The Things They Carried is a work of fiction created with the intent of capturing Tim O'Brien's experiences in the Vietnam War. Although the series of stories are fabrication of what really occurred in Vietnam, each story entails a deeper meaning of emotions that Tim O’Brien feels as a result of the war (Braiterman). In the book, all the characters have something that they carry with them during the war time, which adds specificity, detail and personality to each character. They represent the troubles that they have in their lives, or the priorities that they have back home which constantly creates tensions between what the men care for and what they are actually holding in their hands. Everyone carries physical and emotional burdens throughout …show more content…
the war's course and continue to carry them until they die: grief, terror, love, longing, regret and confusion (O’Brien 14). One of the chapters of this book, “The Man I Killed”, it shows that O’Brien, the author, is finally admitting what he had done. He makes it clear that he regrets that he had to kill the man and and feels mournful for doing it. However, on a short story called “Salem”, Robert Olen Butler, the author, portrays the character on the story, who killed the American soldier as being fearless having no emotion.
Even though “The Man I Killed” and “Salem” both reflected on the killings of the soldier as their narrative structure, “The Man I killed” differentiated by relating the characters life to the dead soldier to exemplify a deeper connection between the …show more content…
characters. To start with, in “The Man I killed”, it is quite evident that Tim O’Brien feels guilty for killing the soldier, and this is displayed through the use of narrative structure.
When the story begins, O’Brien sits in front of the dead man that he had just killed and writes a history of that man by providing the readers with as much details as he possibly could, and expresses, “His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone,…it was this wound that had killed him” (O’Brien 124). In other words, this description is saying that all the wounds that was vividly detectable was caused because of O’Brien. He expresses this from a narrative point of view which intrusively emphasizes the guilt he has; if it was second or third point of view, O’Brien wouldn’t have been successful to let the readers know he truly felt when this happened. He believes that if he hadn’t shot the man, he would now be in a moderate situation and he wouldn’t have inflicted the wounds. The history of the dead man that O’Brien describes, without even knowing the name, illustrates the guilt that he feels, he’s very emotional about this circumstance because he constantly sees his own reflection and relates himself to the dead, young soldier . Therefore, Tim O’Brien conveys a world of emotion through his efforts to write about the heavy guilt that he was going to have to carry for the rest of his life without hiding the fact that he was dreading and feeling other negative emotions. Additionally, another
example of how much Tim O’Brien feels guilty for killing the soldier is shown, while Kiowa is trying to console O’Brien, O’Brien is in his own little world imagining how the life of the dead soldier must have been like. O’Brien remembers how he had always been afraid to go to war and how he had never thought he could be a hero and he asserts from the perspective of protagonist,“Beyond anything else, he was afraid of disgracing himself, and therefore his family and village. But all he could do, he thought, was wait and pray and try not to grow up too fast---"Listen to me," Kiowa said” (O’Brien 127). Essentially, this quote is saying that while O'Brien is feeling mournful for killing the soldier and contemplating about the dead soldier, Kiowa tries to bring him out of his reverie. He no longer uses first point of view to explain the heavy guilt he’s carrying, he negotiates his pain by executing as a fantasy.
The Things They Carried represents a compound documentary novel written by a Vietnam veteran, Tim O'Brien, in whose accounts on the Vietnam war one encounters graphical depictions of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Thus, the stories "Speaking of Courage," "The Man I Killed," "How to Tell a True War Story," "Enemies" and "Friends," "Stockings," and "The Sweetheart of The Song Tra Bong "all encompass various examples of PTSD.
Godbeer follows the incident without any bias and looks into how the accusations and trials are handled by the townspeople and the people in charge of handling the trails. Godbeer’s purpose of writing this book is to prove that Salem was not the norm. Godbeer’s approach of only one using one case, slightly weakens his effectiveness that Salem was not the norm.
The Things They Carry: Character Changes. One of the main points in The Things They Carry, by Tim O’Brien, is that war changes people. This is evident in the behavior of Norman Bowker, Bob “Rat” Kiley, and the character Tim O’Brien. They each started out as kind young men, but near the end had become very distraught.
Think that O'Brien is still suffering from what he experienced in Vietnam and he uses his writing to help him deal with his conflicts. In order to deal with war or other traumatic experiences, you sometimes just have to relive the experiences over and over. This is what O'Brien does with his writing; he expresses his emotional truths even if it means he has to change the facts of the literal truth. The literal truth, or some of the things that happen during war, are so horrible that you don't want to believe that it could've actually happened. For instance, "[o]ne colonel wanted the hearts cut out of the dead Vietcong to feed to his dog..
Some tangible things they carried with them were remind them of home and provide them with some luck, while others helped keep them alive during the war time. The intangible things the men carried helped the men be carried through the war and survive. Each man carried something different both mentally and physically. Tim O’Brien saw and experienced these men and what they had to go through during this time of war. The chapter “The Things They Carried” shapes each character into who he was during the war and shows us the reality of the Vietnam
O’Brien’s choice of diction creates an angry tone that clearly mirrors how he felt after he was shot. He expresses anger at Bobby Jorgenson and frustration that he cannot be on the move with the rest of his platoon while he recovers from his injury. Jorgenson’s terrible job of treating O’Brien’s wound leaves a lasting effect on him because he cannot rest until he gets his revenge on the young medic. It is natural for one to feel upset after someone fails to come to one’s aid in a time of need. This can lead to one feeling resentful and distrustful for long periods of time after the event took
The novel, “The Things They Carried”, is about the experiences of Tim O’Brian and his fellow platoon members during their time fighting in the Vietnam War. They face much adversity that can only be encountered in the horrors of fighting a war. The men experience death of friends, civilians, enemies and at points loss of their rationale. In turn, the soldiers use a spectrum of methods to cope with the hardships of war, dark humor, daydreaming, and violent actions all allow an escape from the horrors of Vietnam that they experience most days.
The Things They Carried is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War, but in reality, the book centers around the relationships the men make, their connections to the world they left behind and the connections that they formed to Vietnam. The stories are not war stories, but stories about love, respect and the bonds made between men when they spend day after day fighting just to stay alive.
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a very uniquely written book. This book is comprised of countless stories that, though are out of order, intertwine and capture the reader’s attention through the end of the novel. This book, which is more a collection of short stories rather than one story that has a beginning and an end, uses a format that will keep the reader coming back for more.
He admits that some parts of his writing are made up, and he is intentionally vague about the truthfulness of other parts. When asked if he had ever killed anyone, O’Brien said that he could reply, honestly, with both “Of course not,” and “Yes” (172). He explains that even the guilt of being present when the kill took place was enough that it doesn’t matter if he himself threw the grenade or not, he would feel the same way. It doesn’t matter the exact events that took place; this story is about how he felt about seeing murder up close and personal. O’Brien explains that “by telling stories, you objectify your own experience... You pin down certain truths. You make up others” (152). Writing was a way to verbalize his past, and he told the vague details how he experienced them, if not necessarily how they happened. He was able to separate himself from his memories and remorse allowing himself to cope with his past in the war. While the reader will never know the exact truth, they can still understand the guilt and that O’Brien felt as a
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.
Tim O’Brien is doing the best he can to stay true to the story for his fellow soldiers. Tim O’Brien believed that by writing the story of soldiers in war as he saw it brings some type of justice to soldiers in a war situation.
Throughout the chapter O’Brien uses a technique known as point of view. The point of views in the novel comes from three characters- Azar, Kiowa, and Tim O’Brien himself. The three characters perspectives on war are interpreted entirely different. Tim O’Brien is illustrated as the most sensitive solider out of the three. “His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye was shut, his other eye was a star-shaped hole…” (124). Tim’s sensitivity is revealed when he shows how bewildered he is as he stares at the lifeless Viet Cong body. Tim allows the readers to see that he has remorse about how he took action to stop the Viet Cong solider as he thinks repetitively about the repugnant attack. Tim is also shown as the character that never really talks and is very quite which in turn shows that he is guilty and ashamed. Azar happens to be the solider that is there to complete his job and does not show any sorrow for any actions that may occur. “Oh, man, you fuckin’ trashed the fucker” (125). In the novel, Azar shows that he actually enjoys the work of war and it does not really seem to bother him. Kiowa is more sensible in realizing and understanding what Tim is experiencing. “Tim it’s a war. The guy wasn’t Heidi—he had a weapon, right? It’s a tough thing, for sure but you got to cut out that staring” (126). He knows that what Tim is feeling is really hard for him to grasp because of the astonishment “Take it slow. Just go wherever the spirit takes you.” (126). It is shown that Kiowa has an understanding of Tim but he knows how to deal with the situation at hand.
The Things They Carried is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War that the author, Tim O’Brien, uses to convey his experiences and feelings about the war. The book is filled with stories about the men of Alpha Company and their lives in Vietnam and afterwards back in the United States. O’Brien captures the reader with graphic descriptions of the war that make one feel as if they were in Vietnam. The characters are unique and the reader feels sadness and compassion for them by the end of the novel. To O’Brien the novel is not only a compilation of stories, but also a release of the fears, sadness, and anger that he has felt because of the Vietnam War.
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