War, in whatever form it may be, significantly affects an individual’s life and postwar identity. The experiences one must endure place a tattoo, an imprint on one’s past and future. This permanent marker of the atrocities of war and of the psychological effects of violence remains with a soldier throughout his or her life. In the novel, The Things They Carried, narrator and protagonist, Tim O’ Brien, uses his gift of pen to illustrate his personal experience in the Vietnam War. His collection of stories, blurred by lines of fact and fiction, highlights the importance of the act of storytelling rather than the objective truth of a war story. From the outset of the novel, Tim O’ Brien uses his literary knowledge and love for diction to bring …show more content…
As a father, educator, and successful author he reflects on the Vietnam War throughout various chapters of the novel. However, he faces another hardship, accepting the memories of his past. In a first attempt, O’ Brien makes use of storytelling as solace and as means of coming to terms with the horrors of Vietnam. For example, in the chapter, “ Speaking of Courage,” O’ Brien uses several layers of narration to tell the story of fellow soldier, Norman Bowker, and his emotional attachment to Kiowa’s death. Rather than focusing on Kiowa’s death itself, O’ Brien illuminates how Norman Bowker deals with the grief and guilt of the event. By including phrases such as, “Circling the lake, Norman Bowker remembered how his friend Kiowa had disappeared under the waste and water,” and “I let the guy go,” O’ Brien emphasizes the culpability left by Vietnam. “Speaking of Courage” explores the way storytelling recalls the pain of a war experience and highlights memories that were never forgotten. Additionally, O’ Brien further exemplifies the difficulty of accepting past memories in the chapter, “Field Trip.” During this section of the novel, the narrator returns to the site of Kiowa’s death with his daughter, Kathleen. At this moment, he reflects on the previous times and compares his memories to that of the significantly changed site. The inclusion of Kiowa’s death as a significant event in both “Speaking of Courage” and “Field Trip” not only calls attention to the narrator’s burdens, but also to the greater importance of
His art of storytelling makes readers reach to the Vietnam War instead of getting actual facts about the war. In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story”, he illustrates about how Rat Kiley tortured a baby water buffalo and killed him cruelly by writing “He shot randomly, almost casually, quick little spurts in the belly and butt” (75). According to this evidence, we can see that it is just act of cruelty and gore since he is emphasizing his friend slowly killing an innocent baby buffalo. But if we look at it closely, it is a love story. O’Brien started his chapter with Rat Kiley writing a sincere letter to his deceased best friend, Curt Lemon’s sister about how he feel sorry and how he will take care of her after the war (64-65).
The book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a collection of stories from the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien was drafted into the war in 1968 and remained there until 1970 (“The Things They Carried”, N.d.). Kiowa is a Native American and he is gentle and peaceful. He discourages excessive violence but understands difficult decisions of war may not always please his gentle nature. Even though Kiowa strongly opposes excessive violence he later finds his platoon under attack and tragically loses his life fighting for a war he did not fully agree with.
In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien the soldiers were allowed to bring various items with them. The majority of these items were common for soldiers to carry, such as their rifle, mosquito repellent, and extra ammunition. Some soldiers brought things from back home with them, in order to help give them a reason to return home. Every item had significance to help suit their individual needs and desires. During this time of war and the harsh environment, they were exposed to they all needed something of comfort.
Norman’s story is a way to help Tim portray the feeling that many veterans experienced when arriving home. Constantly, Norman reminisces of his mistake he feels he has made “the truth… is I let the guy go” (147).A feeling of emptiness, loss of motivation, regretfullness makes readjustment take a toll on a soldier’s mental health. Readers are able to grasp this feeling as if Norman’s chapter contains the whole truth, however, the mention of specific details allow for also seeing the addition behind
Tim O’Brien is a novelist and a retired soldier from the Vietnam War. He wrote a semi-autobiographical novel titled, The Things They Carried, in a format that seemed as if we were in the novel itself. As readers continue with this novel one can envision and have the impression of deaths and all the effects war has on a soldier from the war. O’Brien explores the effect of war on an individual through fictionalized stories he tells in this novel in order to show how humans can change through drastic events that happen to them due to the war. Being in a war affects the way we think and the people we love.
The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, focuses on the author’s experiences in the Vietnam war. This book confronts the truth about death and the wave of agony that hits after the fact. The story highlights the ways that Tim and his fellow soldiers find ways to cope with the immense amount of pain that comes with war. Throughout the book, Tim O’Brien explores the power of storytelling and how it allows those who are physically dead to remain alive in the memories of other. There are many ways in which O’Brien has found storytelling to help him confront the death that he has faced.
Emotionally the stories within the novel give truth for the reader. O’Brien uses the protagonist, Tim, to deliver the stories, showing the reader how it would feel to be a part of the war. O’Brien shows the reader that when telling a story, the
War is a very psychologically traumatizing event. In Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried, he highlights the harrowing effects war has on a person’s psyche. Characters such as Norman Bowker, Tim O’Brien, and Jimmy Cross are deeply affected by war, but how they deal with their guilt is completely different. Norman Bowker’s dealing with his war guilt is highlighted in “Speaking of Courage”. This story displays Bowker’s dealings after the war in his town and how he deals with guilt over his friend, Kiowa’s death.
In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien we learn about O’Brien and his soldiers during the Vietnamese war. The Vietnamese war was a deadly and very costly war between the North Vietnam and their communist allies versus the Southern Vietnam and the United states. Throughout the novel Tim O’Brien narrates many stories about the war. Stories about traumatic incidents, pleasant occasions, sorrowful events, and even peculiar event. Personal accounts about himself and also tells about experiences his fellow soldiers faced.
In the chapter “Speaking of Courage”, Bowker tries to symbolize his loss of Kiowa with the loss of Silver Star, wanting to ease his guilt by reducing the value of what is gone. Later in the chapter, there is the description of Bowker getting in the lake (148). Three chapters later, Tim O’Brien the narrator does the same thing in Vietnam, swimming in the field. Additionally, in the chapter “In The Field”, a “boy”, whom the audience supposes to be O’Brien, tries to symbolize his guilt over Kiowa with the loss of the picture of his girlfriend. Leaving the reader with the depiction of the same event and feelings with different characters and settings, altering the truths, O’Brien manipulates the structure and conventional expectations of the
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.
(O’Brien 107). The quote was significant at the time that Tim O'Brian was attempting to talk to Norman Bowker about his guilt over the death of Kiowa and to stop him from believing that he needed to continue telling war stories after the war. The letter O'Brien received from Bowker vividly depicts his struggles with depression and traumatic events. This demonstrates how the author is attempting to deal with the traumatic events from his time serving in the Vietnam War. Because this was the first war that America lost and because it can be used to illustrate how people suffered, it demonstrates how difficult it is for soldiers to talk about their experiences.
He fought a war in Vietnam that he knew nothing about, all he knew was that, “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (38). He realized that he put his life on the line for a war that is surrounded in controversy and questions. Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess.
Although the soldier he killed was an enemy soldier, instead of vilifying him he was able to humanize the man. O’Brien was able to describe the physical appearance of the soldier and imagine her life before war. The author was able to portray an emotional connection and made the line between friend and enemy almost vanish. This was able to reveal the natural beauty of shared humanity even in the context of war’s horror. O’Brien is able to find the beauty in the midst of this tragic and horrible event.
Close Analysis: Speaking of Courage The narrator of the “Speaking of Courage” chapter is Tim O’Brien. The purpose of the story is to express Norman Bowker’s feelings of guilt and regret regarding Kiowa’s death and his inability to find a meaningful use for his life after the war.