The Things They Carried Style Analysis Essay (Revising) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just as the truth of a story is in the mind of a reader. Tim O'Brien uses this concept of the creative truth throughout the book The Things They Carried in connection with diction that creates ethos and imagery, connotative diction, and juxtaposition. This connection enables O’Brien’s reader to imagine the tale that O’Brien tells. In the book, the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” sheds light on his aim; this is where O’Brien wrote that it is not hard to tell a “true” war story, all a writer needs to do is add something embarrassing that “happened” to him/her, and people will think it's true. O’Brien shares this idea because if a writer admits …show more content…
The most common words that cause emotion are forms of the word “kill”, “hopeless”, “paralyzed”, “crushing” and “sorrow”(57, 67, 109). These words can cause an array of emotion depending on the reader such as sadness, sorrow or pity towards the characters. The words listed earlier can cause different people, different emotions but all the words are negative. These negative words can cause the people to relate their emotions to that of the characters. O'Brien uses negative words to try and submerge the audience in negativity and sadness. These negative words may also not have an impact on the reader because of O’Brien’s aim, the truth of a story being in the mind of the reader. If the reader truly thinks that O’Brien is a liar, they may not be impacted by these negative words. Another way that O’Brien exposes his aim is by using …show more content…
Then in the chapter called “On the Rainy River” O’Brien writes about how he at first runs away from the war draft. These two chapters are completely different and they make the reader question O’Brien’s stories. The audience does this because they do not understand how O’Brien could write about the emotional baggage and what happened in the war to the character’s looking back and reflecting on it. Then in another chapter O’Brien writes about when he first received his draft, where he runs away and goes to an old man’s cabin for awhile. These two chapters are completely different, the first chapter has a negative and sad tone to it. This is where O’Brien carries so many emotional burdens, Then the chapter “On the Rainy River” shows that O'Brien is frightened and scared of going to war so he runs away. He finds this cabin and helps the old man out there and is given a chance to run away and not come back. Although he is given the chance to run O’Brien decides to head back home and join in the fighting of the war. These two chapters are completely different and the reader can see that O’Brien has lost his innocence from the beginning of the book to the chapter “On the Rainy River”. O’Brien writes about the time he received the draft to relate to his aim of creative truth, the truth of a story is in the mind of
Tim O’Brien and Brian Turner are both war veterans, who published books based on their war experience. Both of their books expresses their feelings and both have a unique way of telling war stories. However, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried book captures the reality of war better than Brian Turner’s Here Bullet book. Tim O’Brien is very descriptive with his story, He is very direct and very good at telling a war story to make it more interesting.
“How to Tell a True War Story” and “Ambush” are stories that both explore on topics: truth, the real definition of a true war story, and the role of truth. O 'Brien starts off “How to Tell a True War Story” with “This is true.” Starting this story with such a bold sentence not only makes it seem more true, but to some extent, it acts as a comfort statement to the narrator’s own doubts, as if there were unspeakable uncertainties and lies of the narrator. The title of this story also comes into play, with a meta-fictional name “How to Tell a True War Story”, as if it were a guide, a manual, having a true war story tell the readers how to tell a true war story. However ironically, towards the middle of the story, us as
Literary Analysis on Short Stories In the short story of Tim O'brien's The Things They Carried uses symbolism to suggest that items that the soldiers Kiowa, Lavender and Cross carried represent their values and where they come from. O'brien successfully shows in depth what each character mentioned in the short story represents in relation to the narrator by mentioning the items and memories that each individual carried.
O'Brien emphasizes the difference between the troops' actual experiences and how those experiences are portrayed in the society and by the government throughout the entire story. He discusses how soldiers are taught to "spin" their perspectives in order to make them more appealing to the American public, frequently by praising their own bravery and understating the atrocities of war. He explains how soldiers can eventually have feelings of remorse and shame due to their sensitivity to violence and
For example, he tells the story of Curt Lemon's death and proceeds to analyze and explain why it holds an element of truth. Ultimately, he surmises, "truth in a story is not necessarily due to 'factual' accuracy." Instead, if the story affects the reader or listener in a personal and meaningful way, then that emotion is the truth of the story. O'Brien tests these ideas by relating the stories that others told in Vietnam, like the story of a soldier who brought his girlfriend to Vietnam and grows more and more terrified as she becomes fascinated by the war and ultimately never returns home. The soldiers who hear the story doubt its truth, but are drawn into the story nonetheless, showing that factual accuracy is less important but emotions is kinda the big
In the book The Things They Carried by Tim o’Brien many war heroes don't always come back home the way they left. Throughout these stories readers can really see and understand what a few soldier encountered on the field. The author portrayed these through changes in tone. Three tones that are provided in the story are discouraged, miserable, and thankful. Being in the war can really change a person inside and out.
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.
War was so much more than just war to O’Brien and he able to share this through his writing. " But this is true: stories can save us. ... in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world." (page
Hidden somewhere within the blurred lines of fiction and reality, lies a great war story trapped in the mind of a veteran. On a day to day basis, most are not willing to murder someone, but in the Vietnam War, America’s youth population was forced to after being pulled in by the draft. Author Tim O’Brien expertly blends the lines between fiction, reality, and their effects on psychological viewpoints in the series of short stories embedded within his novel, The Things They Carried. He forces the reader to rethink the purpose of storytelling and breaks down not only what it means to be human, but how mortality and experience influence the way we see our world. In general, he attempts to question why we choose to tell the stories in the way
O'Brien shows us that "In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It's a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn't, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness." (pg. 71).
This technique is supported when he includes Rat Kileys narration in his story, while all at once, allowing the reader to understand that Kiley is known for embellishing. “The question is not of deceit. Just the opposite: he wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt” (Kaplan 5/8). By O’Brien allowing Kiley to express his view of the war, he further sustains the writing technique used to reinforce the belief that with numerous narrations, he provides the audience the opportunity to depict and imagine their own reality of the war. The war stories told through each individual soldier’s perspective, but more significantly, with their own emotions towards the war and the events which occurred during the war.
The novel acts as a response to the era it discusses by solidifying the un-generalized version of war through fictional anecdotes of the narrator and characters (Reed 1). The emotional truth is never portrayed correctly through historic context or media while the author was able to reciprocate the sentiments of the soldiers through the graphic battles or actions written in this novel. 3. Factors that influenced the author to publish this novel was partly due to his way of coping after war, using stories to keep the imagination alive. Towards the end of the book, O'Brien revealed that
This quote epitomizes the trauma caused by war. O’Brien is trying to cope, mostly through writing these war stories but has yet to put it behind him. He feels guilt, grief, and responsibility, even making up possible scenarios about the life of the man he killed and the type of person he was. This
There are three main reasons why Tim O'Brien writes war stories. The first reason is to help us heal. The second reason is to encourage us. The last reason is to help us see others point of view.
This forewarns the reader that they could be reading something that is real or something that is completely made up. O’Brien is a masterful writer who has created an unique story about the experience of war through his style of writing.