The Things They Carried is a narration written by Tim O'Brien. Many would argue that it should be considered non fiction because of the realism and details in which it possesses. However, this argument is a fallacy caused by overlooking the elements of stories such as narration and facts.
Narration is a means of telling stories. But even reporting actual events requires narration in order to tell others what happened. The definition of narration from our required reading is relating or recounting of a sequence of events. So narration is present in both fiction and non fiction alike.
In the case of O'Brien's story the narration is told from a third person perspective. The story encompasses a troop of soldiers as they went through certain events. This applies to both fiction and non fiction. The difference between the two will therefore lye on the amount of truth of the events.
Fiction, or imaginative literature, requires that the events to be made up along with persons and places. However, it does not require that all of them need to be of the imagination. Commonly fiction will be based
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on actual events, persons or places. So there must be a declaration of purpose of the story. Nonfiction writings are usually news reports or articles for history lessons and other such things. In these the narrator is trying to impart knowledge as faithfully as possible. O'Brien does not give us any indication that he is trying to teach others or that he learned the events through first hand experience or by retelling someone else's experience. The purpose does not need to be explicit. Newspaper's for example are known to be sources of facts so there is no need to explicitly state this. The story here is not in any type of learning book, instead it is in a literature book. Literature is known for being fiction unless otherwise stated. The purpose for which a story is told is the defining difference between fiction and nonfiction. Without a purpose to telling the story then the reader will take from it what the reader takes from it. The story is detailed but we are not told that it is nonfiction so it should not be taken as fact, although there may well be a lot of facts in it. All three works show a sharp contrast to those of different races, White and Black. The manner in which they reveal the struggles faced are different. Langston Hughes' poem shows a man who is trying to write a paper which is due for an English assignment. In it he is sorting out for himself if his being Black will come through in his writing. He does not take the stance that he is being attacked by the Whites around him, he just notes some of the differences. He seems to stress a vagueness in which White people and Black people are not so different as they are a "part" of each other and they "learn" from each other. Ralph Ellison gives us a portrayal of an actual conflict. The conflict is not against White and Black, but instead the Whites caused a conflict, a Battle, between other Black men for entertainment. The real interesting point of the story is that the only man in the room who didn't seem to know what was going on was the narrator. He was confused and was as a disadvantage. This contrasts with the fact that he was also a well educated man who went there to deliver a speech. He still was able to deliver at the end. To do so he had to use all of his remaining strength to give the speech after enduring the physical abuse. In The Lesson by Toni Bambara gives us a means of overcoming differences between Black's and White's through education. In this case the "lesson" that was taught was not a traditional type such as Math or English. Instead she brought her "class" out to a toy store. There she tried to teach them that they can obtain the things that they want in life, but they will have to earn it. This becomes evident around line 53, "Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough". Her response to this child was that she was "beside herself". The difference here between Black's and White's that is being stressed here is that Black's make up the majority of the poor in the area. The children primarily do see a difference between those with money to afford things, the Whites, and those who don't, the Black's. What they see is that White's appear to be crazy to spend so much on something that is not vital to life, but this is a point of view issue between the haves and have nots. Ralph Ellison seems to suggest that differences between Whites and Blacks can be resolved but it will come at a price. To overcome the differences will require the utmost of perseverance and personal integrity. All of the others seem to me to echo this same manner to overcome prejudice. They will have to work hard, harder than Whites, to earn it. Revenge is a difficult subject. It is used by a person who has been wronged in some why or by one who is trying to avenge another who has been wronged. In general revenge is used when they wronged person does not believe that justice will otherwise be served. In the present case these men's fathers were killed. Hamlet knows that since his fathers murderer is the new King that justice will not be seen against him. Hamlet has to move alone in this. In doing so he does finally obtain his revenge but at a high cost of committing that which was caused to him. He allowed himself to be so consumed by his revenge that he murdered another person's father, Laertes father Polonius. Laertes allows the new King to handle planning the vengeance.
They were to have Hamlet and Laertes sword play but the one which Laertes will have shall be poisoned. The plot to further include the King poisoning a drink for Hamlet "If he by chance escape your venomed stuck". It appears that the King does not think that Laertes is much of a much for Hamlet so they prepare this plan. To give Laertes his vengeance deceitfully.
Prince Fortinbras had lost his father, King Fortinbras, in a battle. The battle was against Denmark. Hamlet' father then took for Denmark King Fortinbras lands. Prince Fortinbras wants to take back these lands as stated by Horatio "But to recover of us by strong hand...". His revenge isn't so much a personal revenge as it was for Hamlet and Laertes. Instead, the purpose for which Prince Fortinbras had set out for was to restore his kingdom to its former
glory. When one attempts to get revenge they need to ensure themselves that it is for a just and worthy cause. This is from the fact that Hamlet and Laertes had lost themselves to their causes while Prince Fortinbras had an army to back him in his. To bring about justice the outcome sought must also be just. Hamlet's outcome sought was only that the King should die and he knew that it would consume his life as well. But he was still as a coward because the one in which he was attempting to get his revenge against was not directly aware of it. Laertes was to take on a masquerade whereby the intended victim, Hamlet, did not know that Laertes was attempting revenge, which was cowardly. While Fortinbras was attempting to face it head on, the enemy knew that he was to act in such a way.
Before O’Brien was drafted into the army, he had an all American childhood. As talked about “His mother was an elementary school teacher, his father an insurance salesman and sailor in World War II” (O’Brien). He spent his tour of duty from 1969 to 1970 as a foot soldier. He was sent home when he got hit with a shrapnel in a grenade attack. O’Brien says as the narrator, “As a fiction writer, I do not write just about the world we live in, but I also write about the world we ought to live in, and could, which is a world of imagination.” (O’Brien)
In the fictional story the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of a woman tormented by the townspeople for committing adultery. With fiction the author can paint a story in any way to deliver the right emotion to the audience. However, nonfiction must stay to the actual facts of the story. Typically, nonfiction stories contain eye-opening details that wouldn’t be believable if written as fiction. For example, the story of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were 2 olympic ice skating athletes trying to win gold. Tonya Harding had someone try to break Nancy Kerrigan’s legs so that she couldn’t compete. It is unbelievable as nonfiction, but as fiction it would seem too far out there to
In the novel, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien shares several different experiences during the Vietnam War that had a great impact on the soldiers that fought along side him and himself. Although not all the stories are connected to one another, some intertwine. Attempting to show the reader who he is then and who he is now throughout the book, O’Brien flips back and forth between the past and the present: sharing his experiences during the war and his current time being a post-war father. War takes a toll on a man in more ways than one. Many seek comfort in bringing personal items with them to battle to remember where they came from and what they have to look forward to when returning home.
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story written about the Vietnam War. The title has two meanings. The first is their duties and equipment for the war. The second, the emotional sorrows they were put through while at war. Their wants and needs, the constant worry of death were just a few of the emotional baggage they carried. During the Vietnam War, like all wars, there were hard times. Being a soldier wasn’t easy. Soldiers always see death, whether it be another soldier or an enemy. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien explores the motivation of solders in the Vietnam War to understand their role in combat, to stay in good health, and accept the death of a fellow soldier.
The Things They Carried is a funny little book in the sense that it isn’t told how most books are. It goes from war to camping on the borderline of Canada, back to war, and then into present day times. It works marvelously well, showing you what actually happened and then what he thought about what happened and what he could have done to change the outcome. There are many things that I think people can learn from his experiences in the Vietnam war and the way he tells those stories and lessons really bring you along for the ride.
The novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien takes place in the Vietnam War. The protagonist, Lieutenant Cross, is a soldier who is madly in love with a college student named Martha. He carries around photos and letters from her. However, the first few chapters illustrate how this profound love makes him weak in the war.
In the book The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses many themes to help draw connections between the book and the reader. O’Brien’s “On The Rainy River” chapter contains countless motifs that make this chapter so compelling. “On The Rainy River” describes his decision whether to enter the draft or to flee to Canada where he would not get condemned. The main theme in this chapter is embarrassment. First Lieutenant Tim O’Brien goes insane from the embarrassment he would face if he did not enter the draft.
The title of the book itself couldn’t be more fitting. The Things They Carried is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Tim O'Brien about soldiers trying to live through the Vietnam War. These men deal with many struggles and hardships. Throughout this essay I will provide insight into three of the the numerous themes seen throughout the novel: burdens, truth, and death.
How can one tell if something is true or not? How can one tell if what you hear or read is pure fiction or reality? These are questions I often asked myself when I read “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brien. You begin to ask these questions throughout the book, but begin to realize that these types of questions don't matter. What matters is the deeper meaning that the author is trying to convey. O’Brien often describes this as “accurate representation,” he does this throughout his book within his portrayals of each individual story or character. What I mean by this is that the author gives a truthful story of what happened, he may add a few extra details, but at the end it is the truth in the way he perceives it and the way he wants his
Hamlet agrees to a sword match with Laertes not knowing that Laertes will have a sharp, poisoned sword while he will be given a blunted sword. To make sure that their plan to kill Hamlet works, Claudius poisoned a drink to give to Hamlet but Gertrude ends up drinking it causing their plan to unravel. Laertes then wounds Hamlet with the poisoned sword, but in the scuffle they exchange weapons and Hamlet slices Laeretes with the toxic blade. He then slashes Claudius with the poisoned blade and forces him to drink from the toxic cup. The four of them die but with his dying breath, Hamlet pleads with Horatio not to drink from the cup so he can tell his tragic story and announces Fortinbras as the King of Denmark.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a story about the Vietnam War and the experiences O’Brien saw and felt. His narrative is a personal reflection of what he experienced in Vietnam years ago. However, does this reflection have the validity of a primary source? O’Brien lived through horrific events during the Vietnam War, he suffered them first hand, and his experiences are recorded in his memories and retold later in his books. How reliable is his narrative about Vietnam? Personal narratives, like O’Brian’s, have historical value as they give the reader a unique perspective of the war. Can the reader learn anything of value from a recollection of atrocities written years later? O’Brien does not give facts, dates of events, or specific locations, what he gives the reader is a front line position of the war and how it affected him as a human being. Tim O’Brien’s accounts of the Vietnam War is a valid source of historical events because he allows the reader inside his head, he allows his reader to feel his innermost fears, he allows the reader to experience the death of others as he did, he allows his reader to feel his emotions, he allows his reader to experience his account of the war that they do not get in history books.
Generally speaking, the two most frequently used genres in literature are fictional and non-fictional. Having said this, fictional and non-fictional literature are distinct regarding their purpose as well the literary devices they use. Literary devices are specific language methods which writers use to form text that is clear, interesting, and unforgettable. Fictional literature, for instance, is something that is made up; however, non-fictional is factual. Furthermore, non-fictional works of literature such as literary essays usually convey a message using literary devices that differ than those used in fictional literature such as short stories, which are meant to amuse its readers. Literary essays uses literary devices such as description,
Although each character plots to avenge his father in the play, the motives of Laertes and Fortinbras differ greatly than that of Hamlet. Fortinbras, who schemes to rebuild his father's kingdom, leads thousands of men into battle, attempting to capture a small and worthless piece of Poland. After his uncle warned him against attacking Denmark. The added land will do little to benefit Norway's prosperity, but this campaign may cost "two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats" (4.4.26) . This shows that pride is a driving factor behind Fortinbras' plan because he is willing to put the lives of his countrymen at risk for a minimal gain. Laertes, on the other hand, is compelled to seek revenge because he loses his father and eventually his sister. The root of Laertes' revenge appears to be the love for his family because he proclaims that he will "be revenged / most throughly for [his] father" (4.5...
Revenge has caused the downfall of many a person. Its consuming nature causes one to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. Revenge is an emotion easily rationalized; one turn deserves another. However, this is a very dangerous theory to live by. Throughout Hamlet, revenge is a dominant theme. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. But in so doing, all three rely more on emotion than thought, and take a very big gamble, a gamble which eventually leads to the downfall and death of all but one of them. King Fortinbras was slain by King Hamlet in a sword battle. This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a seal'd compact. "…our valiant Hamlet-for so this side of our known world esteem'd him-did slay this Fortinbras." Young Fortinbras was enraged by his father’s murder and sought revenge against Denmark. He wanted to reclaim the land that had been lost to Denmark when his father was killed. "…Now sir, young Fortinbras…as it doth well appear unto our state-but to recover of us, by strong hand and terms compulsative, those foresaid lands so by his father lost…" Claudius becomes aware of Fortinbras’ plans, and in an evasive move, sends a message to the new King of Norway, Fortinbras’ uncle.
”(153) It becomes clear that the parallels presented throughout the play are there to further illuminate the flaws of Hamlet’s character. Laertes is a hot-headed man looking for revenge. His father was killed by Hamlet and his sister was driven insane due to the series of events that took place because of Hamlet. Like Hamlet, Laertes wants to avenge his father by killing the man who killed Polonius.