War And Trauma In Tim O’Brien’S “The Things They Carried”.

War and Trauma in Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† Often in literature, we find ourselves reading stories with layers upon layers of meanings found in them. Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† is no exception to this idea. O’Brien tells his story in such a way that as we read the complex descriptions of what the characters are experiencing, the line between fiction and reality are often blurred. This helps further advance our understanding of the issue Tim O’Brien is trying to portray. Throughout the duration of the novel, O’Brien takes a deep, personal look at the various and profound effects war has on a man thorough the eyes of a number of different characters. These characters describe the many ways soldiers carry the†¦show more content†¦The simple idea of Vietnam itself causes Jensen to panic. He believes that everyone is his enemy, and the distinction between who is on his side and who isn’t disappears, causing him to lose all sense of security and trust. In a way, all of the characters share the feeling of false security, even though it is much more apparent in a select few. Regardless, the soldiers all show signs of weakness at points throughout the novel. But is it really even weakness at all? The horrors of war, the constant fear and isolation from all you’ve ever known previously stacks up to the point where it’s impossible to stay â€Å"strong†. After all, it was Vietnam, where the overwhelming ambiguity of it all wreaks havoc on the characters minds. The uncertainty of war itself has a major impact on the characters throughout the novel. The boundaries between right and wrong are repeatedly broken, causing the characters to lose the basic morals they lived by before being sent to war. O’Brien describes the lack of clarity that comes with war through his characters actions. The soldiers often find temporary justification of the trauma they experience through more pain, such as when Rat Kiley deals with his grief and pain after losing his best friend Curt Lemon by repeatedly shooting a baby water buffalo. At any other time, we can assumeShow 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 Relationship between Fiction and Reality Explored in The Things They Carried1214 Words   |  5 PagesReality Explored in The Things They Carried      Ã‚  Ã‚   In many respects, Tim OBriens The Things They Carried concerns the relationship between fiction and the narrator. In this novel, OBrien 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 theRead MoreHeroism In Tim OBriens The Things They Carried1684 Words   |  7 Pagesthe war heroes in movies such as Saving Private Ryan and American Sniper. However, the glorified heroism that is depicted in these films is far from the reality that is war. A more realistic rendition of war is seen in Tim O’Brien’s short story, The Things They Carried. Throughout the story, O’Brien uses metafictional characters to portray the physical and emotional burdens carried by American soldiers who were forced to conform to societal expectations upon being drafted for the Vietnam War. TheRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 PagesTyler Nooney Trafford P.6 The Things They Carried Essay The central theme and true meaning of courage is shown vividly in numerous instances throughout Tim O’Brien’s classic novel The Things They Carried. O’Brien’s novel begins with the courage of coming of age, along with the author’s loss of his innocence. Tim, the protagonist of this novel, goes through an incredible change in belief when he must choose to either run away from the Vietnam War or unwillingly join the bloody battle, of which heRead MoreThe Man I Killed, By Tim O Brien1580 Words   |  7 Pageshe has, and ever will have; and in War, death is inescapable. Vietnam War veteran Tim O’Brien was drafted to fight in the War in 1969 and states in the book as his â€Å"character/narrator† self that he attempted an escape to Canada out of fear. But the stronger fear of people being ashamed of him took over and had him turning back to home to enlist in the U.S. Army. O’Brien published The Things They Carried in 1990 and explo red the physical and mental realms of war-time combat with stories. These storiesRead MoreThe Things They Carried1417 Words   |  6 Pages 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 that war does in factRead MoreAn Analysis Of Tim O Brien s Things They Carried1183 Words   |  5 Pagestheme, and many more. Tim O’Brien’s Things They Carried depicts a fragmented stories about his and other soldiers’ experiences that occurred in the Vietnam War. Similarly, the poem, â€Å"Facing It† shows a so ldier who returns to the Memorial of the Vietnam War where he recalls his own trauma in the war as he looks at the stones. Both the prose, Things They Carried and the poem, â€Å"Facing it† conveys the similar theme where they are struggling to overcome the trauma of the war and face the reality. HoweverRead MoreAnalysis Of O Brien s 1954 Words   |  8 PagesOn another subject, not everyone is sure of the accuracy of O’Brien’s novel. One source truly doubts the truth within the story. The author writes that O’Brien’s past â€Å". . . in turn spins the dazzling intricate webs of imagination and memory that constitute his fiction† (Franklin). Another source mentions â€Å". . . these stories--some fully developed, some no more than anecdotes . . .† (Jones). Franklin believes that as a result of the experiences O’Brien endured, his memory is less than accurate. HeRead MoreSymbolism in The Things They Carried Essay1104 Words à ‚  |  5 PagesA. Park The Things They Carried The symbols in Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† are essential to understanding the soldiers and their lives during the Vietnam War. At the opening of the story, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross would dig into his foxhole and read the letters while imagining romance with Martha; however, at the end of the story after the death of Ted Lavender, he â€Å"crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters† (402). The inner feelings of Cross would be mistakenlyRead More Myth of Courage Exposed in The Things They Carried Essay2662 Words   |  11 Pageslooks fine and noble if he goes down in war, hacked to pieces under a slashing bronze blade he lies there dead. . .but whatever death lays bare all wounds are marks of glory. (Homer 22.83-87)  Ã‚   As students we are brainwashed by ancient myths such as The Iliad, where war is extolled and the valorous warrior praised. Yet, modern novels such as Tim OBriens The Things They Carried (THINGS) challenge those very notions. Like The Iliad, THINGS is about war. It is about battles and soldiers, victory