Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Words: 1338
Pages: 6
Open Document
Choices define a person’s identity, but someone can also make the wrong choice, leading to serious consequences. The novel The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, explores the topics of death, trauma, and the enduring effects of war on the individuals who partake in it. It is a compilation of short stories that portray the experiences of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. O’Brien writes from his own experience, blurring the lines between fiction and nonfiction as he provides details on the impact of war on the human psyche. Author Tim O’Brien expresses the idea of how war can change a person’s identity through the character of Mary Anne Bell. He uses her to serve as an example of how the disturbing realities of war and the changes …show more content…
This later changed when Mary began to learn more about the war and even started to participate in the activities. At night she would often be late, but after a while she wouldn’t “come in at all” which caused the relationship between the two to be strained and questionable (O’Brien 95). This is one of the consequences of war, as the change in the person also causes the change in the relationships around them. In Fossie’s eyes, Mary was “lost” and he really wanted to help her because he “can’t just let her go like that,” because in his eyes, Mary does not seem happy, she seems driven by a false sense of purpose (O’Brien 100, 107). Mary Anne has become so immersed in the war around her that she has failed to consider what the others might feel about her change. Another consequence of war is the way it hurts the people that care about an individual when they change. Mary Anne had made friends with the soldiers at the camp, and Rat even claimed that he “loved her” (O’Brien 108). Once she started to spiral and lose herself, the others could not get her back. Try as they may “she’s already gone” (O’Brien
Show More

Related Documents: Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

In 1990, The author Tim O'Brien wrote a book called "The Things They Carried" which was about a Vietnam war. It was the longest battle in U.S history. Since the U.S. couldn't get control of a South Vietnam and eventually North Vietnam took control of South Vietnam. The Vietnam war occurred in the year 1959 and ceased in the year 1975. There was a conflict between the U.S and communist government. The main idea of this war was to prevent the expansion of communism in Asia and Vietnam. The combat…

Words 244 - Pages 1

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien, Vietnam War veteran, perhaps more than any other author gives eloquent and contrary voice to American involvement in war. From his own experiences in Vietnam, O’ Brien wrote a series of anti-war theme novels, including his acclaimed 1987 short story “The Things They Carried,” considered one of the top 100 short stories of the twentieth century (e.g., John Updike and Katrina Kenison, eds., The Best American Short Stories of the Century, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999). In his…

Words 770 - Pages 4

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a short story that is semi-autobiographical account of O’Brien’s time as a soldier. The story is an account of a soldiers experience in the Vietnam war but because of O’Brien’s own history and talent for storytelling, we still talk about it today. They story relates directly to a soldier, but it connects with the very real and confusing emotions of attachment, young love, and loss too. To summarized, The Things They Carried is about a platoon of men who are…

Words 1325 - Pages 6

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

symbols about the things I carry throughout the poem, was not necessarily objects that I bring to school or have everywhere I go, but rather the things I carry from past experiences, and tied them to a physical object that I do own; in a sense working in reverse. I wanted to express how the burdens, experiences, and the emotions that I have experienced shape my identity. The structure of the poem is a series of reflections of different times of my life, or very different things, which I decided to…

Words 336 - Pages 2

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

is Beauty “The Things They Carried”, a series of short stories composed by Tim O’Brien, illustrates how the Vietnam War affects soldiers mentally through his incredible use of syntax and word choices. O’Brien brings to light the elements of beauty hidden behind the death of characters such as the boy he killed, Curt Lemon, and even the baby buffalo, to convey the various feelings and emotions brought upon during wars. Curt Lemon has one of the most beautifully depicted deaths in Tim O’Brien’s stories…

Words 499 - Pages 2

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

As I began reading “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, I started to believe that it was going to be about reuniting lovers, an once upon a time story. I wondered if his describing of Martha and how “he wanted Martha to love him as much as he loved her” would come up repeatedly in the story. However, as I began reading the rather extensive list of items such as “P-83 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, etc…,”(92) it appeared as if it was going to be a war story. I found myself questioning…

Words 347 - Pages 2

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

careful the next time. So next time you're walking towards a door, you’ll make sure to check for a push or pull sign before humiliating yourself, or check the receiver's name of that text about your crush. Likewise, this occurs in Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried. Throughout the novel, O’Brien expresses that fear of indignity uncovers motivation in the soldiers of the Vietnam war of 1955. O’Brien…

Words 591 - Pages 3

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

one may believe. They are often tragic and inconclusive. Tragedies do not always have a lesson to be learned, and that is what Tim O’Brien is trying to express through his novel The Things They Carried. War stories are hard to tell because they have no morals or lessons. All they are is the experiences of boys who were forced to fight in a hopeless war. They are the only thing these soldiers have to show for their efforts, and O’Brien is no different. One of the earliest stories O’Brien…

Words 888 - Pages 4

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien intended, when writing The Things They Carried, to spread and raise awareness for the Vietnam war, and for those that fought in it. Although the story is historical fiction, it recounts Tim O’Brien’s personal experience being drafted and fighting in the Vietnam War. It gives insight into the personal lives of the fictional characters, and lets you step into their shoes. It also paints the picture of how one would look at the Vietnam War. Many people were not alive when the Vietnam war…

Words 444 - Pages 2

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

personal and professional understanding of Vietnam. As a language arts educator, I have an option to teach students about literature and experiences from a wide variety of places. One thing I do lack is personal experience in many of these places. For one particular novel, The Things They Carried by Minnesota local Tim O’Brien, students get to explore the Vietnamese jungles during the Vietnam conflict. For this reason, I am looking for the opportunity to explore the Vietnamese countryside and jungle…

Words 605 - Pages 3