The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 999 Words

The short story â€Å"The Things They Carried† by Tim O’Brien used many different types of literary devices. Imagery is used to illustrate the war in a descriptive way. Figurative and literal language is used to describe the things that the soldiers carried with them; physically and emotionally. Some of the things that the soldiers carried with them were symbols of luck. Personification was used when mentioning these good lucks symbols and it was also used to describe the dead. Alliteration was used in the short story to emphasize the sound of how fast life could end while being at war. O’Brien used imagery to illustrate the war in a sense to make you feel as if you were there with the soldiers. While staying short and simple, he was also very specific of the details. â€Å"Ted Lavender was shot in the head on his way back from peeing. He lay with his mouth open. The teeth were broken. There was a swollen black bruise under his left eye. The cheekbone was gone† [423] is a perfect example of how O’Brien used imagery. This passage makes you see in your mind what the soldiers seen through their eyes. Another way that imagery was used was describe the geography and the weather of Vietnam during the war. â€Å"Vietnam, the place, the soil—a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues and faces. They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity† [423]. This created an imageShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in the book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thread of suffering from mental unpredictability. Desensitizat ionRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 Pageslove to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I reflect on the many conflicts America has been a part of, none can compare to the tragedies that occurred in The Vietnam war. As told in The Things They Carried (O’Brien), characters such as NormanRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1242 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1169 Words   |  5 Pagesbut are set in the past and borrows things from that time period. A story that fits this genre of literature is The Things They Carried. The story is about Tim O Brien, a Vietnam veteran from the Unite States, who tells stories about what had happ ened when he and his team were stationed in Vietnam. He also talks about what he felt about the war when he was drafted and what he tried to do to avoid going to fight in Vietnam. The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien was precise with its portrayal of settingRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1004 Words   |  5 Pages Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross c arried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1369 Words   |  6 PagesMany authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter â€Å"The Lives of the Dead,† O Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of s torytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the abilityRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 Pages       Our introduction stated that in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncommon things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war – The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 999 Words You can’t be serious, another story about something that is a figment of your imagination? Many readers have read this chapter and so many questions have been raised about what really happened out there in the jungle that night in Vietnam War. We can speculate or feel in the blanks where the author wanted our minds to make sense of what was taking place. Even though, telling a war story is completely different then experiencing a war. Describing the truth of a story can be a challenge with differentiating the truth from a little embellishment. Ironically, the truth in a story is actually true to that story, but the fine line between reality and truth are crossed when it comes to story-telling. How to tell a war story-truth from the†¦show more content†¦There is a thin line between the war stories that are spoken just to make it seem exciting and the war stories that portray the actual events. The readers would believe almost anything and would not question the real-truth or a war story. What would be the point of telling a story if they could not embellish a bit to make the story reach that certain point of aw? The people that were not able to serve, has no account or ideal of what actually happens in war. The story teller wants them to experience the events through their eyes and see the good, bad, and ugly even if it was at the expense of telling a little white lie. That little white lie sometimes acts as an incentive for the person telling the story. Without someone actually being present for the events, your embellishments or lies can create a high level of interest or excitement from the listener. Even with the great stories that intrigue or excite many people, there are some long term effects that war veterans suffer. One of the major effects is Post-Traumatic Street Disorder (PTSD). The reality of the soldiers who experience the war is to live with PTSD and find ways to overcome this disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder causes high levels of anxiety which causes the person The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 999 Words It Takes a Man to Lead Men in Battle A young male, First Lieutenant, in the Army will unintentionally become a man as men server under him. Becoming a man with such unspeakable responsibilities at such a young age can emotionally test even the strongest man. An example, of this transformation is in the short story by Tim O’Brien called, â€Å"The Things They Carried.† It shows a young, First Lieutenant, in the Vietnam War named Jimmy Cross, and his journey to become a successful leader, but only after the death of one of his men. There must be order at all times, and Lt. Cross must become capable of setting aside his own personal mind-set and align his thoughts with that of the essential standard operating procedures (SOP). Lt. Cross eventually†¦show more content†¦Cross ability to be a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. The Lt. chooses to lose a component of his own humanity in order to start to care to save the life of the humans he is commanding over. It doesn’t matter whether someone is enlisted or commissioned, they are still a soldier; furthermore, personal is held accountable for honoring the seven Army core values. A leadership position, stresses the importance of following the Army core values which are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Having the responsibility of following the SOP can become a matter of life or death. Lt. Cross sadly finds out the hard way just how crucial it is to adhere to the Army’s SOP. Military personnel must modify their mindset in order to learn to deal with the difficult issue of death and order. To give an example of the changes men go through at time of war O’Brien says: They made themselves laugh. There it is, they’d say. Over and over-there it is, my friend, there it is-as if the repetition itself were an act of poise, a balance between crazy and almost crazy, knowing without going, there it is, which meant be cool, let it ride, because Oh yeah, man, you can’t change what can’t be changed, there it is, there is absolutely and positively and fucking well is. (O’Brien, Page 381) The serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr comes to my mind when I read this passage, â€Å"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to