world. In the chapter, How To Tell A War Story, it has many examples of surrealism. One example of surrealism in this chapter is, on page 68 the first paragraph on that page, when Tim O’Brien states, “Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t…”. He says this because…

Words 457 - Pages 2

Symbolism In The Things They Carried

War Scar Wars start at anytime when people want to start, but wars do not stop as people wish to stop. The short story, “The Things They Carried” by William Timothy O’Brien, sufficiently depicts some veterans’ expectation for peace and their disappointment after the Vietnam War. The protagonist, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his men challenged their moral limited to survive in the war. However, they have to face more difficult situation to enter the peaceful life, even though a peaceful life is a…

Words 566 - Pages 3

Superstition In The Things They Carried

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien (pg.315-323) is about the physical, emotional, and spiritual weight that soldiers carried during the Vietnam War. As O’Brien explains, the physical things soldiers carried depended on necessity, rank, the mission, and personal superstitions. Out of necessity, soldiers carried things such as mosquito repellant, lighters, or water. Based on rank, they carried equipment such as a 26-pound radio or an M-60. A large portion of the things they carried depended…

Words 218 - Pages 1