Tim O Brien Women

Lily Bokus Mr. Beck American Literature Honors 07 May 2024 Women’s Roles In War When thinking about war, especially in the 1950s, most people’s minds automatically go to men in uniforms, passionately fighting for their countries and their freedom. Rarely do people consider the roles women played throughout major wars, specifically the Vietnam War. The novel “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, explains a different side of the war that is often overlooked: the role played by women. O’Brien’s novel details the horrors soldiers face in battle and focuses more on the mental effects of war, rather than the physical. He frequently reflected on his past, such as by telling the story of Linda, to better explain his perspective on the war. He …show more content…
Linda’s story is much more powerful in terms of her role in O’Brien’s life. She was sued to represent the loss of innocence that comes with facing death, as well as being the person who exposed him to death for the first time. Linda's story is told several times throughout the chapter, one of the earliest beings from the chapter “On the Rainy River”. O’Brien keeps her story brief, but adds to it each time her name is mentioned. In this chapter, he states, “... and a nine-year-old girl named Linda who died of a brain tumor back in fifth grade...” (O’Brien, 2004, p.56). Throughout the rest of this paragraph, O’Brien is reminiscing on his past and the people that shaped him into who he became. Her death was one of the most life-changing moments he experienced before entering the war. The impact of her life is restated constantly, but the most notable took place in the last chapter, “The Lives of the Dead”. O’Brien states that he constantly thinks about all of the people he once knew who passed away so young. O’Brien finally went in-depth on who Linda truly was to …show more content…
He went on to state that Linda was changing his eyes and he couldn’t fully grasp what was happening. She started wearing a red cap to school and his parents told him Linda was sick. Other kids always picked on her, but O’Brien stated he did what he could to protect her from them. A short while later, Linda passed away from a brain tumor. O’Brien explained this to be the moment his childlike innocence was lost forever, and the first time he was exposed to such terrible things. At the end of the chapter, he restates his love for Linda and that his motivation to save the lives of others came from his previous inability to save the life of his true love (O’Brien, 2004, p.232). The death of Linda shaped O’Briend into the person he showed himself as in his novel. He cared so deeply about everyone around him to the point he would do anything to save those he could, and never forgot about those he couldn’t. Print Source x 2? In conclusion, the women in “The Things They Carried” served as representations of the effects of war on everyday people. The characters of Mary Anne, Martha, and Linda represent the war in different

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