Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Words: 1325
Pages: 6
Open Document
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 fighting in the Vietnam War. The protagonist is Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. He is in charge, but constantly lost in daydreams about his Martha who is back home. She writes him letters, and he treasures every one, falling in love with her just over those …show more content…
He was sent only on year after the My Lai Massacre. The My Lai Massacre was an event lead by American soldiers that left nearly 500 Vietnam civilians dead. This was the majority of the My Lai population and those killed included women, children, and the elderly. O’Brien, being a United State soldier who had to camp out in this town only a year after the event must have led to some confusing emotions. Especially when you were already questioning, even arguing against, the war before you joined. The overlying idea of The Things They Carried of this story is the struggle of dealing with both physical and emotional burdens. While all the characters carry actual physical items, like guns and food, they also carry emotional baggage like grief, love, longing, depression, and fear. O’Brien dealt with both of these in his own life. During his time in the war, O’Brien carried his own physical bags and left with his own form of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). In his interview, O’brien he did admit that he struggles:
I don’t like talking about the past. I’d really prefer to bury it for my psychological wellbeing. And yet, because I’m a writer, I can’t. I’ve made a choice, and so I’ve got to stick with it… I’m trapped in what I can’t forget it, nor could I. (Herzog
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

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

situation of the characters. Tim O’Brien writes his novels with numerous uses of metaphors, symbolism, and personification, all while telling different war stories that may or may not have been real. However, what evokes thought in the reader's mind is the specific choice to ask about their feelings and their thoughts as part of the book. How would they react to situations like these if they were put in the shoes of the soldiers? In the book, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien…

Words 1760 - Pages 8

Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Art and literature, although sometimes produced by the imagination of the artist, has always influenced people’s minds, causing wonder and introspection. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is about the Vietnam War and his experiences, but he claims the book is mostly fiction. Later, in an interview with Texas Monthly, he states that “accuracy is irrelevant” and that when discussing the Mona Lisa and its accuracy, he says, “Who cares? It's a great piece of art! It moves us to the next level. It…

Words 1511 - Pages 7

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