The Things They carried was a book written by Tim O'Brien and was originally published on March 28, 1990.
Author Biography
- Tim O'Brien was born in 1946 in Austin, Minn.
- He graduated from college in 1968 and shortly after
- during February of 1969 to March of 1970, he served in the Vietnam war.
- Tim O'Brien has written a memoir and 6 other novels, a recognized example being the things they carried.
- The things they carried was a fictional novel, yet it was incredibly authentic and recounts some stories that Tim O'brien really experienced but in a fabricated way.
- The things they carried blurs the line between fiction and reality in a purposeful, meaningful way.
- Tim O'Brien tells "The things they carried" as a story rather than as news or nonfiction because it doesn't reach people the way a story could
- stories 'capture the heart, stomach, and back of the throat'. Tim O'Brien says in a interview
- Tim O'Brien describes when he is invested in a book, he sees himself in it, implying that readers would see themselves in it too and not just as an observer and he employs various narrative tactics to tug at a reader's heart strings.
The Historical background of "The Things they carried"
- The things they carried is a book about the Vietnam war, it was written 20 years after the war occurred.
- The war was a conflict between North and South Vietnam in an effort to contain communism from spreading to the south. it began in the 1950's till the 1970's. The United States forces allied with South Vietnam.
- In the United States young men were drafted into war, and thousands ended up dying. The government held draft lotteries. Many were outraged at this action and many men publicly burned their draft cards in protest, this was known as draft dodging.
- From the controversial draft and the extreme number of causalities, it sparked protests against the Vietnam war. The media attempted to silence the protests fueling the fire against the Vietnam war.
The political commentary of the things they carried
- "The things they carried" sheds light upon the trauma that all these young soldiers, both the fictional characters and real soldiers who fought have endured in their lives from this war.
- It calls attention to how Brutal the war is and how it eviscerates the mental state and the physical trauma of soldiers of the war.
- Tim O'Brien brings light to these subjects to highlight how complicated and gruesome war is, how it's never clear who the bad guys or good guys are, but it demonstrates how excruciating is for everybody involved.
- Tim O'Brien also brings up about stories, and how vital they are, and this point is brought up because if no one retells or shares these depressing and authentic tales, then their tragedy would become their reality once more. This book has a very Anti-war message .
(Historical Context for The Things They Carried)
the themes and tones of "The things they carried"
- "The things they carried" has themes about burdens, and well both literal weight and also mental weight that the soldiers must bear.
- The book at first describes literally what the soldiers carried but the things they carried was more than just the physical object, it was their meaning such as Jimmy cross's photos of Martha, a young woman who he adored deeply and Kiowa's hunting hatchet that held deep significance as it was passed down to him from his family.
- The things they carried often has drastic shifts in its tones as on one paragraph could highlight the anxiety of being out there in the jungle, and the next just as fast a gunshot would fire, and men would die.
- For example, extremely early on into the novel we are told of ted lavender's death almost immediately. As ted lavender died from stepping onto a land mine. This one of many instances where someone from the platoon would die just as quickly.
- Another major theme is the guilt and the fear of shame of not participating in the war would do. O'brien in this novel believes he would be a coward for not fighting in the war.
- His cowardice pushes him to do it, although he does not agree with the war in the slightest. This motivation is misguided and dangerous as it leads the characters to do uncertain actions all because they wanted to be accepted.
- All these deaths and actions serve to highlight how useless the war feels.
- Throughout this book nobody, not a single party ever gained anything from the time spent on such dangerous missions. The bloodshed of innocent men, the loss of young soldiers and corruption all add up to the agonizing pointlessness.
French, Kathleen. "The Things They Carried Themes." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 17 Sep 2013. Web. 17 Jun 2022.
the narrative techniques Tim O'brien uses in "The things they carried."
- Tim O'Brien uses a variety of techniques and devices to emphasize and connect to the readers. He uses invention, and dialogue and he used syntax effectively.
- During a very particular passage describing the boredom of war he uses short sentences at first. He did this to get the reader to skim through them as they read and then suddenly screech to a grinding halt
- the moment a shift occurs in the manner which the boredom is broken by the firing of a gun. The boredom is described as a dripping faucet of acid eating away at you, creating a sense of anxiety and panic when the shift happens.
- Tim O'brien writes the book in the form of a series of short stories.
- There is a lot of repetition in the book as there is always lingering uneasiness and you always feel the death of the characters. When Ted Lavender died Kiowa reiterates how he fell limp in an instant. "The poor bastard just flat-fuck fell. Boom. Down. Nothing else." Ted Lavender's death also sticks to Jimmy cross, as he feels responsible.
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| Thoughts |
The use of repetition makes death carry so much more weight pressing on the mind of the reader. Though the soldiers don't always overreact with shock, there's a much deeper sense of grief you feel.
This is very brilliant technique by Tim O'brien
Significance of the number 3:
The number three signifies completeness, an equal trifecta according to the bible.
“Free Bible Study Materials!” Biblestudy.Org, www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/3.html. Accessed 30 June 2022.
Bibilography
<a href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/historical-context-for-the-things-they-carried.html">Historical Context for The Things They Carried</a>
“Free Bible Study Materials!” Biblestudy.Org, www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/3.html. Accessed 30 June 2022.
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