The Things They Carried Critical Theories/Themes The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien represents many different critical theories throughout the novel. O’Brien reflects on his experience in the Vietnam War. He also tells the reader about the people that were there with him. In the novel, the Marxist theory is very relevant. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was very pre-occupied during the war with his girlfriend Martha. All he did was think about her and the letters she sent him. He would put his men at risk because he wasn’t following proper safety rules. The death of Ted Lavender hit Lieutenant Cross hard because it happened at a time when he was paying much attention to the men. Lavender was shot in the head on his way back from the bathroom (pg. 12). Lieutenant Cross felt like it was his fault that Lavender was killed. Many years after the war, Lieutenant Cross still blames himself for Ted Lavender’s death. He met with O’Brien and when saw a picture of Ted Lavender. O’Brien said, “Jimmy rubbed his eyes and said he’d never forgiven himself for Lavender’s death (pg. 27).” Even O’Brien said he felt the same way about certain things. They were both in a state of “dystopia.” Jimmy Cross couldn’t get this terrible feeling out of his head. The feeling could be compared to “hell.” There are many archetypal criticisms in the novel as well. Linda was Tim O’Brien’s friend and “first love” when he was nine years old. She had cancer and many of the kids at school teased her for always wearing a hat (pg. 233). However, O’Brien was always there for her. He stuck by her side until the day she passed away. Linda is considered an archetype in this novel because she represents O’Brien’s past that can be brought back through his stories and dreams. After Linda’s funeral, O’Brien would lie in bed at night and “make up elaborate stories to bring Linda alive…” He could see Linda still alive in his dreams because of his imagination (pg. 243). His daydreams helped him cope through Linda’s death. Tim O’Brien’s childhood experiences help explain why he has turned to storytelling as a coping method. The Things They Carried also represents many themes of war. Many of the soldiers that were in the Vietnam War bonded with each other as if they were one big family. Some soldiers struggled with the experience more than others. The theme fog of war represents the soldiers who were unsure about what to do. Norman Bowker was a quiet, young soldier from Central Iowa who was constantly trying to live up to his father’s expectations. He was with his friend, Kiowa, when he died in the swamp. Years after the war he still felt that he couldn’t relate to anyone back home, so he hanged himself in the locker room of local YMCA in his hometown. He wrote to
Nikita Keenan 7/14/12 Throughout Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, the persona of the author often serves as a medium between the translation of emotion felt by characters in the story to the reader of the book. By developing fictitious versions of events that transpired while serving in the Vietnam War, O’Brien’s character is able to revive memories from the past as well as spark feelings of understanding and empathy in others. Surprisingly, the tone of the narrator rarely peals…
and it now lives through war. Wars have split countries and even created factions within religions. Perhaps one of the most overlooked consequences of wars are the effects it has on the people who fight them. War is a hellish thing. Only a few people return from wars without changing. In The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, explains the burdens of war through symbolism. The physical and psychological consequences war has on soldiers transforms them into shadows of their former selves. During times of war,…
surprised me the most were the tranquilizers that Ted lavender carried with him. This surprised me because it showed how he couldn’t even take the effects of the war and had to do something to almost remove him from the situation at times. This item is also the most representative of war because they showed how stressful the war was because he had to take them to numb himself. The item that stays with me would be the pebble that Lt. Cross carried around. 2. A. Curt lemon was a coward about going to the…
Carried“The Things They Carried” – The American Civil War, 1861-1865 A soldier fighting in the Civil War had mixed feelings of compelling patriotism, notably with the Confederates but undeniably just as present in the Union, and strong disgust. Battles often consisted of fathers, uncles, sons and brothers all fighting the American states bordering their own. Specific to the Civil War: * Scabbard w/ or w/out detailing (depends): Bayonet scabbards were issued to each soldier as standard…
Brine Shrimp Lab Abstract: In our lab, we observed the adaptation of brine shrimp eggs when they are exposed to different salt concentrations. Brine shrimp are greatly influenced by environmental factors and their relatively short development time makes them great candidates for an experiment for observing adaptation. We tested populations of brine shrimp by exposing them to different concentrations of salt solution (NaCl). The lab was spaced out over three days and each day we collected data…
before or what could happen. Emotional baggage is a big part of life, and in the story The Things They Carried by Time O’Brien really portrays that both physically and emotionally and really connects to you in the real life. Throughout this story it you learn about the baggage you carry and how some can be seen and some are chosen by you and some are ones you just have and some are given. The Things They Carried is a story about soldiers that are stationed at war outside of the states. Many of these…
In the vignette “Good Form” out of the book The Things they Carried, O’Brien admits to telling the “story-truth”, not the “Happening-Truth”. This changes my view on the vignette “The Man I Killed” because in “Good Form” O’Brien admits to never seeing the faces of men he’s killed so that makes the vignette “The Man I Killed” just a humanization of the faceless men that O’Brien has killed in Vietnam. This book is essentially three literary categories in one. It is historical due to the accurate…
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is loosely based on the author’s personal experiences while fighting in Vietnam. O’Brien makes the book into a work of fiction by adding and embellishing actual events as well as giving the reader bits of personal information through stories about his war experiences, home and his childhood. O’Brien often brings up the concept of “truth” in his stories by letting the reader understand that although he is not necessarily providing a historically accurate version…
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a collection of essays, all centered on anecdotes of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. The seemingly straightforward recollections slowly reveal dense layers of personal and metaphorical meanings upon closer inspection, with the exploration of the characters’ emotions and the underlying motif of love creating the opportunity to trace how war changes a person in the realm of his emotions. The Vietnam warfare acts as a catalyst for all of the unsettling…
The role of women in the book The Things They Carried is an important one. These men have various views and feeling about the women they love, the women they hate, and the women that they may not know and can only dream of. While the text given to the ideas of women is small is stature, it is quite significant in meaning. There are three main women that enter and disrupt the lives of the Alpha company; Mary-Ann, Martha, and Henry Dobbin's girlfriend, who remains unnamed. The men carry letters, rocks…