The things they carried essay topics

The things they carried essay topics

In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien discusses the physical and emotional burdens that come along with war. The “things” that the soldiers carry are both literal and figurative. They The Things They Carried “War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and Best ‘The Things They Carried’ Essay Topics ‘The Things They Carried’ as a manifesto against war. Compare the life-affirming motives of Jack London’s ‘White Fang’ and Tim O’Brien’s ‘The

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Is the book told in first person or third person? How does this affect the seeming reliability of the narrative? The Things They Carried is narrated, alternately, in third person and first person. The first person "I" narratives feel trustworthy and personal, but O'Brien warns the reader against this very pitfall. He writes that war stories should always be mistrusted, no matter who is telling them, the things they carried essay topics. The things they carried essay topics is the role of shame in the soldiers' lives? Does shame propel them to heroism or stupidity? Shame is the reason that Tim O'Brien decided to go to Vietnam.

Many of the characters feel shame as a primary motivator, too. Not only does it lead them to war, but it keeps them there. It is the one thing that keeps them from shooting themselves in the foot so that they would be discharged from the army or some similar such act. But some characters, like Curt Lemon, think that shame impels them to heroism, not stupidity. In "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong how does gender seem to affect reactions to war? Mary Anne is one of the few females featured in the book, and her experience seems to suggest that war is a great equalizer between the genders. When she arrives she is innocent, sexy, and very feminine. After the war "gets to her" she becomes a killer like the others.

The central topic of The Things They Carried is the Vietnam War, but the book is also about writing and storytelling. How would you describe O'Brien's conception of the role of fiction? O'Brien writes that fiction serves a higher purpose than merely recounting what happened. He writes that a good war story makes you wonder "is it true? After having provoked that authentic feeling, it does not actually matter if the story is true or not. Fiction is as good as experience. A reoccuring theme throughout the book is expressed by the title. What do the characters carry aside from physical objects? The characters carry emotions like sadness and fear. Jimmy Cross carries responsibility for the lives of his men. O'Brien sets up a dichotomy between weight and lightness, with war always described in terms of weight, love in terms of lightness.

His characters are condemned to carry the war for the rest of their lives. What role does Kathleen play in this book? Does she make her father feel guilty? Kathleen, O'Brien's the things they carried essay topics, is a stand-in for the reader. She listens to her father's stories just as the reader does. But the things they carried essay topics she is a character she can ask him questions, including whether or not he has ever killed anyone. O'Brien's makes a guilt-tinged decision whether or not to lie, or make up stories for his daughter. Soldiers' tales are often an opportunity for the teller to swagger, to play the hero, to seem macho. How does O'Brien portray this macho culture?

Because O'Brien is so ambivalent toward the whole project of war, it is not surprising that this book disapproves of macho storytelling. Curt Lemon is the most macho character, a man who asks a dentist to pull out a perfectly good tooth to demonstrate that he is not a sissy. Lemon dies the most horrible death imaginable, but the things they carried essay topics is still the least likeable character in the book. O'Brien dedicated his book to his characters, the men he served with in Vietnam. The things they carried essay topics exemplifies the uneasy position of the book with regard to fiction and non-fiction.

The author insists it is a fictional account. But elements like the dedication continue to point to the reality of what happened in Vietnam. O'Brien tells war stories partly so that he can relive them again and again. He argues that each time time one tells or reads a story one breathes life into the characters. When the story is over, they are dead again, he writes. For O'Brien, fiction also resembles dreamingbecause both are involuntary: he cannot help that his experiences haunt him. What is the role of death in this book? Is it a release from a nightmarish life, or something to be feared? O'Brien, the narrator, is a profoundly non-religious man. For him, death is the end of the story. The sense of senselessness pervading this book is rooted in two things: the Vietnam War seems to have no real cause or justification, and the young men killed there reach the end of their lives and effectively disappear.

O'Brien's non-belief in the afterlife lends a special tinge of horror to the already horrifying events. The Question and Answer section for The Things They Carried is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Why does O'Brien relate his experience as a pig declotter. O'Brien's descriptive summary of his time as a pig declotter helps the reader to understand the man. From the description of his experiences in this job, we can infer that his desire to stay out of Vietnam doesn't come from a fear of blood and Is Jensen right in assuring Strunk that he will not carry out their agreement and kill Strunk?

Why or why not? Yes, they had an agreement, the things they carried essay topics, and both men meant it when they initially promised to end the other's life if something happened that would maim or cripple. It's easy to make those agreements but even easier to break that type of promise when faced The Things They Carried study guide contains a biography of Tim O'Brien, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis, the things they carried essay topics. The Things They Carried essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

Remember me. Forgot your password? Buy Study Guide. Did you have a question about the book, The Things They Carried? Study Guide for The Things They Carried The Things They Carried study guide contains a biography of Tim O'Brien, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. About The Things They Carried The Things They Carried Summary Character List Glossary Themes Read the Study Guide for The Things They Carried…. Essays for The Things They Carried The Things They Carried essays are academic essays for citation.

Lesson Plan for The Things They Carried About the Author Study Objectives Common Core Standards Introduction to The Things They Carried Relationship to Other Books Bringing in Technology Notes to the Teacher Related Links The Things They Carried Bibliography View the lesson plan for The Things They Carried…, the things they carried essay topics.

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"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien Essay

In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien discusses the physical and emotional burdens that come along with war. The “things” that the soldiers carry are both literal and figurative. They In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien tells the story of a group of soldiers in the Vietnam war who, as a band of brothers, went through so much together. This story details the The central topic of The Things They Carried is the Vietnam War, but the book is also about writing and storytelling. How would you describe O'Brien's conception of the role of fiction?