Chapter 1: They Things They Carried
Part 1- Tim O’Brien, in the novel, The Things They Carried , describes all of the objects that the soldiers carried during the war. The men carried necessities, such as knives, guns, helmets, food and water. They also carried more personal items, such as “love” letters, drugs/cigarettes, contraceptives and the New Testament. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from Martha, a girl he was in love with. On April 16th, Lieutenant Cross was imagining and fantasizing about Martha when Ted Lavender was shot in the head while walking back from using the restroom. He blames himself and Martha for Lavender’s death and burns every letter and picture that Martha had sent him while he was in Vietnam. (116 words)
Part 2- “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something that he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war”, (16). A theme that I had noticed in Chapter 1 was that past experiences of war completely change a person. This passage was an example of the theme because Cross was caring, but after Lavender was killed he decided that he needed to be more …show more content…
After graduating college Tim received his draft for the Vietnam war, but he didn’t want to fight and he didn’t like the idea of war or what it caused. He contemplated fleeing the country, trying to find a way of getting out of being drafted to Vietnam. One day, the stress got to be too much for him and he snapped and took off. He drives along the Rainy River, and stays at the Tip Top Lodge, where he spends time with Elroy Berdahl. On one of their fishing trips, they stop in Canadian territory, and O’Brien breaks down trying to decide whether to leave or stay. He ultimately decides to stay and join the war out of the embarrassment of not going. (144
Part 1- Tim O’Brien, in the novel, The Things They Carried , describes all of the objects that the soldiers carried during the war. The men carried necessities, such as knives, guns, helmets, food and water. They also carried more personal items, such as “love” letters, drugs/cigarettes, contraceptives and the New Testament. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from Martha, a girl he was in love with. On April 16th, Lieutenant Cross was imagining and fantasizing about Martha when Ted Lavender was shot in the head while walking back from using the restroom. He blames himself and Martha for Lavender’s death and burns every letter and picture that Martha had sent him while he was in Vietnam. (116 words)
Part 2- “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something that he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war”, (16). A theme that I had noticed in Chapter 1 was that past experiences of war completely change a person. This passage was an example of the theme because Cross was caring, but after Lavender was killed he decided that he needed to be more …show more content…
After graduating college Tim received his draft for the Vietnam war, but he didn’t want to fight and he didn’t like the idea of war or what it caused. He contemplated fleeing the country, trying to find a way of getting out of being drafted to Vietnam. One day, the stress got to be too much for him and he snapped and took off. He drives along the Rainy River, and stays at the Tip Top Lodge, where he spends time with Elroy Berdahl. On one of their fishing trips, they stop in Canadian territory, and O’Brien breaks down trying to decide whether to leave or stay. He ultimately decides to stay and join the war out of the embarrassment of not going. (144