...The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a story that takes place during the Vietnam war. As the reader, we’re shown how the physical items a soldier carries can weigh them down. Yet, we’re shown that mental struggles will almost always outweigh the physical struggles because they can’t be put down. The author uses specific stories, details, diction and the setting to make the story effective and keep the reader’s attention. As the reader, we use these details and context clues to form a conclusion about how war impacts a soldier. The narrator begins the story by describing multiple soldiers and the items they carry with them. Additionally, he adds how much each item weighs. For example, “On their feet they carried jungle boots-2.1 pounds-and Dave Jensen carried three pairs of socks” (389). The reference to the socks allows the reader to make a connection to a common item the soldier carries. Also, throughout the story the author chooses to add the weights of the items, like he does when he describes the boots. This affects the reader because we can see how the items are piling up on the soldiers. By describing how much the items weigh, we’re shown how carrying various items and weights can...
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...The Things They Carried is a variety of short stories all put into one book by Tim O'Brien. The stories in this book tell what life was like during the Vietnam War for many of the young soldiers, and their thoughts and feelings when they returned to the United States. Tim O’Brien earned a Purple Heart when he got hit with shrapnel in a grenade attack in Vietnam (NEA, 2007). During the book one of the main characters talked about goes by the name as Kiowa. Kiowa was a Native American and also a Baptist. He was a very honest and trustworthy soldier who always tried to help his fellow soldiers get through the complicated times of the war. Tragically Kiowa’s death during the war showed no dignity towards him. After a long day the platoon decided to settle down along a river, but they soon decided that they set up camp in a sewage field due to the repugnant smell. The rain came down without an end in sight, and the ground bubbled with the extra rain and heat. Out of nowhere rounds of mortar started to fall onto...
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...The Things They Carried is a work of fiction written by Tim O’Brien. In the beginning of the book, it says “a work of fiction by Tim O’Brien” (1) on the title page. If one was observant, they would have known what genre the book was from the beginning. In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story”, the author writes “in many cases a true war story cannot be believed” (68). This is because the storytellers falsify certain elements to make the story more believable. The stories O’Brien told in his award winning book may have some dishonest facts, although, the overall plot and content is based off of a true story. The twenty year time interval is important to the stories because it shows that the experience still has a powerful impact on the author. Although numerous stories have a pernicious effect on O’Brien and his friends, he still explains them with passion and remembrance. Furthermore, the author clarifies his tales in a way that the...
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...A Literary Analysis of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and “The Things They Carried” ENG125 Sharon Linne January 26th, 2015 Sources of conflict provide a unifying factor that enables an audience to relate to a literary work’s respective authors on a psychological level. This is particularly important when an author seeks to place his or her audience in their own perspective. A strong case for the conflict of individual versus self can be identified in the texts “They Things They Carried” (O’Brien, 1990) and “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” (Thomas, 1952) This shared trait offers insight towards the human element and increases both works’ depth as a result. It also allows the audience to experience timelines and situations they would never have been able to otherwise, especially when dealing with sensitive topics such as death and war. We will be exploring the combined use of persona, fate, point of view, flashbacks, epiphanies and irony towards further contributing towards the authors’ visions. The texts “The Things They Carried” and “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” both share the conflict of individual versus self. The pair both vary greatly in their presentation as well as what substantiates them. They however, simultaneously both touch on the universally shared trait of human emotion in extenuating circumstances. O’Brien and Thomas both depict situations where the concept of death is always lurking just around the corner. The realization...
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...Week 4 Journal Introduction to Literature Joshua Mills March 2, 2015 A literary analysis is very different from most writings, as its interpretive. What I may take away or pick up on is different than what you might interpret from it. To successfully analyze literature, you’ll need to remember that authors make specific choices for particular reasons. We have to remain objective to why the author added that detail or why they used that literary trick in that story. That’s exactly what I did to break down Things They Carried and A Rock Trying to Be A Stone. Both stories have many literary techniques like, being told in first person, imagery, simile, and a similar conflict. First I made sure to read the short stories silent, once I read it silently I reread this article, but this time out loud and I focused on particular points that stood at to me. Nothing in particular, just points that stood out to me and aroused a conflict to the story. In the Things They Carried it was Lavender’s death. That made this short story go from a very descriptive story with a lot of imaginary to deeper personally story about a boy having to become a man. Lt. Cross had a infatuation with Martha and used that to clear his mind from the war. After Lavender’s death he saw the failure in eyes of this squad. They all had failed Lavender. Kiowa say’s it was fate, but Lt. Cross, sees his death his fault as he didn’t lead his men as he should have. Lt Cross’s conflict made him realize that he needs...
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...Gen 1:1-2:4a World Behind the text Historical and Cultural Context Genesis illustrates the way Biblical writers J (Yahwist), E (Elohist) and P (Priestly) drew upon the cultural and religious legacy of the Ancient Near East (ANE) along with its stories and imagery and transformed it to conform to a new vision of a non-mythological God and a monotheistic, superior religion. “The Pentateuch developed against the background of the Ancient Near Eastern culture first cultivated in and spread by Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires”. This exemplifies how Israelite religion, was “shaped by responses to and reactions against this culture due both to contacts with neighboring Canaanites and to conflicts with Assyrian and Babylonian empires”. Genesis 1:1-2:4a can therefore be said to reflect the “Babylonian account of creation, which we call Enuma Elish…known from at least 1700 BCE,” “predating the earliest text of Genesis by at least a millennium.” In both Genesis and the ancient Babylonian myth, water is divided into upper and lower waters. The Enuma Elish is recorded on seven tablets and the Genesis account is completed in seven days. The Babylonians created humans to serve as slaves yet in Genesis God creates humans in the likeness of the divine. The Priestly source penned the creation story with the intent of being a “monumental historiographic composition…with the purpose of portraying both the beginnings of mankind and Israel in the spirit of a monotheistic concept...
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...CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background of the Study In our daily lives, we actually have gone through a lot of incident whether it is good or bad. However, we hardly draw the conclusion of the incident we have been through. We might fail to reach something we have been wanting so long, though the thing we desire is well-planned, yet the result is not like what we expect before. The point is that every time we are facing a problem, we should really pay attention and take the message of it. There will always be sort of a lesson in every single difficulty. Not only shall we find in our daily lives, but we could also find it while reading literary works, watching movies and suchlike. Reading literary works has interesting adventure in which an extra attention is needed to figure it out. For some people, reading novel or short story is more than just about looking for the beautiful story or the greatnesses of the story. Yet, there are some people who only read novel without a deep understanding. Usually the readers will be facing some questions which have something to do with the author’s intention making story. Common question coming out automatically after reading novel or short story is such what is the author trying to tell us in the story or what the moral lessons of the story is. According to Nurgiyantoro (1995:66) to know of what the author feels like to convey in the story is the main task of reading fiction work, it is either Novel or Short story. As a matter...
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...“All of us, I suspect, can imagine beholding things we ought not to have beheld. All of us can understand such pain” (O’Brien 4). Pain is universal but it is difficult to describe pain to someone who hasn’t experienced it in the way you have. Events affect people differently and without stories it would not be possible to even try and comprehend the pain of others. How a story is told changes the emotional response of the audience and with that their understanding of the events. Tim O’Brien explores the necessity of ambiguity between fact and fiction in order to create a visceral response to war in his short story “How To Tell A True War Story” which is a chapter in the novel The Things They Carried. O’Brien is able to examine this more thoroughly through the use of irony in title, the narrator’s internal conflict with truth and fiction, juxtaposition of writing styles and the nature motif. Margaret Atwood also investigates how real stories are portrayed in her poem “It Is Dangerous To Read Newspapers” by utilizing juxtaposition. Internal conflict is the basis of this entire story; O’Brien is struggling with how to tell his story and whether the things he experienced really are true to others. The style of this piece is similar to that of a debate with the evidence, or war story, being presented and then explained as to why it is correct. The critical essay “Metafiction in The Things They Carried” also references this writing style: “By defining a war story so broadly,...
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...Surveys carried out in recent years are revealing correlations between jobs and depression. 25% of the global workforce is depressed. Surveyed in 2011, a 6% drop was seen in the confidence of the workforce in comparison to 2009 (LaBier 2011). A Gallup study has shown that satisfied employees are 76% likely to lower the turnover rate (Amabile and Kramer 2011). Job satisfaction is correlated with greater productivity. Studying what improves job satisfaction is likely to encourage changes that can be made to increase satisfaction, which in turn can improve the economy. The question being studied is regarding how much job interaction within the family yields the greatest amount of job satisfaction, and how does this contrast between sexes. Based...
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...polemical issues in the application of literary theories to the field of literature and literary criticism. Out of the several modern approaches to literary criticism as employed by the critics, four literary theories are strategically chosen for analysis in this paper; Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism/Deconstruction and Marxism. This work is objectively carried out by consulting articles, journals and books written on the literary theories. The opportunity of information technology via the internet is also utilized. It is established in the course of writing this paper that literary theories are indispensable tools for literature to achieve its goal of sensitizing its audience towards literary awareness. The application of literary theories to literature, that enhance better and detail insight into text or literary works, would continue to be relevant and make literature more enjoyable and meaningful to its readers and users. Further research and enquiry into the relationship between the two (literature and literary theory) is open and should further be exploited. Keywords: literary theory, literary criticism, Marxism, Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism Introduction Literary criticism is the study, evaluation and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals. Though the two activities are closely related, literary critics are not always, and have...
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...STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN BY OHANEDOZI LILIAN C. ENG/ 2009/ 126 FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CARITAS UNIVERSITY AMORJI- NIKE ENUGU STATE AUGUST 2013 e i TITLE PAGE STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN BY OHANEDOZI LILIAN C. ENG/ 2009/ 126 A RESEARCH WORK PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (B.A) DEGREE IN ENGLISH FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CARITAS UNIVERSITY AMORJI- NIKE ENUGU STATE AUGUST 2013 e ii CERTIFICATION This is to certify that this research work is carried out by me. __________________ OHANEDOZI LILIAN C. ENG/ 2009/ 126 e iii APPROVAL We, the undersigned certify that we approve this research project carried out by Ohanedozi Lilian ENG/ 2009/ 126 as adequate in scope and quality for partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in English. ____________________ Mrs. Nwanne, V.N (project Supervisor) ______________________ Date ____________________ Prof. Amadihe Ezugu (Head, Department of English) ______________________ Date ____________________ External Examiner ______________________ Date e iv DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the supreme and infinite being for his incomprehensible mercies. e v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My profound gratitude goes to my able, tireless and loving supervisor Mrs Nwanne V.N for her motherly love and...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Literary Analysis Paper of 2 Samuel 24:1-25 Submitted to Michael Hildenbrand, Doctor in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of OBST 515 – D13 LUO Introduction to the Old Testament and the Pentateuch by Antonio Walton December 7, 2014 Literary Features and Techniques This literary analysis is of 2 Samuel 24:1-25[1], which depicts a literary plot. The main characters in the narrative are the Lord, David, Gad, Joab, and Araunah. The characters in this chapter of the Bible come from categories ranging from a mixture of round, fully developed, characters, such as David, and the Lord Himself, to flat characters with a basic quality or specific function such as Gad, Joab and Araunah. The Lord's sovereignty is highlighted in the story wherein He is depicted inciting David and judging David for the sin he committed. He gave David a choice in the type of punishment to be imposed, and imposed said punishment. He stayed the Angel's hand before the destruction of Jerusalem, and instructed David, by way of Gad, to build an altar and atone for his sins. David was Israel's king; he was incited by the Lord and he sinned by directing Joab to conduct a census. When given a choice by the Lord, he chose the punishment and went on to repent by building an altar and making sacrifices to the Lord. It is this fullness of character and the storyline dedicated to the Lord, as well as King...
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...Geanean Mckenzie Professor Weiss Modes Of Analysis Character Of Analysis Essay 2/16/14 In Tim O’Brien “The Things They Carried” The first story in the collection introduces the cast of characters that reappear throughout the book. The cast is made up of the soldiers of the Alpha Company, led by First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. The platoon is deployed to fight in the Vietnam War. The narrator, O’Brien, is one of the soldiers, and he distinguishes one soldier from another in this first story by the items that they carry. Authors as far back as Homer described soldiers going into battle by naming the things that they carried: goatskins filled with water, spears, and locks of hair from their beloved ones. O’Brien updates this literary strategy. His characters carry the modern implements of war. But the feeling evoked is similar: static lists make the characters seem already dead, prematurely mourned. The lists are like wills. The first story is told in third person, with some insight into the mind of Jimmy Cross. This movement between perspectives is called free indirect discourse, and serves to distance the reader from the soldiers. The reader sees them as if they were in a movie, moving slowly across an unfamiliar landscape, carrying their various burdens. The ancient movement of men going to war is juxtaposed with the rough, modern language of the soldiers themselves. They use slang, swear at each other, and try to diffuse the feeling of danger and helplessness by describing death...
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...professions dependent on the publishing industry, such as writers of fiction and general interest nonfiction; on libraries and their acquisition policies; and on public debates. International reach is attested to by, among other things, invitations to address key professional bodies and writers organizations in the UK, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Brazil and Argentina, citations in government reports in Norway and participation in policy discussions at the Library of Congress in the US. 2. Underpinning research (indicative maximum 500 words) The underpinning research was carried out by Thompson in the period from 1999 to 2012 at the Department of Sociology in Cambridge. During this period Thompson held two ESRC grants. The first grant supported a three-year research project on ‘New Technologies and Global Change in the Book Publishing Industry’; this research focused on the transformation of academic and higher education publishing in Britain and the US from c1960 to c2005. It involved detailed case studies of 16 publishing firms in Britain and the US and around 230 interviews. The project had a full-time Research Assistant (2000-2) who helped gather background materials, etc., but Thompson did all of the on-site research, all of the interviews and all of the analysis and writing-up. The key output was Books in the Digital Age: The Transformation of Academic and Higher Education Publishing in Britain and the United States. The second grant supported a...
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...A title is one of the most difficult things to decide upon when writing a book. It has to encompass the meaning of everything that has been written in one short word, sentence, or phrase. An excellent example of this is in the literary work of Bitter Fruit: The story of the American Coup in Guatemala, by Stephen Schlesinger and Stephen Kinzer, as it discusses the leading up to, during, and aftereffects of the American coup and the supposed role that United Fruit played in influencing America’s involvement. One of the main arguments that the authors argue is that the American coup was a turning point in Guatemalan History and has influenced the view of Guatemalans towards America today; and rightfully so. Schlesinger and Kinzer wrote the book in the most informational and unbiased way possible. Throughout the book, there is not much seen in regards to a favoring side or viewpoint. If anything, it was written with the intention of informing and educating others about the America Coup and how it has changed and influenced Guatemala into what it is today....
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