Symbols in The Things They Carried by Tim O´Brien - 633 Words

Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about the famous Vietnam War. The book includes many stories which does not require to read the chapters in chronological order. OBrien was drafted in the war in 1968, which was the year the war peaked. O’Brien was set for life with scholarships from Harvard. He didn’t believe in the war which made fighting the war that much harder. O’Brien includes stories from before, during, and after the war; however he doesn’t write the story with the â€Å"before, during, and after† layout. He writes the novel in â€Å" during, before,during, after, before,...† layout. He includes many characters in his novel however only a few from his platoon are included throughout each chapter. There is Kiowa, Lavender, Azar, Rat, and Jimmy Cross. Also Henry Dobbins, Bob jorgenson, Curt Lemon, Mary Ann, Mark Fossie, Dave Jenson, Lee Strunk, and many more who play important roles in this novel. The feelings in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried represents the intangible weight the soldiers carried along with their packs they humped; intangible weight slowed down the soldiers more than the weight of their gear. Sadness, depression, anxiety, love, and longing are all feelings that mentally affect the physical performance of the soldiers in Jimmy Cross’ platoon. Cross, Kiowa, Bowker, Dobbins, Kiley, are the only characters who are persistent throughout the novel who are also affected noticeably by these intangible feelings. It does not matter how tough theShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien124 2 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreEssay On The Things They Carried1629 Words   |  7 PagesThe Things They Carried, reflects the saga of drafted soldiers during the Vietnam era who were sent to the Vietnam War. The author, Tim O’Brien, describes the things that the men carry during their tour of duty. The items carried are both physical and impalpable items and what these things are is subject to the individual soldier. They carry the neces sities for survival in the jungles of Vietnam as well as the personal things each soldier feels necessary to make life as comfortable as possibleRead MoreEssay On The Things They Carried1777 Words   |  8 PagesThe Things They Carried, is a story about drafted soldiers during the Vietnam era who were sent to the Vietnam War. The author, Tim O’Brien, describes the things that the men carry during their tour of duty. The items carried are both physical and impalpable items and what these things are is subject to the individual soldier. They carry the necessities for survival in the jungles of Vietnam as well as the personal things each soldier feels necessary to make life as comfortable as possible. AdditionallyRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1981 Words   |  8 PagesIn The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien seems to be a simple story about the items a platoon of soldiers carried while they were in the Vietnam war. But the story actually centers aroun d the conflict, guilt, escape, acceptance, and responsibility of all the platoon soldiers throughout their journey in the Vietnam war. After reading the first story the reader becomes aware of the significance of the title of the book. O’Brien throughout the story uses symbolism by listing all the items that eachRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien865 Words   |  4 Pagesenter here.† Dante Alighieri. Hope is an anodyne. In times of war many soldiers require a buffer to alleviate the pain of witnessing the horrors of the war zone reality. This may manifest as emotional baggage, a reoccurring theme in â€Å"The Things They Carried† by Tim O’Brien. Emotional baggage transcends the physical weight it manifests that was in the soldier’s packs. Emotional baggage can manifest as something intangible, like an obsession, or take on physical weight and mass, like something that givesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Things They Carried 1409 Wor ds   |  6 PagesDenali Dickson Butler July 22, 2014 Long Form I. The Author and His Times: 1. Birth- October 1, 1946 to present 2. The Things They Carried was published January 1, 1990. This novel discusses stories from the Vietnam War, written many years afterwards. The book shares stories from several different people during the war and shares the truth as they remember it. 3. The factor that influenced the author in his decision to publish this novel was his desire to share his stories with the world. StoriesRead MoreThe Emotional And Physical Burdens During The Vietnam War2042 Words   |  9 Pagespart of war and the psychological phase. He also demonstrates that the expressive aspect controls the physical. Consequently, this indication has remained intact. Tim O’Brien in his fictional story The Things They Carried, voices the idea that the psychological burdens overshadow the physical pain that the soldiers must carry: They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravityRead MoreAn Inside Look At A Soldiers Life in the Vietnam War Essay1346 Words   |  6 Pagesthe author of â€Å"The Things They Carried† uses specific details and illustrations to show readers what the experience was like for the men during the Vie tnam war. Among the many things that the men carry were guilt, fear, grief, and stress. Throughout the story O’Brien emphasizes the dreadful events that these men carry with them by incorporating the use of multiple themes such as: the emotional and physical burdens, fear, psychological well being and the use of motifs and symbols such as death in handlingRead MoreThe Things They Carried1417 Words   |  6 PagesSpring Book Review In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien tells the tale of not about war, but rather about war’s effect on one’s mentality. Ultimately, this novel is built on a foundation of the items that the soldiers of the Vietnam War carried. Whether it was the way Jimmy Cross uses the pebble to escape from his duties as a soldier or when Norman Bowker realizes that courage comes form within, not from receiving a Silver Star; O’Brien uses baggage as a symbol throughout the book to teach