What Are The Similarities Between The Things They Carried And Grave Of The Fireflies

Soldiers and civilians alike suffer devastating effects as a result of war, which leaves permanent marks on human history. In ‘The Things They Carried’, Tim O’Brien writes vividly to portray war events experienced by him, and other American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Isao Takahata’s “Grave of the Fireflies'' animation depicts events experienced by Seita and Setsuko, two young kids, during the war. Showing the physical and mental strains of the war on the innocence of different characters in the story and movie. Both of those works offer depictions of war from the perspectives of soldiers and civilians, by the portrayal of traumatic scenes and stories. It is through the portrayal of those crucial scenes that readers are forced to confront

Both different wars, but similar patterns occur, destruction. In the chapter "How to Tell a True War Story," O'Brien narrates for Rat Kiley, about the tragic death of Curt Lemon. Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon who were playing with a gas grenade with each other away from other soldiers. On page 67, Rat Kiley tells O’Brien about how Curt Lemon was around some trees and stepped on a booby trap, describing “it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him, and lifted him up, and sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and white blossom.” Similarly, in "Grave of the Fireflies," Seita and Setsuko experience chaos in their relative’s house after their mother dies from a bomb raid, however still manages to see beauty in fireflies amidst the war. Both examples explore the psychological coping mechanisms of civilians amidst the chaos and destruction of war. As the trauma of losing a close comrade, like Curt Lemon, was suggested to be overwhelming, Rat Kiley developed coping

Both depicted as an frequent occurrence in the story and movie, it forces the readers to face thr tuhs of war, and the realism it causes. In “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien covers Bower’s story, who struggles to adapt to Vietnam’s environment. Bower is disgusted by the makeshift toilet field in Vietnam, and struggles along with Kiowa, who is a respectable character. O'Brien narrates parts of Bower and Kiowa's experiences during the war, including Kiowa’s death, which affected both O’Brien and Bower. Similarly, in Takahata’s “Grave of the Fireflies” the main protagonist, Setsuko also dies in the end. Setsuko's death becomes a powerful concluding event that ties back to the film's beginning, where Seita tells his life during the war. Seita’s point of view in the movie reveals that he feels guilty for Setsuko's death, which was malnourishment because he chose to follow his ego, and to not stay with his aunt who gave him food, and a place to live. In the end, it concludes back to Seita’s death in the train, which shows how the death of Setsuko was the death of his, depicting the guilt he feels. Similarly, in "Speaking of Courage," it depicts Bower's life after the war and his battle with mental illness, while repeating “I could’ve won the Silver Star.” O'Brien describes Bower's guilt