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Symbolism of "The Things They Carried
Symbolism of "The Things They Carried
The things they carried items being symbolic
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On November 1, 1955 the Vietnam War started and with it, a series of conflicts arose. Many people in the US disagreed with the injustices that were taking place throughout the war and they felt the need to protest. At the same time, a lot of American citizens felt obligated to participate in the war due to the necessity of honor and power during that time period. Some even felt embarrassed not to go to war, what brought many difficulties upon them, including death. After this event took an end in the year 1975, a great amount of the soldiers that survived ended up worse than dead. The aftermath of the war turned out being very damaging not only to the soldiers, but also to the families that had lost people. Some of the problems faced by the soldiers were diseases like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and even the loss of extremities. Following the war, the soldiers realized that the war had no real purpose and in Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, this is shown. For this reason, this paper argues Tim O’Brien’s use of imagery, situational irony, and symbolism in order to …show more content…
Psychoanalytic criticism is based on the analysis of what is portrayed on a text and how it originated. In other words, it is meant to discover the reasons behind the actions of the characters or the author himself on a literary work (Silbergleid, “Making Things Present: Tim O’Brien’s Autobiographical Metafiction). Many of the characters in the novel, The Things They Carried, often demonstrate their fearful and angry side thru their thoughts and actions along the reading. It is also important to understand that although the main character has the same name as the author, they are not the same person. This is due to the fact that the main character in the book, Tim O’Brien, symbolizes Tim O’Brien’s, the writer, memory of the Vietnam
In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien the author tells about his experiences in the Vietnam war by telling various war stories. The quote, "It has been said of war that it is a world where the past has a strong grip on the present, where machines seemed sometimes to have more will power than me, where nice boys (girls) were attracted to them, where bodies ruptured and burned and stand, where the evil thing trying to kill you could look disconnecting human and where except in your imagination it was impossible to be heroic." relates to each of his stories.
In the book “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien uses symbolism, to convey depth and meaning into this story about the Vietnam War. The narrator lists things that the soldiers carry with them, both tangible and intangible. O’Brien’s purpose for storytelling is to show contrast and explain how the soldiers have gotten to where they are now. These objects will be further explained later in the book to help establish the story line. The personality of each character becomes a clear image, and in doing so the characters become more defined. Each item exemplifies where the soldiers are at in their journey.
Tim O’brien, the author of The Things They Carry, effectively uses language to describe the struggles of the soldiers and civilians during the Vietnam war. A prime example of this use of language can be seen within one of the stories in the book known as “Style.” Along with a serious mood, O’brien uses a series of devices such as description, repetition and contrast to emphasize the attitudes and feelings of both the soldiers and civilians of Vietnam during the war.
Tim O'Brien in his book "The Things They Carried" is a very emotional heart-tugging book filled with horrifying war stories. The book takes place during the Vietnam War and is told through the soldiers point of view. The book utilizes an enormous amount of symbolism which can make the story sentimental and form connections with the reader. The symbolism utilized can be things that keep the soldiers comforted and give them the satisfaction of being at home or in their happy place.
“The Things They Carried” was written by Tim O’Brien in 1990. It is about the physical, psychological, and emotional burdens that the soldiers carried during the Vietnam War. During times of stress, people carry more than just physical burdens. The things they carried were mostly necessities. “Pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum” (O’Brien 367). O’Brien portrays that everyone carries a burden of emotions in life and exceeding emotions can have negative effects.
The Vietnam war was fought from the years 1955 to 1975. During this twenty-year war, fifty-eight thousand Americans lost their lives. The author Tim O’ Brien was one of the lucky ones to live to tell about it in his writing. He wrote many short stories about his time in the war and the collection of short stories named “The Things They Carried” has been the most popular. Tim O’ Brien’s Fictional Short story “The Things They Carried,” explores O’ Brien’s use of imagery, symbolism, and metaphor to reveal to the reader that the things military personnel carry are not always tangible.
In the novel, The Things They Carry by author Tim O’Brien, O’Brien explores the distinction between reality and fiction. Many readers find it difficult when deciphering the actual genre on the novel, for the reason that the story is based from true events, but told inaccurately. The main character and narrator, Tim O’Brien, constructs this novel with a collection of war stories from the Vietnam War; which are told by actual war veterans and their experiences. However, the morals and truths of these told stories blur the distinction of reality and fiction. Through O’Brien’s interpretations of his feeling to the reader, O’Brien’s novel distorts the once-clear line between fact and fiction.
In “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien describes a more personal experience of the difficulties soldiers face during war. In the other hand, Komunyakaa tells us in his poem the type of challenges veterans have long after they were in war. Although sometimes when we think about war, we think being the strongest physically can be enough to be a warrior, but we tend to forget that mentally we need to be equally strong. Komunyakaa uses vivid imagery, diction, and a sad tone throughout his poem and is able to show the reader his sadness and confusion while the speaker is visiting the Vietnam Veteran Memorial. O’Brien uses diction, imagery and a burden tone to connect with the reader in a more
In The Things They Carried, an engaging novel of war, author Tim O’Brien shares the unique warfare experience of the Alpha Company, an assembly of American military men that set off to fight for their country in the gruesome Vietnam War. Within the novel, the author O’Brien uses the character Tim O’Brien to narrate and remark on his own experience as well as the experiences of his fellow soldiers in the Alpha Company. Throughout the story, O’Brien gives the reader a raw perspective of the Alpha Company’s military life in Vietnam. He sheds light on both the tangible and intangible things a soldier must bear as he trudges along the battlefield in hope for freedom from war and bloodshed. As the narrator, O’Brien displayed a broad imagination, retentive memory, and detailed descriptions of his past as well as present situations. 5. The author successfully uses rhetoric devices such as imagery, personification, and repetition of O’Brien to provoke deep thought and allow the reader to see and understand the burden of the war through the eyes of Tim O’Brien and his soldiers.
Vietnam War a war that took many lives. A war that change the people,the nation and our views. In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien, symbolism is the key into getting the reader understand life behind the line. Tim O'Brien writing give the readers the vivid image through the fact the war has a deeper meaning than one can believe. In this story we see how everyday life through symbols are used in literature writing.
Psychoanalysis can be used in many ways to critique literature and other texts. Any text can be psychoanalysed as a linguistic whole, or subdivided into smaller segments, such as the genre, the authorial psychoanalysis, or used to interpret the psyche of the characters. The “unwritten text” can be psychoanalysed as well, by using a more Structuralist approach and reading between the lines, while noticing the text’s patterns, dyads, and symbols. Psychoanalysis of themes in fairy tales can lead to surprising and often not child appropriate interpretations of children’s literature. Although, Freudian psychoanalysis is a helpful tool in obtaining an added perspective, it is dubitable, as there is no way of proving or disproving the unconscious. It should not be considered as the only mode for reading texts, but rather as one of many critical theory approaches, because psychoanalysis is an interpretation, a subjective plethora of meanings. However, psychoanalysis can help critics to broaden their viewpoint, and deduce grains of “Truth” from the analysis. Author, themes, and characters will be analyzed through the Freudian lens, to illustrate that texts can have many meanings, and can be viewed as a subconscious representation of societal values, repressed desires, and displacements.
In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, numerous themes are illustrated by the author. Through the portrayal of a number of characters, Tim O’Brien suggests that to adapt to Vietnam is not always more difficult than to revert back to the lives they once knew. Correspondingly the theme of change is omnipresent throughout the novel, specifically in the depiction of numerous characters.
The theme of emotional weight and its effect on soldiers in the Vietnam conflict is one that O'Brien tackles. By placing physical items next to intangible things like emotions in a list format, O'Brien forces his reader to acknowledge the weight and effect of both of these things on the person who carries them. Lt. Jimmy Cross' inner fear that he was the cause of Ted Lavender's death was symbolized by Martha's pebble and letters. He felt that when he burned the pictures he was conquering his fear, even though no one can simply burn their emotions away. To a certain extent, these men are defined by the things that they carry, "And for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry," (O'Brien, 16).
The Vietnam War was one of the biggest and the most impactful war that affected the society, especially in the US. Draftees often came back with mental and physical illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder. Many came back with a missing limb because of the fights that they had to go through as a soldier. These soldiers also got trauma from the war because of the deaths and the dangers that they faced during the war. These psychological effects impacted the way many veterans lived and many of those ex-soldiers went to drugs abuses just to be able to cope with their situation during the war. Tim O’Brien, the author of The Things They Carried, had special way of coping with the psychological impact of his experience in the war. He expressed his thoughts and his emotions by writing this book. Through the themes, motifs, and the stories that are told through this novel. Although it is known as a piece of fiction, the stories that O’Brien tells show how he was coping with his situations.
Psychoanalytic criticism is a term used to describe how and why a person behaves. There are two different types of psychoanalytic criticisms which were developed by Freud and Jung. Freud’s archetypes are the most common in “The Tell Tale Heart.” Freud’s archetypes are displayed throughout “The Tell Tale Heart” by how the narrator shows Id, which is the most dominant, as he kills the old man, Superego, as he shows remorse, and planning to kill displaying Ego.