Tim O Brien's The Things They Carry

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.
The story itself has a very matter-of-fact tone and creates a serious mood as you read. O’brien describes the scene in detail in order to give the reader a clear idea of what is happening within the story but keeps character details vague. The young girl is described as a typical

girl whom can represent any civilian during the war. She is dancing in front of her now destroyed home, knowing that the only family she had inside the home were all dead. The girl is clearly mourning over her family and trying to find a sense of comfort within her dancing. She represents all the civilians who were affected by the war, those who lost their family, those who lost their homes, and those who were trying hard to be brave and trying to find comfort in things they used to enjoy in order to block out the horrors around them. She represents the fears that people faced and the strength they had to find in order to endure the war. Yet O’brien seemed to portray all of this representation through a single character, without using any words, but by describing actions instead. Allowing the reader to form a sense of sympathy for the civilians.
On the opposite end O’brien uses Azar to represent a typical soldier who has become desensitized by the war. O’brien uses repetition as Azar keeps asking “why’s she dancing,” multiple times throughout the story. It is this same repetition that assists in representing the desensitization of the soldiers. The lack of understanding that Azar has shows that the soldiers have come to an understanding that death and destruction are normal and that, since they deal with it so often, mourning has become unknown to them. Yet in contrast to Azar the soldier Henry Dobbins sees the girl and recognizes the pain she is feeling. He even tells Azar to “dance right,” when Azar began to mock the girl’s dancing. This shows that though some soldiers have lost their understanding for the civilians’ mourning, other soldiers still sympathize and understand why the civilians act the way they do when something horrible happens.
O’brien’s writing does not use many words to describe how the civilians feel, but rather uses the actions of the character to speak them for him. The girl’s actions show the fear and the pain and the loss that comes with the war. It shows the sorrow and coping of the innocent who are affected. He writes the soldiers as desensitized, so much so that the way the soldiers act towards the girl can cause a sense of disgust at their lack of compassion. Overall the story gives the readers all the information and emotions needed to understand those in the war without using direct commentary. His use of repetition, description, and contrast stir more emotion within the reader than he could if he just used direct commentary. In the end the story truly does show the reader the realities of war.