The Things They Carried is a fascinating and illuminating novel written by Tim O'Brien. Published in 1990, it is a collection of interconnected short stories that depicts the experiences of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. In his novel The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien employs Juxtaposition to create the effect of long-term effects of trauma and an abrupt, violent loss of innocence. The chapters “The Man I Killed”, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, and “How to Tell a True War Story” work together to produce this effect.
Lieutenant Cross shows guilt and responsibility in "The Man I Killed" chapter through his introspective thoughts and actions. One example is when he reflects on the death of the Vietnamese soldier he killed, feeling remorseful and taking responsibility for the act, stating, "Lieutenant Cross felt the weight. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war" (O'Brien, 115). This quote illustrates how Lieutenant Cross blames himself
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reality is illustrated through the transformation of Mary Anne Bell, a young American girl who accompanies her boyfriend to the Vietnam War. At first, the soldiers are attracted to Mary Anne's beauty and femininity, expecting her to remain innocent and fragile during the brutality of war. However, as she becomes increasingly fixed in the harsh realities of combat, her transformation is described: "She was dangerous. She was ready for the kill. She was 17 years old, a kid, but she'd crossed the border into womanhood… she was part of the land. She was wearing her culottes, for instance. And a light sweater" (O'Brien, 89). This quote demonstrates how Mary Anne's reality defies the soldiers' expectations, as she embraces the brutal nature of war and sheds her initial innocence, ultimately becoming a different person
Ultimately transforming into a ruthless and skilled soldier. Tim O'Brien uses Mary Anne's transformation to symbolize the profound impact war can have on a person's identity and sense of self. In addition to symbolism, O'Brien use of powerful imagery throughout the chapter to convey the emotional and psychological toll of war. He describes the landscape of Vietnam with "jungle, swamp, and paddy," and "smoke and mist and silence.
Mary Ann is the girlfriend of Mark Fossie who is brought in for a visit, however this visit is the start to her obsession with the war. Mary Anne had a normal life with normal goals before she was dropped into the war. O’Brien says, “From the sixth grade on they had known for a fact that someday they would be married, and live in a fine gingerbread house near Lake Erie, and have three healthy yellow-haired children, and grow old together, and no doubt die in each other's arms and be buried in the same walnut casket.” (94) A regular teenage girl with regular visions of the future arrives to aid the hurt and before she know it these goals are just a blurry memory of her old innocent childhood. This girl who had only come down for a visit soon sees the life of Vietnamese culture and learns more, at this point it's seen as just a fun learning experience.
In “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, There are many ideas and desires running through the head of every soldier in Vietnam. It is a challenging war to fight, and also a very hard one to come home from as it was an incredibly unpopular war. Many soldiers faced conflicting desires on the battlefield, but the most interesting example of conflicting desires was Mary Anne Bell. She was the elementary school girlfriend of the young medic Mark Fossie, who was staying at a base in the mountains of Chu Lai. Many soldiers at the base always joked about it being so safe, and with so few officials, that someone could actually fly their girlfriend in and they would both be fine.
Mary Anne then arrives in a plane and surprises all the men in the platoon. She’s naive and innocent to this other world at war. Mary sticks around Mark most of the time until she takes and interest in the Green Berets ambushes. Eventually these ambushes begin to warp Mary's’ mind and change her. These ambushes eventually corrupt her into a different person scares the other men.
Tim O’Brien’s novel features stories of soldiers during the Vietnam War, and highlights the emotional trauma soldiers bear as they struggle to fit the harsh societal standards set upon them. The Things They Carried is a quasi-memoiristic collection of war stories that are all interconnected and flow together to create one story of humanity. O’Brien uses his own experiences
No matter what the circumstance was, for the first few weeks, Mary Anne was always enjoying herself and was always sprightly. However, people change. She began to blend in by learning “how to clip an artery (98),” or “how to dissemble an M-16 (96).” She began turning into soldier rather than an innocent girl. When she first arrived, Mary Anne did not seem like somebody who would enjoy the gruesomeness of the war, but she began to change into someone that did enjoy it all.
At the girl’s throat was a necklace of human tongues”(O’Brien 105). Mary Anne decides that she wants to go on ambush with the men and become a part of the Green Berets. She now carries a gun and is going out and hunting. Having Mary Anne wear this necklace of tongues represents the adaptations and struggles that the soldiers had to go through when they arrived in Vietnam. Mary Anne Bell’s innocence represents the innocence that the soldiers lost during their time in
Tim O’Brien’s "The Things They Carried" is a short story that explores the experiences of soldiers during the Vietnam War. The story depicts the physical and emotional weight that soldiers carry with them during the war, highlighting the challenges that soldiers face both on and off the battlefield. Through the items that the soldiers carry with them, the story reveals the emotional and physical burdens of war and the masking of emotions because of masculine identity. The story begins with a list of items that the soldiers carry with them, ranging from physical items such as guns and ammunition to intangible items such as fear and guilt.
A woman named Mary Anne Bell goes to Vietnam to visit her boyfriend Mark Fossie. As time passes Mary Anne changes but her change isn’t very different from the men. She starts to not wear makeup, cutting her hair short, but she learns how to shoot guns and help with soldiers'
Mary Anne Bell’s character shows how much war really changes someone. She was shipped over to Vietnam by her boyfriend, Mark Fossie, at just seventeen years of age. She was an innocent, young and pretty girl from Cleveland Heights. When she first arrived,
“That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future ... Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (36). The Things They Carried is a captivating novel that gives an inside look at the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War through the personal stories of the author, Tim O’Brien . Having been in the middle of war, O’Brien has personal experiences to back up his opinion about the war.
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is overcome by guilt when Ted Lavender, one of his men died, Lieutenant Cross then finds solace in the
Effects of war can be expressed in many different ways as they weigh a toll on their victims. This was evident in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, in his surreal representation of the war and its outcomes on the soldiers. Specifically the chapter, Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, highlights the story of a young girl, Mary Anne, who traveled to Vietnam to be with her soldier boyfriend during the war. She ultimately changed because of the war both physically and psychologically. Mary Anne’s transformation alludes to larger themes throughout the novel including a loss of innocence and burdens soldiers carry.
O 'Brien use the symbolism the dancing Vietnamese and Mary Anne to show that war can destroy your humanity and innocence. It also use the allegory of the letters of Martha, and Linda, are used to show the past can either hurt or help you someone in war. The destruction of humanity and innocence it 's something terrifying, war can transform you completely into someone else that at the end you will no be able to recognize yourself. And in war you will need to take decisions that you may not like, you will need to get ride of things that you don 't want to let go of the past so you can be able to survive, and your decisions can hurt or help
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a collection of war stories that demonstrates the negative aspects of war, and how the roles and fantasies created for women are far from reality. Although the main focus is on the men and their experiences, O’Brien also puts importance on the way that women move away from their traditional roles - women who are idealized and completely separate from the war and the soldiers’ circumstances and who will be ready to welcome their courageous lovers if they return from the war. Moreover, specifically with one of the female characters, O’Brien shows that similar to the male characters, the women are heavily influenced by the çulture and hostile environment. In summary, through the difference between female