Morals And Nationalism In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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

Readers, especially those reading historical fiction, always crave to find believable stories and realistic characters. Tim O’Brien gives them this in “The Things They Carried.” Like war, people and their stories are often complex. This novel is a collection stories that include these complex characters and their in depth stories, both of which are essential when telling stories of the Vietnam War. Using techniques common to postmodern writers, literary techniques, and a collection of emotional truths, O’Brien helps readers understand a wide perspective from the war, which ultimately makes the fictional stories he tells more believable.

During the conscription crisis of 1917, Canada was still a relatively young and inexperienced country, and did not yet have the capability or independence to deal with such an issue. However, one question was made clear to all Canadians… could national unity be maintained throughout the crisis? In 1939 Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King made the same promise to that of his predecessor Robert Borden; in Canada, there would be no conscription and all military service would be voluntary. “Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription” was a statement made by King during the Plebiscite in 1942 and just like Borden, he too had broken his promise to Canadian citizens. Twice now in Canada 's history, conscription has demonstrated to be a poor “solution” that is not only destructive to the patriotism and unity that Canadians had struggled to build, but also resulted in the division of families, the separation of francophone and anglophone

In 1967, three years subsequent to winning the heavyweight title, Ali declined his recruitment into the U.S. military, referring to his religious convictions and resistance to be involved in the Vietnam War (Bingham). He was inevitably captured and discovered liable on draft evasion charges. Ali bid his nearby draft board 's dismissal of his application for outspoken opponent grouping (Cassius Marsellus CLAY, Jr.). The State committee however, denied Ali’s claim for he did not fit any of the principles to receive any exemplary rulings for attendance. The Request Board then denied Ali 's case, however without expressing

“The end of the draft also has dramatically improved commitment and morale in the armed forces. The difference is simple: recruits who want to serve and succeed are likely to perform better than draftees who want out, the sooner the better.” (Bandow). Individuals who voluntarily serve have officially occupied themselves with the thought of being able to step up to plate and defend their country are rationally the right people to serve in war. So when a person who does not have the courage or desire to serve is drafted they just become a danger to the rest of the group.

As the author is told he is being drafted to war, he becomes very upset. He clearly does not want to be part of it. His initial says, “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen.

In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the author retells the chilling, and oftentimes gruesome, experiences of the Vietnam war. He utilizes many anecdotes and other rhetorical devices in his stories to paint the image of what war is really like to people who have never experienced it. In the short stories “Spin,” “The Man I Killed,” and “ ,” O’Brien gives reader the perfect understanding of the Vietnam by placing them directly into the war itself. In “Spin,” O’Brien expresses the general theme of war being boring and unpredictable, as well as the soldiers being young and unpredictable.

Synthesis Essay In the Vietnam war, there were many soldiers at war with each other, and most soldiers were not prepared for the fight. In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien was in the Vietnam war when he was young. The book was not in order but he still talks about his experiences while in the war. His purpose for writing this novel was because he wanted younger audience to know what happened in the war and what the soldiers experienced.

Robert’s story did not occur in isolation and is, instead, is situated in the specific social, political and economic context of the late 1940s to 1950s. By this time, World War Two (WWII) had subsided, the economy was recovering, and Canada found itself fairly well situated to accept new immigrants (Hawkins, 1988, p.99). Fuelled by the expansion of certain industries (e.g. construction), this period “saw the beginning of a significant economic boom in Canada” (Kelly & Trebilcock, 2010, p.316; Troper, 1993, p.250). Therefore, what had previously been characterized by a relatively restrictive climate for immigration, due to the fear during WWII, was gradually replaced with more “libera[l]” (Kelly & Trebilcock, 2010, p.318) immigration policies

In The Things They Carried, O’Brien reveals his view on war through telling his readers how the Vietnam War had no point, was emotionally devastating, and displaying that there is no purpose in war unless the soldiers know what they are fighting for. O’Brien shows the pointlessness of war by

The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, illustrates the experiences of a man and his comrades throughout the war in Vietnam. Tim O’Brien actually served in the war, so he had a phenomenal background when it came to telling the true story about the war. In his novel, Tim O’Brien uses imagery to portray every necessary detail about the war and provide the reader with a true depiction of the war in Vietnam. O’Brien starts out the book by describing everything he and his comrades carry around with them during the war. Immediately once the book starts, so does his use of imagery.

Also, if one was chosen for the draft, than they would possibly die even if they were innocent. That is identical to the lottery whereas if someone were chosen, they would be doomed, it did not matter if the person was innocent or not. The draft is a random way to call society to serve and possibly die, similar to the lottery where one is randomly called to die. It’s also random to who gets called. It is a very scary way to do things and random in each similar occasion.

In November of 1955, the United States entered arguably one of the most horrific and violent wars in history. The Vietnam War is documented as having claimed about 58,000 American lives and more than 3 million Vietnamese lives. Soldiers and innocent civilians alike were brutally slain and tortured. The atrocities of such a war are near incomprehensible to those who didn’t experience it firsthand. For this reason, Tim O’Brien, Vietnam War veteran, tries to bring to light the true horrors of war in his fiction novel The Things They Carried.

The Vietnam War leaves a legacy of moral confusion with each and every soldier who serves. Soldiers are fighting for a cause they do not necessarily believe in, killing people who do not necessarily deserve it, and watching their brothers die beside them. Tim O’Briens’ book, The Things They Carried, illustrates the soldiers struggle to define morality throughout the confusion of the war. On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien faces what he feels is his moral obligation to answer his country’s call and fight in Vietnam, and a personal moral issue with the reason for the war.

In the short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien, the main character Tim O’Brien gets a letter notifying him that he has been selected for the draft; he is affected by this emotionally, physically, and he faces a moral dilemma because this war goes against what he believes in. Immediately upon receiving the letter O’Brien thinks, “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen. I was above it” (1003).