Essay about Tim OBriens the Things They Carried

Tim OBriens The Things They Carried is not a novel about the Vietnam War. It is a story about the soldiers and their experiences and emotions that are brought about from the war. OBrien makes several statements about war through these dynamic characters. He shows the violent nature of soldiers under the pressures of war, he makes an effective antiwar statement, and he comments on the reversal of a social deviation into the norm. By skillfully employing the stylistic technique of specific, conscious detail selection and utilizing connotative diction, OBrien thoroughly and convincingly makes each point. The violent nature that the soldiers acquired during their tour in Vietnam is one of OBriens predominant themes†¦show more content†¦The whole concept is metaphoric, based on the connotations of key words; nevertheless, it is extremely effective in conveying OBriens theme. OBrien makes a valid, effective antiwar statement in The Things They Carried. The details he includes give the reader insight into his opinions concerning the Vietnam War and the draft that was used to accumulate soldiers for the war. While thinking of escaping to Canada, he says: I was drafted to fight a war I hated. . .The American war seemed to me wrong(44). OBrien feels that U.S. involvement in Vietnamese affairs was unnecessary and wasteful. He includes an account of his plan to leave the country because he did not want to risk losing his life for a cause he did not believe in. Here OBrien shows the level of contempt felt towards the war; draft dodging is dangerous. He was not a radical antiwar enthusiast, however, for he takes only a modest stand against the war(44). While not condoning the fighting, he does not protest the war except for minimally, peacefully, and privately doing so. His dissatisfaction with the drafting process is included in his statement, I was a liberal, for Christs sake: if they needed fresh bodies, why not draft some back-to-the-stone-age-hawk?(44). OBriens point of drafting only those who approve involvement in the war is clearly made while his political standpoint is simultaneously revealed. TheShow MoreRelatedTim OBriens The Things They Carried: An Analysis1542 Words   |  6 PagesStudent Network Resources Inc.  ©2003-2010 ________________________________________________________________________ Tim OBriens The Things They Carried is a short story told in the form of a catalogue. OBriens title provides both an accurate description of how the story is organized mainly by lists, with the narrative seeming an almost accidental intrusion but also as a sort of recurrent musical refrain in the text itself. The title phrase is repeated at semi-regular intervals in theRead More The Guilt They Carried in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried1422 Words   |  6 PagesThe Guilt They Carried in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried In the aftermath of a comparatively minor misfortune, all parties concerned seem to be eager to direct the blame to someone or something else. It seems so easy to pin down one specific mistake that caused everything else to go wrong in an everyday situation. However, war is a vastly different story. War is ambiguous, an enormous and intangible event, and it cannot simply be blamed for the resulting deaths for which it is indirectlyRead MoreEssay on Tim OBriens The Things They Carried1128 Words   |  5 PagesTim OBriens The Things They Carried   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How does death affect the behavior of people? Although death affects everyones behavior differently, knowledge of ones imminent death is a main force behind behavioral changes. This knowledge causes emotions that motivate people to act in ways that they normally would not. In Tim OBriens The Things They Carried,; the knowledge of death and its closeness causes the men in the story to alter their behavior by changing they way they display powerRead MoreTim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay1348 Words   |  6 PagesIn Tim OBriens The Things They Carried the issue of maturity is an ever occurring theme within the novel that sets out to tackle and open up for discussion of it on a broader level. Specifically within the chapters Friends and Enemies it is clear that both Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen are wedged in a personal psychological war. This issue faces many young adults but is perverted by the war and the tragic loss of innocent life. Many feel that the purpos e of OBriens The Things They Carried isRead More Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay735 Words   |  3 PagesTim OBriens The Things They Carried Culture teaches that men must dispense of ridiculous emotions and remain firm, following expected duties. O’Brien develops this theme of the transition from youth to manhood in his short story, â€Å"The Things They Carried.† Through the protagonist Jimmy Cross, metaphors of weight, and futile ideas of freedom, O’Brien reveals how society expects young men in transition to adulthood to let go of impractical idealism and dwell instead on the cruel reality of theRead MoreReview: Tim OBriens The Things They Carried1610 Words   |  6 PagesIn Tim OBriens The Things They Carried, the main theme is that the young men of Alpha Company carry many physical and emotional burdens which linger on long after the war. As they walked through the jungles and swamps of South Vietnam, they carried weapons, equipment, personal items, and also carried the dead and wounded off the battlefield as well as the guilt for having survived. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried the respons ibility for the men under his command and guilt about the war theyRead MoreThe Struggle of Weight in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried1315 Words   |  6 PagesThe Struggle of Weight in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word weight as a mass or quantity of something taken up and carried, conveyed, or transported. Tim OBriens war story The Things They Carried, published in 1990, explores the theme of weight and its importance to men at war in considerable depth. The opening chapter of this book, which was originally written as a short story, is comprised of a collection of lists. OBrien detailsRead MoreMilitary Life in Vietnam in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried1563 Words   |  7 Pages The Things They Carried is a story based on the experiences of young American soldiers fighting during the Vietnam War. The story begins giving you insight into the thoughts of the soldiers, describing to you what they humped along with them through their walk in the deep jungle of Vietnam. Some of those things were necessities P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing-gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets (81) and some were objects to giveRead MoreTim OBriens, the Things They Carried Critical Essay on Ptsd1360 Words   |  6 Pagesdrop the object because it was too much to bear? Tim O’brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, is about men in the middle of the Vietnam War just trying to survive. These men, like all soldiers, carried many things ranging from the physical items of war to the emotional and mental weight that comes along with the horrors of war. â€Å"They carried all they could bear, and then some, i ncluding a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.†(O’brien,7) I believe in this novel, O’brien givesRead MoreCharacter Comparison in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried553 Words   |  3 Pages The central theme of the story is the age-old conflict of life and death. On a more personal level with First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, the round character and protagonist of The Things They Carried, it is a conflict of love, his antagonist and of war. The author, Tim OBrien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict