these feelings in their own way. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien portrays the theme of war very accurately. He shows the emotions of Lt. Jimmy Cross, who is a platoon leader that not only has to handle his own personal thoughts, but his responsibilities towards the men that he commands. The responsibility that he has towards keeping his men alive is what truly weighs on his heart after Ted Lavender’s death. Prior to that, O’Brien is almost completely overwhelmed with his own selfish thoughts
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
Qualities of Leadership Leadership is a quality that is not given, but is achieved from personal power and having the strength and self-determination to make decisions for a group and being able to live with those decisions. Leadership consists of many aspects including thinking, imagining, innovation, the ability to lead in a war time atmosphere and possibly having religious influence. In Udall Brady’s short story “He Becomes Deeply and Famously Drunk” the author shows how even a small Spanish
Words: 1191 - Pages: 5
War marched miles and miles through the humid broiling forests of Vietnam. So the question every soldier asks themselves is, to hump or not to hump, though maybe not in those exact words. As Tim O’Brien so eloquently puts it in his novel, The Things They Carried, “To carry something was to hump it” (O’Brien 3). Already carrying twelve to eighteen pounds of necessities, an item must be of great significance for a soldier to lug the extra weight. Ted Lavender carried six to seven ounces of “premium
Words: 1235 - Pages: 5
over time, all people experienced these events. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, the women represent innocence, home and change. Women display these components before, during, and after the war. All of their connections to the war or men reflect upon their actions. Kathleen’s role represented home and innocence. She is still young and she looks up to her dad. When Kathleen asks him if he had ever killed anyone in the war, O’Brien struggles to find the right response because he knows
Words: 729 - Pages: 3
Through the story, O’Brien often shows the stark contrasts between the horrific lives of the American soldiers to the peaceful, almost automatic lives of regular civilians. O’Brien firstly uses Norman Bowker, a dysfunctional, destroyed soul, to contrast against the ordinary lives of his former friends. Bowker struggles to even instigate a dialogue with
Words: 1180 - Pages: 5
In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, soldiers are faced with challenges that change them throughout the story. O’Brien shows how the war can change the most stable and courageous men, but also help form unbreakable bonds that can lead to regret and guilt. Although the characters change a lot during the story, most of the emotions they feel occur in attempt to deal with the things they see during the war, especially when a friend dies or is badly wounded. Rat Kiley is very upset
Words: 892 - Pages: 4
is greeted by a love struck narrator by the name of Lieutenant Cross. O’Brien describes the relationship between the narrator and Martha, a girl from back home who he is in love with, but she in return does not share the same feelings. Cross carries letters she wrote and fantasizes daily of their illusive love. His love for Martha becomes more of an obsession. “He loved her so much he could not stop thinking about her” (O’Brien 598). His constant question of her love for him causes Cross to fall
Words: 810 - Pages: 4
runaway This passage is untitled « The runaway » but it’s actually « On the Rainy River » which is a short story written by Tim O’Brien. This American author published in 1990 « The Things They Carried », a collection of related stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. While modeled after the author’biography and sharing the same name, Tim is a fictional character and not the author who’s intentionally blurs this distinction, even though he has also been drafted overthere
Words: 674 - Pages: 3
Poor memory If you, a loved one, or someone you know is suffering from PTSD please seek help by reaching out to someone. Go online, call, or ask for help to treat your symptoms. In the story “Ambush” Tim O’Brien writes about the character Tim who has a bit of PTSD. Tim constantly sees the guy he threw a grenade at in his
Words: 274 - Pages: 2
The Thing’s They Carried by Tim O’Brien illustrates the war in Vietnam through the perspective of various characters including Norman Bowker, Mary Anne Bell, and Rat Kiley. The literal and figurative “things” that these characters carry symbolize how they attempted to cope with the hardships of the war in Vietnam. Rat Kiley entered the war as a happy medic who carried comic books, M&M’s, and all of the stuff a normal medic would carry, but as the war went on, he began to carry pain and suffering
Words: 1020 - Pages: 5
