Selections by Tim O’Brien In 1990, Tim O’Brien introduces his book “The Things They Carried” which consists of interrelated short stories pertaining to the Vietnam War, which took place from 1955-1975, being that he is a veteran of the war. O’Brien introduces “Ambush” and “On the Rainy River”, which are the two selections that are being focused on. The related themes include; moral responsibility to do something generally acceptable by society, death and the distinction between right and wrong found in these selections. Social obligation within these selections, ranges from the government and narrowed to the family and friends. O’Brien focuses on how the men in his stories joined the army because of the pressures they face in order
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Being that the story “Ambush” involves the theme death. Mohammad Albalooshi stated,” and we finally get to see how the narrator used a grenade to kill the man. However, even here the focus on beauty without the total negligence of the ugliness of war is still visible.”(www.scholar.valpo.edu) Death in “Ambush” became evident when the narrator describes how he killed a young man during his draft in the Vietnam War. Death’s repetition throughout the story shows that O’Brien was not only worried about the fear of death but the aftermath of killing someone can haunt you. Moreover, in “On the Rainy River”, O’Brien spent his days after he received the draft notice surrounded by death. He was mainly surrounded by death because of the meat plant he worked at during that summer. After running out of options about escaping the draft, he was trapped. The draft then took away his the freedom and capacity to live in a defined world, and left him to choose whether or not to he wants to put his life on the line for his country. O’Brien then realizes that he had to just go and fight and also face death for reasons he couldn’t
Being that the story “Ambush” involves the theme death. Mohammad Albalooshi stated,” and we finally get to see how the narrator used a grenade to kill the man. However, even here the focus on beauty without the total negligence of the ugliness of war is still visible.”(www.scholar.valpo.edu) Death in “Ambush” became evident when the narrator describes how he killed a young man during his draft in the Vietnam War. Death’s repetition throughout the story shows that O’Brien was not only worried about the fear of death but the aftermath of killing someone can haunt you. Moreover, in “On the Rainy River”, O’Brien spent his days after he received the draft notice surrounded by death. He was mainly surrounded by death because of the meat plant he worked at during that summer. After running out of options about escaping the draft, he was trapped. The draft then took away his the freedom and capacity to live in a defined world, and left him to choose whether or not to he wants to put his life on the line for his country. O’Brien then realizes that he had to just go and fight and also face death for reasons he couldn’t