The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: An Analysis

During the War young men were taken away from fully experiencing their adolescence lives and were sent to fight in war. In the short story, “The things they carried” by Tim O’Brien, the narrator discusses his personal experience in the Vietnam War along with his fellow soldiers. He tells the story in an unusual way when he shares parts of his story from past and changes to present which allows the reader to feel the emotions and experience what each soldier went through and learn more about the characters personalities. O’ Brien uses an unusual narrative technique that allows the reader to visualize the experiences they went through such as death and guilt. Throughout the story we also learn more about the characters personalities and the importance

The friendships created at war give soldiers hope. When Lemon died, Rat was a wreck. “The whole platoon stood there watching, feeling all kinds of things, but there wasn’t a great deal of pity for the baby water buffalo. Curt Lemon was dead. Rat Kiley had lost his best friend in the world” (O’Brien 79).

A True War Story It is very hard to tell a true war story. In Tim O’Brien’s story The Things They Carried, all the stories he tells are not completely true. O’Brien uses a lot of imagination and invention.

War and the experiences encountered within it create countless stories, both heroic and horrific. A few of these war stories are shared throughout the book, The Things they Carried, by Tim O’Brien. The men involved in these war stories respond to the uncertainty, fear, and death that surrounds them in their own distinct ways. During a time of war, the soldiers in combat respond to their stimulative surroundings through their own coping mechanisms.

Azar’s crude attempt to make him feel better by congratulating O’Brien on the kill and comparing the dead boy to Rice Krispies; Azar ignores and or disregards the shame O’Brien feels. Kiowa is a little more patient with O’Brien’s pain, he can only sympathize with O’Brien to a limited amount. In the end, Kiowa wants more to convince O’Brien that him killing the enemy is not a big deal, that was a part of war, than in helping him work through his emotions as he says when he tells him he has a few minutes to cope, before they

Death is always associated with the occurrences of wars. No matter what, there is no escaping the fact that people will die in battle. Throughout the book The Things They Carried there are scenes of extreme violence, and heart crushing deaths. Witnessing someone you know being killed, or even killing someone you do not know is very traumatizing to a person and their life, but it's war and that is just how it is. Tim O’Brien uses many examples from the war for his story to emphasise the theme of Death, and violence and that no matter what it is no one's fault, and everyone fault.

Everyone goes through struggles in their life. Whether it’s being a part of a dysfunctional family or witnessing the terrors of war, people all live through a time in their life when they find themselves surrounded by unpleasant circumstances. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien shares the stories of soldiers in the Vietnam War and the mountains they faced. No matter what war someone fought in, or what kind of soldier they were, everyone carried something. The idea of “carrying baggage” is a way to show each soldier’s internal problems and real-life giants.

The Things They Carried Tim O Brien's story "The Things They Carried" had a plentiful amount to offer to the readers. The book held unbelievable stories of the horrendous things that occurred within the war of Vietnam. However there are two metaphors in the story that Brien clouded within the story for the readers. One of them was Rat Kiley and the med kit he carried around and how he was a leader. The second one is Jimmy Cross and him caring the compasses and maps in order to lead his men to where they need to be.

People go through life experiencing both big and small events. The soldiers had to deal with fear, guilt ,and death at war. These things can change a person for the better, or for the worse, but it’s what they do after the events that make them who they are. For soldiers in war, this is what they have to deal with everyday when they were in Vietnam fighting. Tim O’Brien tells of these stories in The Things They Carried to show how war can change their mentality and their destiny in life.

In the story,

Obrien perfectly describes the duality of war saying, “war is nasty; war is fun” and “war makes you a man; war makes you dead” (76). War has many positives for some men, and it gives them a chance to honor their country. War is also horrible and leads to the death of countless young men with bright futures ahead. O’Brien uses the story of the water buffalo to describe all the emotions described in the description of war. The shooting of the water buffalo shows how desensitized soldiers become due to the mindless killing of Vietnam.

Azar coped with it by joking and poking fun. On the other hand, Henry let himself feel what he was doing. Both were hard and both feel the effects of it even after they returned

Emotionally dragging people down one by one, war brings sweat, tears, and blood. Although soldiers do carry many physical items, each individual also carries responsibilities which are not visible, but tend to weigh one down immensely, such as the lives of men. In the novel The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, he describes the items which the soldiers carried such as “taking up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak. They carried infections.

In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien we are introduced to the characters Azar and Henry Dobbins. These characters have many differences, especially in personality traits. O’ Brien didn’t necessarily include them in the text to show us some big secret that we didn’t notice, but for the purpose of this report, he did. The characters Azar and Henry Dobbins can be seen as representations of the different ways a person might react during a war or some other traumatic experience. Azar is a character who could be seen as the cruel, unforgiving, and truly animalistic side of the population as a race.

She emblematizes or rather embodies the land of Ogaden; ploughed, tilled, and assaulted by various men, including her son. She becomes a symbol of the victimized nation. Askar throughout the novel is on a quest for a mother figure, developing his identity with the persons in his life. He becomes a revolutionary in a quest for embracing his nation and fighting back as Cusmaan directs him to fight and avenge all the betrayers of his motherland.