• Home Page
  • Tim O Brien In The Things They Carried

Tim O Brien In The Things They Carried

Decent Essays
Show More
Tim O’brien is not only a character in this novel but also the author of The Things They Carried. In the novel and as well as real life, Tim is a very outspoken and blunt person when it comes to voicing his opinions and beliefs. Coming into war as a draftee, Tim did not believe that this war was justified and didn't support the war. Tim wasn't the most excited to be in war but I'm pretty sure he was part of a big majority that wasn't excited to be at war and the fact that Tim didn't like dirt, tents, or outdoor types of things in general didn't help. O’Brien felt obligated to go to war as he felt that the world was watching and didn't want to let them down by not going. Tim was unhappy with his job and life so he decided to go to war, knowing

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

    What Is The Theme Of Nightlife By Tim O Brien
    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What Is The Theme Of Nightlife By Tim O Brien

    Tim O’Brien went to Vietnam to fight. While there he experienced things he never thought of. In O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried, he wrote this book for himself to come to peace with the war he was suffering from and the problems. O’Brien was in Vietnam he experienced death, and him self getting shot two times. The book The Things They Carried is a story about Tim O'Brien's time in Vietnam and how he experienced the war.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Formal Essay: Tim O Brien
    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Formal Essay: Tim O Brien

    The war seems kind of mistaken to him. Its causes and effects undefined. Before his draft notice arrived, Tim had taken a stand against the war in the form of campaigning for the presidential campaign of anti-war activist Eugene McCarthy and writing college newsprint perspectives against the war. The day of receiving the notice to fight, he thought he was good to go fight in the war. His community keeps…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Ted Lavender In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ted Lavender In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien's. This novel connected to any short stories, but one of the best short story starts with Ted Lavender, and it is mostly important because, he is the first character to die, so his death characteristically make a change in the story. In mid-April, Alpha Company is searching out and destroying Vietcong tunnel. While one of the other men was down in a tunnel and everyone was waiting to see if he would come back up, Ted Lavender popped some tranquilizers and went off to pee.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    Effects of War People who serve in wars are affected by them for the rest of their lives. In the fiction novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, it is explained through stories how the war can leave long lasting effects on people. Everyone is scarred by the war, but some have better ways of handling the trauma than others. Wars can change who you are. The Vietnam War had the effect of taking innocent young men and making them unstable.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Things They Carried Quotes And Analysis Essay
    • 2297 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The Things They Carried Quotes And Analysis Essay

    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.…

    • 2297 Words
    • 10 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

    Theme Of Idealism In On The Rainy River
    • 1816 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Theme Of Idealism In On The Rainy River

    Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a break for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop.” (O’Brien 2) The idea of leaving the U.S to go to Canada to avoid the draft that he received to go to Vietnam, Tim finds this to be appealing. The idea of rebelling in order to remain faithful to his views and idealities is an appealing idea that he comes across. He recognizes that his life would change drastically and that the stakes are high if he gets caught, however at this point he does not care,…

    • 1816 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Tim O Brien Character Analysis Essay
    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Tim O Brien Character Analysis Essay

    O’Brien can be thought of as an appreciable author, for he can also be described as a cowardly veteran. Because O’Brien receives a draft notice, his indecision to advance to war motivates him to press onward towards Canada's border; he ends up proceeding to the Vietnam war after all. When O’Brien first automatically kills a man without hesitation, he seems oddly confused, for morals do not necessarily exist in war. In fact Tim O’Brien dramatizes the phenomenon of uncertainty and confusion of combat in the incidents of “The Things they Carried.” To begin with Tim describes how he appears uncertain to proceed to war, and he believes he should not be forced to abandon his own great life to do something that seems so unavailing.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Things They Carried Theme Essay
    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Things They Carried Theme Essay

    In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien shares numerous war stories to illustrate the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War. Throughout the book, the narrator, Tim O’Brien, shares stories about the soldiers in his platoon during the war. He shares what each soldier carried and its significance. He also discusses the effects of the war on the soldiers’ life, including his own, by using themes. O’Brien utilizes several themes in his stories, such as love and guilt.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Cowardice, And Masculinity In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien
    • 1032 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Cowardice, And Masculinity In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

    He has the pressure of his community on him to go, but he does not want to make a decision if he will go this soon. As tim battles with his thoughts on fleeing or going to the war, the date of the draft is nearing. O’Brien finally reaches his breaking point and flees to the Canadian border to spend what comes to 6 days with a man named Elroy. During his stay, he is put in a very tough spot about whether to flee or to not flee,but he does end up coming home and going to the Vietnam. Now, the normally courageous thing to do is what he did, go to the war and serve his country.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Symbols In On A Rainy River By Tim O Brien
    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Symbols In On A Rainy River By Tim O Brien

    Point 3 – Supporting evidence and details, including at least 1 or 2 quotations from each text Through the story, Tim struggles to make a decision and the amount of internal trouble it causes him is shown through the diction and word choice. “I went through whole days feeling dizzy with sorrow. I couldn't sleep; I couldn't lie still.” Tim has a feeling of regret for taking on a responsibility that he wasn't comfortable with. (going to war) “…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Theme Of On The Rainy River
    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of On The Rainy River

    This is a major similarity between the author and the narrator’s life that is impossible to miss. At the end of the story the narrator made the important decision to “go to the war… because he was embarrassed not to,” (O’Brien 186). Tim made the same decision in real life and received a purple heart for being hit with shrapnel while fighting in Vietnam. However, we do not know if he made the decision to fight for the same reason. Tim may have realized the right reason to go to war instead of returning and fighting because “he couldn’t risk the embarrassment” (O’Brien 186) of leaving his family like the narrator did in the story.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of If I Die In A Combat Zone By Tim O Brien
    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Analysis Of If I Die In A Combat Zone By Tim O Brien

    The main reason Tim O’Brien wrote this book was to show how war is not for everyone. Not everyone is accustomed to war. He proves this by his stories of how lonely he was and how the other soldiers were polar opposite from him, how courageous the other soldiers were and how he wasn’t, and how he was compassionate for the old men and native people but the other soldiers weren 't as…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings