When one reads a war story, they expect to hear about the hardships of being a soldier. Stories about the rough and tough journey a soldier goes on when going to war. Tim O’Brien writer of many war stories portrays the hardships of being a soldier in Vietnam. While most of the readers are so intrigued with the killings and dead bodies, they will overlook the negative female characteristic labelling anyone who is opposing the soldiers. Lorrie N. Smith author of “The Things Men Do: The Gendered Subtext in Tim O’Brien’s Esquire Stories,” reflects on how O’Brien’s stories are highly representative of its bias against femininity. The story is centered around masculinity, and negatively labels the weak with feminine characteristics. An example from…
In chapter nine of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, O’Brien tells a second-hand story of a girl, Mary Anne. The story is set a few months prior, when Rat Kiley is assigned to a small medical camp, which is referred to as “ideal” (87), because there is never strenuous work to be done. This undemanding atmosphere prompts a soldier to jokingly wonder if a woman can be snuck in, but another, Fossie, takes his remark seriously and writes to his girlfriend back home. Six weeks later, a young, effervescent blonde arrives. At first, many of the men objectify and belittle her because of her gender, but she proves them wrong when she take genuine interest in combat and the culture around her. As the weeks pass, Vietnam changes Mary Anne. She transitions…
In the novel, The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, there is an apparent main character, Lieutenant Cross. Throughout the duration of the novel, we the readers learn of Cross’ love for a woman named Martha. Martha is a friend of Lt. Cross from back home, although he wishes that she could be more than just a friend. He once took her on a date, but it did not escalate to anything more before he left for war. For a majority of the book, Lt. Cross carries a pebble in his mouth, and letters with him wherever he goes. Both of these objects were sent to him by Martha. The fact that he carries around both of these symbolizes his love for her, and that he does not want to ever let her go. If he let…
The book The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien is about the account of himself and his fellow soldiers who served with him at the Vietnam war. The book starts with O’Brien describing everyone around him and just like the title reads listing out everything they carried, standard military issued equipment and few small personal belongings they got from the people close to them. Later in the story he talks about the life they have after the war and how the war affected everyone differently. The book discusses everyone experiences at Vietnam and the different aspects of their lives that helped them get through every day. The Things They Carried is divided into multiple short and long stories that talk about a single person and multiple…
War! Seems like every where we turn anymore you hear a story about war. The story of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien takes place during the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien narrated the story, and is writing from first hand experiences. This story gives you a good insight of how soldiers think during such difficult times. Throughout this story you’ll see how love can affect a person’s judgment even during a war.…
In this book the author Tim O' Brien uses many different little stories to sum of the big picture of war. He focuses in on many different characters, stories, and their specific feelings to help the reader get an actual feel of what he felt. Which he states on pg. 171 " I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer than happening-truth". While O' Briens main connection to the title focus's in on what each soldier physically carried, deeper than that is the soldiers own feelings, doubts, and fears.…
O’Brien illustrates the physical and emotional barrier Vietnam creates between men and women. The letters soldiers write to their girlfriends in the United States demonstrate the physical barrier between the two genders. O’Brien describes a soldier’s relationship with a girl in America: “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey” (O’Brien 1). Vietnam physically separates men from…
O’Brien uses the significance of gender to relay the idea that Mary Anne is an unusual example of innocence that is lost at war because unlike other soldiers, she is a woman. Although she is only present for one chapter, questions and thoughts still puzzle the reader…What happened to Mary Anne Bell? She arrived in her white culottes and pink sweater. The irony that is present here adds to the drama of a woman coming to Vietnam, during the war, a time of sadness and fighting; where no woman from the city should be present. Tim O’Brien adds a fascination with Mary Anne Bell that is unable to be grasped fully; a fascination in which is significant when discussing change and the impact of war. Typically, soldiers who come back from war under experience a similar…
The title of Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, paints a vague mental image of people carrying something – an image that is not yet complete for the reader to grasp the purpose of the novel. ‘Things’ are often assumed to be physical, in this novel, the ‘things’ that the soldiers carried were the mental burdens during and after the Vietnam War. Through the use of narratives of the different soldiers, O’Brien is able to follow each characters physical and mental weight that they carried. The…
The story conveys physical, mental and emotional strain that soldiers must endure during times of war. The reader is asked to consider each and every aspect of war and what soldiers leave behind them as they go overseas. The Items They Carried, talks about items issued to them by the military and the personnel items they carry. The story began with Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, who carries with him letters and photographs of Martha, a college student in New Jersey. Throughout the story, Lt. Cross carries her letters and photographs signifying a bond and love her has for Martha. Lt. Cross is constantly daydreaming and…
Most people don’t know what surrealism is. Surrealism is when things are real but exaggerated. For example when you watch a sci-fi movie not all of it can be true. Surrealism pertains to these chapters in” The Things They Carried” because it talks about war stories that might be true or have some facts that are stretched out.…
“The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers experience during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and mind, to the point where a few men return home completely destroyed. Many soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. Furthermore, an indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet they each individually harboured a desire to die and bring a conclusion to their misery. Over all, this story allows us to observe changes within the mentalities of army officers.…
Throughout his novel, the things The Carried, author Tim O’Brien uses a plethora of strategies to give the reader a deeper incite into the day to day life of an American ground soldier during the Vietnam War. O’ Brian shares with us his extensive knowledge and first hand experiences throughout the novel. Being a veteran of the Vietnam War helps O ‘Brian gives us a look into American’s longest war, not often given. Aside from recalling past events, he uses many unique techniques that we may be less used to. The first is the use of characters and objects as representations. This is one of the tactics most often used in the book. Another way that O ‘Brian uses rliterature to emphasize a point is the use of meta-fiction. This is basically telling the truth in a lie. Lastly, his knowledge and experiences add another dimension to this book that can really engage the reader. All of these components working together are what has mad the Things They Carried, such a critically acclaimed book.…
The story of “The Things They Carried” took place during the Vietnam War. The author, Tim O’Brien describes each character by the things they carried. All of them carried necessary things which could help them go through the war – some were common, some were different, and depending on the soldier. Lieutenant Cross carried photographs of Martha, the girl with whom he fell in love. Due to an unclear relationship and a great distance, the more Lieutenant Cross thinks about Martha, the more he suffers from his unrequited love. As a teenager I was greedy, and gambling was a short and easy way to get money. I expected to make a lot of money but it turned out that I lost all of my saving, and I suffered from my greed. From “The Things They Carried,”, just like Lieutenant Cross coped with adversity by repressing his addiction of love for Martha, I learned my lesson by repressing my greed, I quit a gambling and being back on track.…
In many respects, Tim O 'Brien 's The Things They Carried concerns the relationship between fiction and the narrator. In this novel, O 'Brien himself is the main character--he is a Vietnam veteran recounting his experiences during the war, as well as a writer who is examining the mechanics behind writing stories. These two aspects of the novel are juxtaposed to produce a work of literature that comments not only upon the war, but also upon the actual art of fiction: the means of storytelling, the purposes behind them, and ultimately the relationship between fiction and reality itself.…