The bold subheadings refer to CHAPTERS of The Things They Carried. You ONLY need to read the chapters that I ask you about on this document. Use textual references in your answers to the following questions: “The Things They Carried” What unique structural or stylistic choices did Tim O’Brien make in “The Things They Carried”? Tim O'Brien, in The Things They Carried, uses certain features from his experience in Vietnam to establish an innovative structure in his writing. For instance, in the first chapter, O’Brien illuminates the characters in a way readers should perceive it: ¨They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not …show more content…
to.” (20) O’Brien emphasizes the reputation of the soldiers and claims that embarrassment is the worst fear. He elaborates on the characters to unravel the complexity and the circumstances. What impact did the structure of Chapter 1 have on you as the reader, as compared to other ways you might be able to imagine a book about the Vietnam War beginning? Instead of emphasizing the setting or the exposition of a potential story, Tim O'Brien gave his examination of the past events that would describe his thoughts and the state of others. Tim described what each man would carry to emphasize their current situations. For instance, on page seven, he says: ¨In addition to the three standard weapons--the M-60, M-16, and M-79--they carried whatever presented itself, or whatever seemed appropriate as a means of killing or staying alive.¨ Throughout the first chapter, Tim delineates not only the importance of their gear, but also the means of surviving the encounters and the need to stay alive. “Spin” There are multiple definitions of the word “spin”: verb- turn or cause to turn or whirl around quickly Example: "the girl spun around in alarm" synonyms: revolve, rotate, turn, go round, whirl, gyrate noun- a particular bias, interpretation, or point of view, intended to create a favorable (or sometimes, unfavorable) impression when presented to the public Example: "he tried to put a positive spin on the president's campaign" synonyms: slant, angle, twist, bias Where, outside of The Things They Carried, have you noticed stories being spun so that they are more likely be received a certain way? I've noticed that in Full Metal Jacket the story was spun so that it is more likely to be received in a certain way. There's a correlation between The Things They Carried and Full Metal Jacket. In the movie, a secondary character named Private Pyle, went insane at the end of his recruit training and killed Gunnery Sergeant Hartman using a 7.62 mm full metal jacket round. The movie emphasizes the humanity of a human being, and how it can be destroyed to the point when a soldier becomes nothing more than a killing machine. The Full Metal Jacket was titled that way because that's the round American soldiers had used to fight the Vietcong. Give some examples that O’Brien uses to show readers “spin.” On page 33, he says: ¨But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget. You take your material where you find it, which is in your life, at the intersection of past and present. The memory-traffic feeds into a rotary up in your head, where it goes in circles for a while, then pretty imagination flows in and the traffic merges and shoots off down a thousand different streets.¨ Why would a soldier be compelled to “spin” a story?
A soldier would be compelled to ¨spin¨ a story because he always reflects back on his experience in the war. Whether it was an explosion, the things he carried in his bag, the confrontational fire, or the death of his mate, the soldier would always remember what happened when he was on the battlefield. The experience of a soldier encourages him to reflect on who he is today and what he can never forget. What are some examples of spin you have seen outside of war and politics? Chris Kyle, a U.S. Navy SEAL Veteran, was entitled to be the most lethal sniper in the military history of the United States. When he came home from Iraq, he had PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), which affected the way he perceived the world. He wrote the ¨American Sniper” to talk about what the veterans had to go through to pay the ultimate sacrifice. He also wrote this book as a way to reflect his PTSD. “How to Tell a True War Story” What does O’Brien seem to be indicating is important in the telling of a war story? O’Brien seems to be indicating that immorality is important in the telling of a war story. According to him, there is never a time or the occasion when a war story conveys virtue and moral behavior of a man because all war stories depict the vicious and cruel acts of a
soldiers. Can you surmise a stance of his, regarding storytelling in general? Stories can be written either way, whether or not it’s real or not real. However, it’s what the author trying to emphasize when writing it. In this case, he was trying to introduce his emotions when describing the occurences. Describe what seems to be O’Brien’s outlook on the world. O’Brien seems to be questioning “What is real?” People go about living their lives, and sometimes they come across a scenario that seems to be unbelievable. Not only in writing, but the experiences. How can a person tell whether or not something they’ve seen was actually true? O’Brien uses his attitude to show what Vietnam war felt like. “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” What about “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” do you think you can trust? Everything is true besides the part when Fossie finds Mary Anne wearing a necklace of human tongues. What does it illuminate for you about Tim O’Brien’s outlook on the world? His outlook on the world is that life in Vietnam to a soldier is different for a civilian. What does it illuminate for you about the Vietnam War? War makes people lose their minds in many ways, to the point where they can no longer be conscious of what’s right from wrong. Does it illuminate anything about the world to you, personally? I have a hypothesis about human nature: where it’s peaceful and safe, people accept it as home. However, when people acknowledge the existence of savagery, they can never turn their backs on it and pretend like everything’s okay. People see the madness of those who had lost their minds, and can’t forget the unbelievable. Therefore, many are open to be exposed to the viciousness that destroyed others. “Good Form” What is “story truth” to O’Brien? To O’Brien, “story truth” is a fictional perspective about the occurences. O’Brien uses “Story truth” to emphasize the effect he’s trying to convey. What is “happening truth” to O’Brien? To O’Brien, “happening truth” is the description of the actual experience and occurrences. “The Lives of the Dead” O’Brien says in this chapter “words make a difference.” What does he mean? “Words make a difference” means that it’s worth talking about someone who lost their lives. It is necessary to say something about the people who die because not only to show sympathy, but also to honor their determination. According to O’Brien, what can stories do for us? According to O’Brien, stories can keep people alive in some situations and allow to develop a way to accept the deaths of others. Stories help others progress, remember the purpose of a situation, and even learn from past mistakes. General Question Describe and support your view of Tim O’Brien’s storytelling. Tim O’Brien wrote The Things They Carried to unravel his experience in Vietnam War and the purpose of storytelling through conflicting the truth. O’Brien uses fake parts of the story rather than what actually happened to emphasize his perspective and how he perceived the Vietnam War in a certain way. For instance, in Good Form, he said: ¨twenty years ago I watched a man die on a trail near the village of My Khe. I did not kill him. But I was present, you see, and my presence was guilt enough.¨ (171) The reason he made it up is because he wanted the readers to feel what he felt. In addition, O’Brien made the readers perceive the exhaustive level of the scenarios throughout the chapters. For instance, in the first chapter, he described some particular items in their possession to make the reader aware of the circumstances and bring importance to their disposition.
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.
Tim O’Brien is a very gifted author, but he is also a veteran of the Vietnam War and fought with the United States in that controversial war. Tim O’Brien was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1968. He served as an infantryman, and obtained the rank of sergeant and won a Purple Heart after being wounded by shrapnel. He was discharged from the Vietnam War in 1970. I believe that O’Brien’s own images and past experiences he encountered in the Vietnam War gave him inspiration to write the story “The Things They Carried.” O’Brien tells the story in third person narrative form about Lt. Jimmy Cross and his platoon of young American men in the Vietnam War. In “The Things They Carried” we can see differences and similarities between the characters by the things they hold close to them.
O Brien 's point of view is an accurate one as he himself because he is a Vietnam veteran. The title of the short story is meaningful because it describes each soldier’s personality and how he handles conflict within the mind and outside of the body during times of strife. The title fits the life as a soldier perfectly because it shows the reality that war is more than just strategy and attacking of forces. O’Brien narrates the story from two points of view: as the author and the view of the characters. His style keeps the reader informed on both the background of things and the story itself at the same
He states that as a soldier, there is so much to soak in from war scenes that it all becomes a muddled mess. Therefore, the story of the moment can be different from each soldier’s perspective due to the parts where each man puts in his own ideas. This leads to some speculation as to whether or not O’Brien’s stories are true or false.
Another unique aspect to this book is the constant change in point of view. This change in point of view emphasizes the disorder associated with war. At some points during the book, it is a first person point of view, and at other times it changes to an outside third person point of view. In the first chapter of the book, “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien writes, “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity (2).
O’Brien wrote The Things They Carried layering themes on top of themes, but what makes it amazing is the way he presents these themes. Every single one intertwined with another. Burdens. Truth. Death. The soldiers carried their burdens and the death of their friends and enemies, and they live on as storytellers telling their war stories, but can there really be a true war story?
In Tim O' Brian's, The Things They Carried, he talks about the Vietnam War and it's effects country. O' Brian uses the psychological approach to tell the sorrows of war . The things that they carried had all represented a part of each soldier. In the days of the Vietnam war, they did not expect a woman to fight in a war. The story is better understood because the reader knows the background of the story and the characters personality. The thought was just unacceptable and definitely not normal. The two methods of interpreting a story fused together brings about a great understanding of the characters and the event which is about to take place. The deceitful interpretations presented, the things they carried, and a transformation of a dainty girl that turns into a survivor are examples of each method presented.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien offers readers very unique and interesting view of the Vietnam War and the mentality of a soldier.
What does O’Brien mean when he says that a true war story is never about war?
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.
Overall, the author showed us the courageous and coward s acts of O’Brien the character. The fact that he was a coward made him do a heroic act. O’Brien made the valiant decision to go to war. It would have been easier and cowardly to jump and swim away from all his fears. However he decided to turn back, and fight for something he did not believe in. Thinking about the consequences of running away makes him a hero. He went to war not because he wanted to fight for his country, but for his own freedom. Either choice he could have made would take some kind of courage to carry out. Going to war required some sort of fearlessness. In other words, running away from the law would have been brave; but going to war was even tougher.
O’Brien has many characters in his book, some change throughout the book and others +are introduced briefly and change dramatically during their time in war and the transition to back home after the war. The way the characters change emphasises the effect of war on the body and the mind. The things the boys have to do in the act of war and “the things men did or felt they had to do” 24 conflict with their morals burning the meaning of their morals with the duties they to carry out blindly. The war tears away the young’s innocence, “where a boy in a man 's body is forced to become an adult” before he is ready; with abrupt definiteness that no one could even comprehend and to fully recover from that is impossible.
O'Brien's allows his text to represent the thoughts of his views as well as the American view about guilt felt soliders, women in combat, and his distaste of those that deceitfully create war stories. If these connections are not apparent it is must easier once the historicist approach has been applied because it allows one to decipher the thoughts of a particular society at that time frame. This is because it is almost as if the author soaks in the feelings of that time to express how society should operate.
In "On the Rainy River," O'Brien reveals his mindset and character before fighting in the war. He views himself to be “too good for the war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything… above it” (O’Brien 45). O’Brien’s decision to stay in the United States and fight in the war is an act of choice instead instinct. However, war robs its participants of personal choice by rendering them unable to control their actions. In war, soldiers are instead controlled largely by raw emotion, and therefore instinct as well. For example, O’Brien reflects on his experiences with death in “Ambush,” describing the kill as “automatic… to make him go away – just evaporate… [he] had already thrown the grenade before telling [himself] to thr...
This allows the reader to see what takes place rather than what is perceived. O’Brien’s main objective is to expose the subjectivity that lies within truth. To point out a specific contradiction within truth, he uses war to highlight this difference. He writes, “The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty” (77). The truth has two different meanings and it all depends on who is interpreting it. One person may think one truth and another person can see the complete opposite. To go along with this ambiguity within truth he states, “Almost everything is true. Almost nothing is true” (77). He once again shows that truth is up for interpretation. There is not a single, universal truth, however, there are many variations of it. As previously mentioned, O’Brien claims that he honestly admit that he has both never killed a man and has in fact killed somebody. Here he is stating that there can be completely different answers that all seem to be the truthful. Whether or not O’Brien killed someone, he felt like he did, but could answer that he didn’t. It is this discrepancy that proves that it is all relative. When it comes to telling the story it becomes “difficult difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen,” (67). This is what causes the subjectivity, the unknowingness of the situation. Since