The Things They Carried Love Rhetorical Analysis

Growing up, Love was never a concept that was explained. We knew we loved out r family and we loved our friends and we loved all of our favorite things in life, but where do we draw a line? When are we to know when we’re crossing from acceptable love to unhealthy love? And most of all, when do we know if we actually love something, or if we think we love something? In “Love” by Tim O’Brien, he involves interchanging shifts from a light hearted to a discouraged mood using an overall symbol, implied imagery, and brief foreshadowing at the end of the chapter to depict the idea that immense guilt and pain are able to coincide with love and the idea of love. This chapter is opened with Tim O’Brien and Jimmy Cross getting together after the war to discuss their lives over coffee. As they were looking through pictures that were scattered across the table, Cross mentions how he still hasn’t forgiven himself for the death of Ted Lavender. Once they realized that they weren’t getting …show more content…
Cross is asking O’Brien to make him out to be “a good guy”, “brave and handsome” (29). He then leads into asking O’Brien to not “mention anything about--” (29) and stops. O’Brien knows what he’s talking about, reassures him that he won’t, and that’s where the chapter ends. This can be left open for assumptions and discussions. As a reader, I was extremely curious as to what he would be referring to, and I was hoping that O’Brien would go back on his word and end up mentioning it later. This foreshadowing is a b=very good tactic made by authors to keep the reader guessing, therefore proving that they’ll continue reading the novel. This foreshadowing could also involve some sort of hardship in Cross’ life, whether that be with Martha or what have you. It could have a lot to do with the pain that’s able to go hand-in-hand with affection, and everything else that comes with