Oliver Stone’s Platoon presents a perspective of what it was like to be an infantry soldier in the Vietnam War during 1967-1968. The narration by Chris Taylor aids in giving an introspective account of what the warfare felt like while his brothers in arms, make it explicit through their dialog and actions. The violence that permeates the film centers around fear, bloodlust, and retribution portraying the Vietnam War like Hell on Earth. However, one of the centers of focus the film follows are the interactions between the United States infantry and the Vietnamese soldiers and civilians. These interactions take place at large through the combat scenes and also during the company’s investigation of a nearby village. While the antiwar agenda to the film is felt from the opening of the film, the interactions between the Army and the Vietnamese solidify the agenda through the use of violence. …show more content…
This consists of one member keeping watch while the others are able to rest. After Taylor’s turn, Junior is supposed to keep watch but falls asleep shortly into his shift. When Taylor awakes, we see the first instance of the Vietnamese entering into his field of view. With the aid of excellent cinematography, we see the silhouette of a soldier devoid of any indication of what his race or faction is. His helmet has branches attached for camouflage once the soldier enters the frame more, which is a common indication of the Vietnamese army as seen later in the film. Taylor’s heart begins to beat into the score of the music forcing panic into his face. Finally a whole set of Vietnamese troops follow and the two forces start a fire-fight which perpetuates the scene into a state of chaos. The result of the battle leaves Gardner dead, Tex hurt in friendly-fire, and Taylor narrowly avoiding a near fatal
With unforgiving terrain and the seemingly never ending destruction, the environment of war can be the biggest challenge faced. The constant presence of death and the savage actions of men, the jungle and villages of Vietnam that was home to many families can become a nightmare within days. The book says, “I walked away. People were not supposed to be made like that. People were not supposed to be twisted bone and tubes that popped out at crazy kid’s-toys angles.
These stories show the harsh realities of the Vietnam War communicated by Tim O’Brien’s memory. O’Brien does not shy away from the importance of friendship during the war. Soldiers are
Tim O’Brien writes us a wonderful fictional tale of a platoon of men in vietnam during the vietnam war, The Things They Carried shows the reader that when the men are over in this distant and strange land, not only do they carry physical objects, but emotional baggage and ideas that truly make, or break a man in war. Tim and his men show several signs of stress and turmoil while fighting the war, and while they survive they begin to understand what is really means to live, die, and what is right, and wrong. While over in vietnam the men are in a war, not a simple skirmish or fight, but a full on war against an enemy that they were not sure they are the enemy. The men would walk from location from location seeing what there is to do and trying
Although Andy Wiest's Boys of '67 and Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers are set in different historical periods, with the former taking place during the Vietnam War and the latter in World War II, both stories reveal similarities in the soldiers' experiences on the battlefield. These shared elements center around camaraderie, and the collective experience of trauma. However, notable differences also existed, such as the objectives of each war, the character of the conflicts, and the public perceptions surrounding them. Despite the transformative shift in warfare from World War II to the Vietnam War, a consistent theme emerges in the narratives of Wiest and Ambrose- death and dealing with trauma.
By understanding to this killing someone this early, and that men in the war do unspeakable things partly because of impulse but mainly because of peer pressure from other men, Tim O’Brien suggests that the greatest fear of all soldiers is not death or killing but simple embarrassment of feeling emasculated. By pinning the unnecessary deaths of his friends, especially Kiowa, on these false notions of obligation that the men have to bear, Tim O’Brien suggests that the greatest tragedy of the Vietnam War is not its violence but its ability to inspire compliance among the
Although sophisticated advancements have certainly changed the game of warfare, it has never been easy to carry, in any sense, for soldiers. Tim O’Brien evaluates the real burdens, both emotional and physical, of the Vietnam War in The Things They Carried. While the men of Alpha Platoon certainly are heavily weighed down in a physical sense, the mental burdens of war remain ever heavier -- as reflected in O’Brien’s title, The Things They Carried. Throughout The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien vividly represents the Vietnam War’s tangible and intangible impacts through the journeys of three characters: Jimmy Cross, Kiowa, and Norman Bowker.
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.
The three movies – Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and The Green Berets – are all movies based on the same historical event – the Vietnam war and US’s involvement in it. Yet, they all presented us with different and narrative point of view and authority figures in order to paint their individual values. The movies’ most obvious differences lie within the choice of their narrative point of view. The Green Beret, the earliest one, was directed by John Wayne and he also starred in the leading role. Wayne’s authority and influence in the 1960s was similar to the influence of Tom Hanks in the 21st Century.
The movie overall effectively conveys the ruthless nature of war and wartime sexual violence by presenting numerous
Men went through so many tasks during the Vietnam War physically and mentally. The beginning chapters focus on training for war and being prepared for the worst. For example, when there is a sergeant in a room with the marines. The sergeant walks to the chalk board and writes “AMBUSHES ARE MURDER AND MURDER IS FUN” (36-37). The
Rambo is an iconic war hero who is sent by American soldiers in search of missing Prisoners of War (P.O.W) in Vietnam. Rambo is caught in Vietnam and is tortured by the Vietnamese and Russian soldiers. He is able to escape and save all the P.O.W’s and kill of the Vietnamese and Russian’s. This film positions the viewer to support and feel sympathy towards the Americans during the war as the torture and brutality of these soldiers are clearly seen. It shows that it was necessary for the American soldiers to take part in this war and the conditions the soldiers were put
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.
Literary analysis America’s war heroes all have the same stories to tell but different tales. Prescribed with the same coloring page to fill in, and use their methods and colors to bring the image to life. This is the writing style and tactic used by Tim O’Brien in his novel, “The Things They Carried”. Steven Kaplan’s short story criticism, The Undying Certainty of the Narrator in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, provides the audience with an understanding of O’Brien’s techniques used to share “true war” stories of the Vietnam War. Kaplan explains the multitude of stories shared in each of the individual characters, narration and concepts derived from their personal experiences while serving active combat duty during the Vietnam War,
The lives of soldiers, Norman Bowker and Curt Lemon, illustrate how the war pressures the human spirit to a standard it can’t resemble. The pressure and responsibilities of lost friends and lost acts of courage heavily weigh Norman Bowker down,
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.