The Things They Carried Essays

Beyond the Things They Carried The Vietnam War began in 1954, consisting of many extensive, horrific years of battle that seemed to create more harm to the United States and its soldiers rather than to North Vietnam. The 500,000 United States military personnel returned home with the loss of the war and the loss of their friends on their minds. Although the physical and emotional experiences that the men went through is unfathomable, Tim O’Brien does a great job portraying what life as a soldier

own lives. When thinking about this part of the story, we can think about what pasts we carry and what crowds our mind. We can make the conclusion if the stuff that we are letting get in the way our worth it. This is where we see that “The Things They Carried” is seen as good literature. We can experience war as a soldier through the eyes of a soldier and also relate back to our lives and how it is relevant. There’s the hidden message to make us think between the lines. “How I Learned to Read and

The Things They Carried The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, 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 manipulation

Real Life or Fantasy: The Repercussions and Advantages of Abstraction in the Vietnam War as described in the Short Story The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien There is a man playing for the New York Mets, he is in the last inning and has one last chance to win. As the hitter and newest player, he is especially apprehensive, so much so that he is focusing immoderately on how he got there, how proud his parents must be of him for achieving his dreams, in hopes to soothe his nerves—he is not in the

"The Things They Carried," is a story about drafted soldiers during the Vietnam era who were sent to the Vietnam War. The author, Tim O’Brien, describes the things that the men carry during their tour of duty. The items carried are both physical and impalpable items and what these things are is subject to the individual soldier. They carry the necessities for survival in the jungles of Vietnam as well as the personal things each soldier feels necessary to make life as comfortable as possible. Additionally

The symbol the butterflies in The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is significant because it represents hope and Elysian even though the main idea is to show the emotional and physical burdens of war. To emphasize the butterflies are mentioned six times throughout the whole book. The first time they are mentioned even though they were in war it was actually a beautiful place, “ravines and gorges and fast moving rivers and waterfalls and exotic butterflies and steep cliffs.” I believe he was saying

Summary: In an excerpt from “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the unnamed narrator uses third person to describe the literal things that Vietnam War Veterans carried physically as well as what they carried mentally and emotionally with them. The thoughts and endeavors of Jimmy Cross, the lieutenant of an Army unit in the Vietnam War are described by the narrator. Other members of the unit are introduced to the story as well through descriptions of the things they are carrying, examples are

Tim O’Brien, the author tells the story about the Vietnam War through different perspective of the character in different stories. In the book, The Things They Carried, one of the short stories “Notes” Tim O’Brien wrote a meta-fiction story, which allows him to explain the reasons why he had written this short story “Speaking of Courage.” In 1975, O’Brien receives a letter from Norman Bowker hoping that O’Brien

Beginning. Thematic Statement: “The Things They Carried”- The mental and morale that a person go through is intense because it becomes the fundamental that will be throughout the whole story. Device Concrete Detail w/ MLA Commentary Situational Irony of how the soldier talked about Lavender “They told stories about Ted Lavender’s supply of tranquilizers, how the poor guy didn’t feel a thing, how incredibly tranquil he was”(O’Brien

the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what item was most surprising? Which item did you find most evocative of the war? Foot powder was most surprising to me. This also shows us how much these soldiers had to travel in the war. In what sense does Jimmy love Martha? Why does he construct this elaborate, mostly fictional, relationship with her: What does this reveal about his character? The sense Jimmy loves Martha is that she gives him perseverance. Martha is the thing that makes Jimmy get