Home Page
'The Things They Carried By Tim O' Brien

'The Things They Carried By Tim O' Brien

Improved Essays

Show More

In the story “The Things They Carried” written by Tim O’Brien, he writes about a war between Vietnam and the United States. He writes about what he experienced while he was fighting and the different people he met/ died. But in reality it is about the people the nations send to war, who are risking everything. Not the nations.
The people that go to the war to fight for our country are very brave. Some of them risk EVERYTHING. They will leave their families, pets, and more behind when they don’t know if they will ever come back. They are risking their life. Sometimes for no reason. In this story many people risk their lives and Tim writes about it.
Mary Ann Bell. Mary Ann is one of the the other soldiers girlfriend. Mark Fossie is Mary Ann’s

Related Documents

Improved Essays
The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis
- 627 Words
- 3 Pages
The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis

In the chapter, On the Rainy River, of Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien, the main character, is considered a coward. This is because he first ran away from the war, and his responsibility to his country, and he then chickened out and did not follow through with his plan. This is very much related to both the Declaration of Independence and Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In this chapter, O’Brien is conflicted between not knowing what he will be fighting for when he goes to war, and feeling like he needs to meet the expectations of others and being loyal to his country.…
- 627 Words
- 3 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis
- 672 Words
- 3 Pages
The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis

In the chapter, On the Rainy River, of Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien, the main character, is considered a coward. Mainly because he first wants to dodge the draft, and his responsibility to his country by going to Canada. He then chickens out and does not follow through with his plan. On the Rainy River chronicles his struggle to decide what he will do. Both the Declaration of Independence and Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God relate in different ways to his perspective on the war and his choices.…
- 672 Words
- 3 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
The Red Convertible By Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
- 1249 Words
- 5 Pages
The Red Convertible By Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Throughout time and the existence of man, there has been war. Whether the war was with a different tribe, a different town, a different state, a different, country, a different continent, or even within oneself. War can come in all shapes and sizes whether it is from the Revolutionary War or to having a war within one’s mind. No matter the size of the war, there will always be damages, even if the damage is not direct. The stories “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, take place during the Vietnam War.…
- 1249 Words
- 5 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Decent Essays
Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
- 442 Words
- 2 Pages
Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

When reading The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien there were many different things that can be learned. Being involved in a war such as Vietnam required having many different traits as a person. In order to be properly prepared to endure something as traumatic as war, the traits needed are, courageousness, faithful, insightful, and open-mindedness. Each of these traits are essential to successfully entering this type of position. Being in the military, air force, or coast guard takes a lot, and this task can only be taken on by certain people.…
- 442 Words
- 2 Pages
Decent Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
- 961 Words
- 4 Pages
Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

In the novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, many of the soldiers have metaphorical baggage that they have gathered from their treacherous time in the jungles of Vietnam. Similar to the soldiers, I have noticed that throughout the first 17 years of my life I have a lot of baggage and metaphorical things that I carry around with me everyday. My baggage often takes a toll on my life and causes me unnecessary harm. The most influential piece of baggage in my life is my strive and want for perfection in every activity that I participate in. This is closely related to the idea that I am afraid to fail.…
- 961 Words
- 4 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
- 517 Words
- 3 Pages
Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Every Human in the world has their own life figure it out in their minds, mostly everyone someday, or another will find something that they truly love and will do everything to satisfy that love no matter what the situation is, even though, sometimes it can result in your death, by pursuing the love or dream that you have, you might sometimes face many obstacles and difficulties, but it will all depend on the love that you have to continue believing in yourself until you achieve that goal or dream. As every human in the world, we all are very different in many ways, we all follow different dreams, and we love different things. Many people love drugs so much that can even let their satisfaction to drugs kill themselves. Some fall in love with a girl, some live for their families. We all…
- 517 Words
- 3 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis
- 1239 Words
- 5 Pages
Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis

In the novel, The Things They Carried, the author, Tim O’Brien, purposely places the stories out of chronological order in order for readers to fully feel the impact and importance of the stories and make them come to life. He begins by writing tales as if they were real and later admits they were simply stories made up to keep the dead alive. A particular story that stood out was the piece surrounding Curt Lemon. Towards the beginning, there is a story of how Bob Kiley wrote a letter to Curt Lemon’s sister after his death and mentions how the man painted himself up and went trick-or-treating on Halloween in a village in “just boots and balls and an M-16”. By inserting this story in the beginning the readers automatically associate Curt Lemon…
- 1239 Words
- 5 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Superior Essays
Irony In The Things They Carried
- 1696 Words
- 7 Pages
Irony In The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien explores the experiences of a platoon from the Vietnam war in a series of short stories. The stories go deeper than the events of the war, they show the moral dilemmas soldiers face everyday in the battlefield. Tim O’Brien served in the Vietnam war, but these stories are not based off of his experience, although it plays a role in his storytelling. Most of the short stories are written in first person from the perspective of Tim O’Brien, a fictional character not based on the author, but some are written from other perspectives to provide depth. Tim O’Brien uses perspective and imagery to show the effect of war on soldiers and the guilt from killing they experience in the short stories “The Man I Killed”…
- 1696 Words
- 7 Pages
Superior Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
How Does The Vietnam War Affect Society
- 422 Words
- 2 Pages
How Does The Vietnam War Affect Society

In the novel, The Things They Carried written by author, Tim O’Brien the Vietnam war has a profound effect on the young soldiers who are forced into fighting in it. The war effects each of these characters in different ways and changes their lives and how they see the world forever. Some of these characters survive the war itself but the long lasting effects on them mentally and emotionally, are too much to bear after coming home to a community that they no longer feel they belong in. It effected some of them so much it had a heavy influence on whether they even came home at all. Tim O’Brien is against the war, because he doesn’t understand why it’s even being fought in the first place.”…
- 422 Words
- 2 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
The Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong, By Tim O Brien
- 1146 Words
- 5 Pages
The Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong, By Tim O Brien

Rat Kiley finds out “Nobody was ever found. No equipment, no clothing” (110). She was lost in the jungles of Vietnam, though some people believed she was alive and ready for the kill. It is tragic to see how she once planned on living a perfectly, happy life with her boyfriend and now she was lost in the jungles of Vietnam. This not so uplifting story of Mary Anne fits in nicely O’Brien’s Criteria of a true war…
- 1146 Words
- 5 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Superior Essays
The Things They Carried Analysis Essay
- 1129 Words
- 5 Pages
The Things They Carried Analysis Essay

Since we, as readers, were able to clearly perceive the emotional truth about war that Tim O’Brien wanted to convey. “By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others.…
- 1129 Words
- 5 Pages
Superior Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Cowardice In The Things They Carried
- 722 Words
- 3 Pages
Cowardice In The Things They Carried

In The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, Stories focus on the struggles of soldiers during Vietnam. Three different characters have different reasons they are cowards, but each character has one thing in common; each character struggles with their cowardice alone. O’Brien uses each character’s struggle with cowardice to link back to how society expects a man to keep his fears to themselves. The characters who struggle with fear in this story are Tim O’Brien, Norman Bowker, and Jimmy Cross. Tim O’Brien struggles with cowardice because he went to war instead of running from the draft and going to Canada.…
- 722 Words
- 3 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
The Things They Carried Bravery Character Analysis
- 1592 Words
- 7 Pages
The Things They Carried Bravery Character Analysis

Characters in The Things They Carried all earn respect from their bravery throughout the Vietnam War, but bravery is not something easy to have. Soldiers took a lot of sacrifices to be able to be considered brave. Tim O’Brien proves that life as a soldier is extremely difficult. Characters in The Things They Carried endured harsh conditions and required a long effort to be attributed as “brave”. Curt Lemon, Ted Lavender, Norman Bowker, and Kiowa each had great patriotism to sacrifice their own life in order to save another, which is true bravery.…
- 1592 Words
- 7 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Reflection For The Things They Carried
- 1225 Words
- 5 Pages
Reflection For The Things They Carried

The story begins with Rat writing a personal and touching letter to the sister of a man who was killed. He receives no response from her, and all efforts were for nothing and then you wonder, “What happens next?” A true war story is never moral. Another man killed Curt Lemon and his story is told.…
- 1225 Words
- 5 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Great Essays
Theme Of Brotherhood In The Things They Carried
- 1944 Words
- 8 Pages
Theme Of Brotherhood In The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried is a collection of stories that Tim O’Brien the author of the novel uses to portray his experiences and feelings throughout the Vietnam War. This book conveys the life of the men throughout the war and post war and shares his vivid experiences as if you were almost there. O’Brien not only tells the cruel part of his experiences but the love and sacrifice that bonded the soldiers to form a sense of brotherhood. In the Book The Thing They Carried, O’Brien conveys bonds soldiers created for emotional support and shows soldiers struggles post war to form other connections to convey the importance of brotherhood. Brotherhood is necessary to help soldiers deal with the hardships of the war which is shown as the overall truth in the novel.…
- 1944 Words
- 8 Pages
Great Essays

Read More

Related Topics