In short, it takes a little bravery to think about things in a serious manner and this includes our thoughts regarding courage. O'Brien writes, "Proper courage is wise courage (133) and it is also acting "wisely when fear would have a man act otherw Continue Reading...
Furthermore, in environments that are highly conducive to trauma, such as war or a paramilitary educational institution that is predominantly filled with Caucasian males who are permitted to attack one another during a certain period in their caree Continue Reading...
At the same time, the style is expected to give the reader an idea of what is happening, and that too in a more refined version. In his language there are poetic references for the brutality and masculinity of war as feminine features. He has talked Continue Reading...
True War Story," by Tim O'Brien. Specifically, it will discuss are there universal truths that apply to all people and societies; or do we live in a state of relativism, one in which perception dictates how we will respond to the tasks that we are g Continue Reading...
Krajek points out that what she took from O'Brien's lecture was the fact that a fiction author can help the reader connect with the story in reality, even if the story is not true. "His lecture's overarching message illustrated his belief that ficti Continue Reading...
It is very difficult to reach a conclusion regarding "The Things They Carried" and the purpose for which O'Brien wrote it. While a first look on the collection of books is probable to provide someone with the feeling that it is easy to read and doe Continue Reading...
I can make myself feel again (O'Brien, p. 180). And, through story truth, what the story is able to do for O'Brien, it becomes able also to do for the reader. In "The Lives of the Dead," O'Brien further elaborates on his need for stories universal Continue Reading...
While he pretended, she was "elusive on the matter of love" (1). While she might have signed her letters with love, Jimmy "knew better" (2) but the idea made him feel better so he allowed himself the luxury of living in the fantasy. Jimmy's guilt fo Continue Reading...
The whole country. Vietnam, the place talks." The environment sinks under their skin, uncomfortable and yet unavoidable -- in short, hell. There is also a growing sense of insanity among the men that O'Brien describes in this story. There is the cr Continue Reading...
Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien presents the image of the typical mystery; however, as the story unfolds it quickly becomes apparent that it is a story of complex psychological underpinnings. Almost from the opening page it is easily apparent that Continue Reading...
Tim Obrien's "The Things They Carried" Short story College English (Literature) class. MLA Format. Carried Away There are several instances of repetition in Tim O'Brien's short story "The Things They Carried," which is actually the first chapter i Continue Reading...
He lay in the center of a red clay trail near the village of My Khe. His jaw was in his throat. His one eye was shut, the other eye had a star shaped hole. I killed him." (O'Brien 180). Very similar observations can be made about Turner's poetry. Tu Continue Reading...
The audience has the feeling that O'Brian is presenting them with significant and personal stories from his life. This slowly but surely makes readers feel that they too are connected to the war and to the narrator. It sometimes seems that O'Brian Continue Reading...
Kiowa's death also evokes the notion that for the U.S. Vietnam was a quagmire; his drowning functions almost emblematically to suggest America's deepening entanglement in Southeast Asia. 'This field,' O'Brien writes, 'had embodied all the waste that Continue Reading...
Tim O' Brien, Wilfred Owen & "Saving Private Ryan" The theme of disillusionment in war as reflected in the works of Tim O'Brien, Wilfred Owen, and the film "Saving Private Ryan" More than being a mirror of everyday life, literature has also bee Continue Reading...
It is a hotly contested idea that just one war-themed book can adequately discuss the topic of Vietnam, and this idea is properly portrayed in this book. Fellow authors like Renny Christopher have condemned Tim O'Brien's story for paying more Continue Reading...
He is more interested in "things," than what those things will bring. "Nick went over to the pack and found, with his fingers, a long nail in a paper sack of nails, in the bottom of the pack. He drove it into the pine tree, holding it close and hitt Continue Reading...
Cacciato by Tim O'Brien [...] meaning of war in the book, and how war affects the soldiers. O'Brien sees the Vietnam War experience as one that lasted far longer than the actual fighting, and he shows just how devastating war can be to the men and w Continue Reading...
In comparison, O'Brien's uncertainty in "On the Rainy River" comes from the uncertainly of standing at a crossroads and not being able to decide which way to turn. His uncertainty is based partly on the uncertainly of life that Shanley, chronicles Continue Reading...
"In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it's safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true. Often in a true war story there is not even a point, or else the point doesn't hi Continue Reading...
Things They Carried and in the Field The novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, is an episodic account of Alpha Company, a platoon of American soldiers and their experiences during the Vietnam conflict. We will focus on two chapters of the Continue Reading...
1). The character in the novel/author 'Tim' never believed in the cause of the Vietnam War, and nearly fled to Canada to avoid serving. That decision to servie affected him in an unalterable fashion, and O'Brien's recounts the story of Vietnam to him Continue Reading...
War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead" (O'Brien 86-87). It is interesting that Briony includes a large section of World War II in her novel, tying these two works together in many ways. Briony is writing to assua Continue Reading...
Thematic Use of Power and Responsibility in Three Short Stories How can anyone possibly imagine how difficult waging war is without experiencing firsthand the horrors of being on the battlefield? The classics of Western literature have invariably be Continue Reading...
Furthermore, the author has also eluded to the negative consequences in which there is a complete lack of ability to define what truth is. In this context, O'Brien ends his essay by stating that a true war story is actually "…about love and me Continue Reading...
In a discussion about life and death, other soldiers talk about the lieutenant's sensibility and wonder whether there was something wrong with them for not feeling as bad as Cross felt. The young lieutenant blames himself for Lavender's death as he Continue Reading...
Truth and Memory in the Things They Carried Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried, is more than a novel because it allows the reader to experience the Vietnam War in a personal way and it allows O'Brien the opportunity to bring closure to the Continue Reading...
Weight of War in "The Things They Carried" Point-of-view, imagery and characterization become useful tools that enhance the reader's experience in Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried. O'Brien captures nuances of specific scenes during his t Continue Reading...
In one sequence, O'Brien describes in poetic eloquence the same patterns which the research cited here above notes. Particularly, though all are exposed to the same terrors and opportunities in Vietnam, some are more prone than others to returning Continue Reading...
War at Home in Ellison, War Abroad in O'Brien The inhumanity of war is a common theme in literature, as brilliantly illustrated in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," a tale that functions as a short story but is actually an excerpt from his gr Continue Reading...
Leadership -- Power and Responsibilities / Integrity When it comes to the concept of "leadership" there are numerous definitions that can be applied. Every leader uses his or her own approach to leading, and while there are similar aspects to the be Continue Reading...
Things They Carried In his thought-provoking novel about the Vietnam War, The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien redefines the traditional concept of war as an honorable pursuit. In doing so, he explodes the myth about war being even remotely romanti Continue Reading...
True War Story" and "Soldier's Home" by Tim O' Brien and Ernest Hemingway, respectively, are stories that tackles the issue of social, psychological, and emotional complications that a war veteran/soldier experiences during and after the war. The tw Continue Reading...
Supertramp' is McCandless' literary alter ego. In his writings, McCandless portrays himself as a kind of spiritual pilgrim in the last, pure place on earth -- the Great White North. Writing under a different name allows McCandless to distance himsel Continue Reading...
Real Hearts Going After Apocalypses Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad was one of the first works of fiction to explore modernist notions of reality, and specifically, what makes an experience "real." "Apocalypse Now" can, in many ways, be thought o Continue Reading...
Four little girls had been killed. In her prayers, Moody let her frustration come out; "You know something else, God? Nonviolence is out," Moody stated. "And if I ever find out you are white, then I'm through with you," she went on, "from now on, I' Continue Reading...
Coming of Age Stories: Explorations of Components of the Narrative In literature, one of the most frequently dealt with theme is the story of one character's developing over time and reacting to the various experiences that he or she faces through t Continue Reading...
Similarities in Theme in the Two Stories Prisoners: Both of these stories place the characters in a kind of prison. On the first page of Yellow Wallpaper the narrator has already explained that the reason she doesn't get well is because of her hus Continue Reading...
This foolishness becomes emblematic of the entire Vietnam experience -- situations are created to display violence and bravery that have tremendous significance to the soldiers, but serve no real purpose. Just as Rat mythologizes Kurt's willingness Continue Reading...
The wall, serving as a painful and vivid reminder of the war, pulls the speaker back to the war. We can almost see the reflection of this man fading into the granite as his memories flood his mind. The wall and the memory of war are so powerful that Continue Reading...
