Theme Of Rectitude In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie.” (p. 65)

Tim O'Brien elucidates that true war stories cease conclusions of rectitude, in consequence of war's grotesque nature.The author's remarks on "true" storytelling in The Things They Carried evince an air of nonmoral reflection in the Vietnam War. In his novel deaths are unavailing and arbitrary, the solemn conclusion of a friends life ceases to attain meaning. Following the culmination of the war, soldiers mourned the privation of their brothers. Rat’s dejection denotes war's true consequences of immorality and fear, rather than a the

heroic persona of war seen by most. O'Brien emphasizes war's morals —or absence thereof—, claiming it is an "old and terrible lie".Tim asserts a tone of frustration and anger towards those who esteem the story of Rat Kiley’s reaction to Curt Lemon’s death.This is do to the audience's paucity of true awareness and apprehension O'Brien's story – those who where not adequately invested in the story. By undermining and reassessing the verity of the narrative, O’Brien subverts the reader’s ability to draw accurate conclusions.

#2

“There were red checkers and black checkers. The playing field was laid out in a strict grid, no tunnels or mountains or jungles. You knew where you stood. … There were rules.” (p. 31)

Henry Dobbins and Norman Bowker's nightly game of checkers, was frequently viewed by the men of Alpha Company. Antithetical to the Vietnam War, the game is coherent – the opponent and their intents are intelligible, making it feasible to ascertain who will winning. Where in Vietnam foreshadowing a winner is inconceivable. Numerous soldiers discuss the paucity of morals to the stories witch they evince, and the conception that their actions have no justification throughout The Things They Carried. This renders, the deaths the soldiers experienced and administered all the more unavailing. Because the soldiers were not on a coherent operation, Kiowa’s death is also rendered inconsequential. Comparably, when Curt Lemon mobilizes a trap while bantering, his death accommodates no true conviction.

#3

“By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others.” (p. 152)

This quotation elucidates the foundation of Tim O'Brien's novel "The Things They Carried".

The novel's narrator ,"O'Brien", not only illustrates how the scheme of writing released him from the trepidation of war, but also how it externalized his "own experience[s]". The quotation furthers a sporadic theme, certainty vs. fantasy. O'Brien illustrates his implications about war stories' "certain truths", "by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless help to clarify what happened", leaving readers to ponder which aspects of his novel are varieties and which are fabrications. While "The Things They Carried" is centralize on the Vietnam war, it additionally regards the supremacy of storytelling and narrative—the approach of legitimizing life events. By eternalizing the text, O'Brien's trepidation with articulating a story's evinces his inclination to connect with people and conserve the truth of his exploits. A fundamental aspect of the narrative is O’Brien’s recognition of culpability for using the war—as well as his friends' deaths— as constituents for writing. "The Things They Carried" can be further viewed as O'Brien's effort to rationalize his own

past.

#4

"And his father would have nodded, knowing full well that many brave men do not win medals for their bravery, and that others win medals for doing nothing." (pg. 141)

ANALYSIS

This quotation directly refers to Norman Bowker's father. The excerpt elucidates the father's ignorance in designation to the prominence of honor. In the eyes Bowker's father, the medals symbolize heroism, and the embodiment of bravery. Rather then a representation of endurance and trepidation, the father views them as mere trophies to be won by aptitudes and gallantry. He acknowledges the metals as examples of these verities, with lack of regard to whether they are justified by the soldiers obtaining them ; contending when one obtains them, he or she is acclaimed, whether or not it is justified. However, in comparison to his father ,Norman Bowker, views medals as an object which soldiers do not win for valor but rather "doing nothing".

#5
"That night, after we'd marched away from the smoking village, Azar mocked the girl's dancing. He did funny jumps and spins. He put the palms of his hands against his ears and danced sideways for a while, and then backwards, and then did an erotic thing with his hips. But Henry Dobbins, who moved gracefully for such a big man, took Azar from behind and lifted him up high and carried him over to a deep well and asked if he wanted to be dumped in. Azar said no. 'All right, then,' Henry Dobbins said, 'dance right.' (pg. 136)

In the final paragraph of the chapter "Style." O'Brien gives perspicacity to the characters' thoughts, particularly in Azar's and Dobbins'. The excerpt encapsulates how the platoon confront a woman dancing as her home was burned down with her family inside. Through the quotation readers view Azar's sequential deride of the dancing woman, once the Company departs. O'Brien exemplifies the magnitude of impudence the war brought to men who did not regard the Vietnamese culture. Azar's "erotic" hip display illustrates his indifference of the woman's dejection and consequentially, disrespects the Vietnamese mourning rituals. The narrator, O'Brien, recurrently depicts Henry Dobbins as an quintessential man. He augments this notion stating, Dobbins "took Azar from behind and carried him over to a deep well and asked if he wanted to be dumped in" when he witnessed his was deride of the woman's desolation. After Azar's refusal to be thrown into the well, Dobbins states, "dance right" showing although he is a man of war, he holds reverence for the Vietnamese culture— emphasizing his belief on admiration for innocence.

#6
" They carried like freight trains; they carried it on their backs and shoulders—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” (pg. 2)

The narrator provides preeminent imagery of what each American-Vietnam solider carried on day-to-day operations. O'Brien's analogy —“they carried light freight trains”— leaves readers to ponder not only the the physical weight, but also the phycological weight of the simple survival tools soldiers had to carry. These men endured the combined the emotional consequence of leaving the ones they loved, the trepidation of death, and the responsibility of the men they fight beside. The weight held by the soldiers was not only physical but also emotional. O'Brien's superb utilization of imagery helps readers understand the soldiers' apprehensions.This quotation recapitulates the uncertainty the soldiers held and the purpose which they fought for; they grasped to their sole certainty - the objects which they always carried - in a confound place where standard stipulation was excluded.

#7
"To listen to the story, especially as Rat told it, you'd never know that Curt Lemon was dead. He was still out there… But he was dead." ( pg. 52)

Stories are so much more impactful than merely bring a person back from the dead, it is a means of preserving their memories. As Rat spoke of Curt Lemon's story, it was as if he had resurrected Curt. Those listening intently felt Curt's essence alive and with them remembering him as he was. Although Curt wasn't physically with the platoon, the memory of Curt flooded the void left in their souls, recalling his presence in an absence of light. The 1962 song "Lemon Tree" by Peter, Paul and Mary reflects the characters' heart-ships in "The Things They Carried". As lemons are frequently associated with a —sour or — solemn disposition, one must " make lemonade" with what they are provided. " Lemon Tree['s]" essence coincides with the the harsh truths of war, and the impact of Curt's death. Draped from a tree Curt's impaired body represents an illiberal moral assimilated by the platoon. The soldiers' "blue sky" is unveiled by Rat's words, allocating a final commemoration to Curt Lemon.