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Important Quotes From The Things They Carried

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The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien tells stories of the men of the Alpha Company before, during, and after the war. O’Brien in the title page of this book calls it a work of fiction because all of his stories was the way that it seemed to him or what he trying to convey. They represent real experiences even though the specifics aren’t true. Tim O'Brien describes courage as something that comes and goes. “ Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an inheritance, and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn interest, we suddenly increase our moral capital in preparation for the day when the account must be down. It was comforting theory (O’Brien, 38)”. Also, “it offered hope and grace to the repetitive coward: it justified the …show more content…

O'Brien talks about how a person can be courageous during one moment and then it's gone in another. In the chapter ''On the Rainy River,'' O’Brien, went to Vietnam but before then he almost went to Canada instead. What stopped him was fear. ''All those eyes on me…I couldn't risk the embarrassment . . .. I couldn't endure the mockery, or the disgrace, or the patriotic ridicule (O’Brien, 57)”. Also that “I was a coward. I went to the war (O’Brien, 58)”. In the chapter ''Speaking of Courage,” When Norman Bowker came back from the war, he felt isolated. Bowker felt that no one would care about his war stories. Bowker missed a part of his life at home while he fought in the war but when he returned he found it changed. When he got back his friends were gone and the girl he liked was married. Bowker did receive several medals but he describes them as common medals that he got for doing his daily routine. Bowker keeps on referring to the Silver Star medal he almost won because it was a medal that represented courage. All his other medals he received required little courage. The Silver Star was also a reminder to

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