“Comparison of The Things They Carried and The Red Badge of Courage” In Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 1 in the Holy Bible, it says, “There is a time for everything….” This book then goes on to say in verse 8 “…a time for war and a time for peace” (Holy 855). War has been a confronting topic from the beginning of time. Tim’s O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage share the same theme as Ecclesiastes 3:8—war. The Red Badge of Courage, written by Stephen Crane and published in 1895, “remains a masterpiece of literature about war” (Marshall, Donald G. Crane, Stephen). This book has also been “praised for its realistic portrayal of war” (Seidel). Crane was born in 1871 and died of a life-threating disease,
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O’Brien “served in the U.S. Army infantry in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970” (Marshall, Donald G. O’Brien, Tim). The title—The Things They Carried—comes from each character and their description of what they carry during the Vietnam War. Each character has a unique item that they carry. From a girlfriend’s pantyhose to the weight of a fellow soldier’s death each character has a special item that ultimately has an inner meaning. O’Brien tells the story of a platoon fighting in Vietnam. The soldiers bond as a group and see incidents that no human should see. O’Brien “presents as much as is physically and emotionally possible, as if it were real” (The). The Things They Carried has been labeled fiction; however, “critics and readers alike have paid considerable attention to the question of whether the events in the book are literally true or products of O’Brien’s imagination” …show more content…
For The Red Badge of Courage the story is impersonal. Considering Stephen Crane’s birth date, he did not see any action in war. “He based his work on conversations with combat veterans, works of fiction, histories of military campaigns, and his own imagination” (Seidel). The main theme is war, but nonetheless there are many small themes carried out for only a couple of chapters at a time: fear, ignorance, hurt, shame, death, anger, and confusion. On the other hand, The Things They Carried is personal and astounding. O’Brien’s style of writing “supports this primary objective of evoking a real response in the reader” (The). In the same way that The Red Badge of Courage’s main theme is war, the same thing is true for The Things They Carried. There are some that are not as obvious for the book as a whole but for a few chapters at a time: memory, imagination, death, fear, exhaustion, and storytelling. These eye-opening pieces of work carry the same theme, and have created a major impact on the readers. Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage and Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried contain some aspects that are both alike and different. The main theme—war—is the same throughout both works of literature. War is also a provoking issue that is making its way into the daily conversations of everyday
O’Brien “served in the U.S. Army infantry in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970” (Marshall, Donald G. O’Brien, Tim). The title—The Things They Carried—comes from each character and their description of what they carry during the Vietnam War. Each character has a unique item that they carry. From a girlfriend’s pantyhose to the weight of a fellow soldier’s death each character has a special item that ultimately has an inner meaning. O’Brien tells the story of a platoon fighting in Vietnam. The soldiers bond as a group and see incidents that no human should see. O’Brien “presents as much as is physically and emotionally possible, as if it were real” (The). The Things They Carried has been labeled fiction; however, “critics and readers alike have paid considerable attention to the question of whether the events in the book are literally true or products of O’Brien’s imagination” …show more content…
For The Red Badge of Courage the story is impersonal. Considering Stephen Crane’s birth date, he did not see any action in war. “He based his work on conversations with combat veterans, works of fiction, histories of military campaigns, and his own imagination” (Seidel). The main theme is war, but nonetheless there are many small themes carried out for only a couple of chapters at a time: fear, ignorance, hurt, shame, death, anger, and confusion. On the other hand, The Things They Carried is personal and astounding. O’Brien’s style of writing “supports this primary objective of evoking a real response in the reader” (The). In the same way that The Red Badge of Courage’s main theme is war, the same thing is true for The Things They Carried. There are some that are not as obvious for the book as a whole but for a few chapters at a time: memory, imagination, death, fear, exhaustion, and storytelling. These eye-opening pieces of work carry the same theme, and have created a major impact on the readers. Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage and Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried contain some aspects that are both alike and different. The main theme—war—is the same throughout both works of literature. War is also a provoking issue that is making its way into the daily conversations of everyday