Characters In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional standpoint of being young men out at war.

Tim is a young boy forced to go to war with all hopes of returning home. He is thrown into Alpha Company with men much similar to his situation of being forced to go to war through the draft and wanting to go home. He is now forced to make bonds and friendships with his new brothers. This bond of friendship helps the men of Alpha Company survive on a day to day basis. These men looked to each

In works such as the novel The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brien and the movie Full Metal Jacket directed by Stanley Kubrick, we see the hardships soldiers had to pass through during training and the Vietnam War. As it is stated in O’Brien’s book “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 gravity, they had a tangible weight” (O’Brien 20). After stating all of the things they actually carried O’Brien makes reference to them carrying emotional weight, to let the reader know that there was more to the war than fighting. They had other reasons to be there, such not wanting to be titled as cowards for not enlisting themselves in the war. In Full Metal Jacket the emotional weight they have on themselves is also visible throughout the whole movie. The emotional burden caused some of the soldiers such as Private Leonard Lawrence to enlist in the training although he clearly was unfit for the job. This resulted in an amazing turn of events since due to intrinsic motivation to not be the source of everyone’s laugh, he becomes someone completely different. At the end of the first part of the movie Pvt. Lawrence was no longer that unfit soldier we see at the beginning, he had changed to be a vicious person with a death wish. In both works we see the physical and emotional struggles soldiers had to undergo causing them to develop an

First, the reader must understand just what makes a good "war story". The protagonist of the novel, Tim O'Brien, gives us his

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien incorporates dynamic characters and presents us with a first and third person point of view of how these characters deal with life and death in Vietnam War. Mary Anne Bell underwent several drastic changes as she participated in the Vietnam War in the chapter titled “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong;” she was consumed by war and suffered dehumanization and became a different person. This chapter is told by Rat Kiley, the first medic of Alpha Company and O’Brien’s comrade. As we read though this chapter, we can see how war psychologically affects people and their loved ones. Mary Anne Bell is a prime example of a dynamic character that confirms the powerful nature of war.

One of the main characters in the short story “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’Brien, is a twenty-four year old Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is the assigned leader of his infantry unit in the Vietnam War, but does not assume his role accordingly. Instead, he’s constantly daydreaming, along with obsessing, over his letters and gifts from Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, Jimmy’s home state. He believes that he is in love with Martha, although she shows no signs of loving him. This obsession is a fantasy that he uses to escape from reality, as well as, take his mind off of the war that surrounds him, in Vietnam. The rest of the men in his squad have items that they carry too, as a way

O’ Brien starts the chapter off by telling us that the war “wasn’t all about terror and violence.” (30) Then, he tells us a number of very short stories about the sweetness of war. He introduce the readers through a detailed description of what being in a war feels like and why war sucks. “One leg for Chrissake. Some poor fucker ran out of ammo.” (30) tells us that the boy’s one leg showed how much war sucks and being in a war is very painful. The result of having that boy with one leg left is because of all of his ammo have been depleted to defend for himself. O’ Brien compares the war to a Ping Pong ball, saying that you could put a spin on it and make it dance. When he sits at his typewriter and remembers Kiowa dying in a field of dirtyness

War zones are infamous for truly debilitating soldiers both mentally and physically. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the personal war experiences of the soldiers illustrate the diminution of the value and ability to retain morals in the Vietnam War. Morals always exist but they are obstructed due to the soldiers’ desire to tell a good war story. Tim O’Brien the character seems to find little importance in extracting morals from stories, and Tim O’Brien the author stresses on minute details, focusing on imagery and drama rather than dwelling on morality. Although the author and soldiers are constantly telling stories and being reminded that morals exist from Mitchell Sanders, they lose their ability to distinguish between moral

The author beings the story by discussing items that were carried, which were everyday life things, such as cigarettes, matches, sewing kits, and water. These items made life in Vietnam bearable for the time being. Colleagues, Henry Dobson carried canned peaches and pound cake, while Dave Jenson carried extra hygiene supplies. Tim O’Brien also mentions Lieutenant Cross’ obsession with a girl named Martha and how he carries her letters. This shows the author’s lack of expressing his true emotions by only discussing non-military items, however, he mentions the soldier who died, Ted Lavender. He was so scared that he carried tranquilizers and in mid-April he was shot in the head. Although this was a vital pathos rhetorical device, it was described

In the first chapter of the short story, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, every character carries literal figurative things with them. Each item they carry has a significant meaning that helps them keep their mindset straight and their psychological well being intact. The soldiers are in war, most likely they are all scared of death. They need something on their mind to make them happy and also help them survive further on with the war. That is why Tim O’Brien’s piece is a perfect example to read, to learn more about some of the burdens that may be in some soldiers.

A true war story can have no moral. Neither side is a pure protagonist or antagonist. Both sides are anti-heroes; they are neither good nor evil because there are no principles in combat. War negatively impacts soldiers; it affects their emotions and sense of morality. Due to the immorality of conflict itself, there is no correct side or perspective. Tim O’Brien shows through his characters that wars have no right or wrong side because war itself has no moral. In the novel The Things They Carried, the author often uses his characters to depict how battle affects soldiers and how the complexity of warfare cause individual soldiers guilt and responsibility. The events affecting the characters Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, and Curt Lemon highlight

Literary Analysis of “The Things They Carried” “The Things They Carried” is a novel about the Vietnam War written and narrated by Tim O’Brien. O’Brien begins by discussing items the men in his platoon carry to bear the war, such as photographs or dope. He then continues on to discuss the weapons that they wielded as if they were as plain as the material and sentimental items they carried with them. Jimmy Cross is introduced and also focused on in “The Things They Carried.”

Tim O’Brien says his story isn’t a war story, but a love story. How so?

Authors of war stories often explain the harsh reality of war in their work. The texts I will be reviewing are, Home by Christmas by Gaylene Preston, Lest We Forget by Gaylene Preston, Digging and Grousing By Ernie Pyle and 1943 Letter From John F Kennedy. All of these texts are connected by the fact that they all explain the hardships of war. Home By Christmas by Gaylene Preston, shows the harsh reality of war by showing us that Tui’s husband leaves her to go and fight in World War II.

I think that this story is about dealing with the loss of a friend in times of war and how the veterans will forever be bonded together, not just because of war but also because of a good friend of theirs. People who have suffered loss of friend, especially veterans