Kiowa

Jennifer Baer Grade 9 Mrs. Villanova American Literature 1 On Courage, Cowardice, and Masculinity One of the first sights that are thought of on the subject of war is death. More specifically, death caused by other men. In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the thoughts of individual American soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War are reflected upon, explicitly on what they did and did not execute during the Vietnam War. One of the main themes O’Brien includes is that, “Men killed, and died,…

During the 1950’s and on through the 1970’s, America was in a “conflict” with the North Vietnamese communists and southern Viet Cong. To the American public this war was unnecessary and meant having to ship their sons off to risk losing their lives. In response, many song writers wrote songs about the worthlessness and repercussions of warfare; for example, Edwin Starr and his song “War”. In his song, Starr’s lyrics often coincide with themes from Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried.…

Importance of Shame in The Things They Carried Have you ever felt shame and made decisions that haunt you every day of your life? It’s okay to feel shame because other people have had worse experiences. In the book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien shame causes soldiers to act differently and to make choices that they would have never thought that they would’ve made. Even though shame drives some soldiers towards heroism, not stupidity, it plays an important role in the novel because it…

Do I Die Die or Hypothetically Die? The central idea of Tim O 'Brien 's "The Things They Carried" is that it 's not always the physical baggage that 's bothersome, it could be the emotional baggage. The story was about U.S. troops in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The soldiers had to carry tangible and intangible objects. One of them died. After putting the blame on himself, the lieutenant tried to change his ways to prevent the deaths of his other troops. The lieutenant was Jimmy Cross and…

The Burdens of the Battlefield “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing- these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight” (O’Brein, 20). The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a collection of stories from the Vietnam war. The stories in the novel range from harsh and violent to deep and emotionally resonating. Throughout this wide range of stories, however, there are similarities…

Because of the emotional scars that war can leave on soldiers then it makes it harder for them to feel like they fit back into society when their past still seems to haunt them. In the book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien the guilt of the past the character Norman Bowker feels did not disappear up until the time of his death. While Norman was serving in Vietnam his was unable to save the life of a fellow soldier and it seems that he puts most of the blame and the guilt on to him. And…

his family tribe the Kiowas for maintaining their culture despite the struggles and European influence in “The Rainy Mountain”. For instance, even though his grandmother became “a Christian in her later years… she never forgot her birthright”(np). Her memories of her culture of the Sun Dance and her language is still vivid to her, which then is passed to Momaday as stories to share. By sharing the tribe stories, it is preserving their culture and unites them together as the Kiowa. Beside…

Carried Through the War An estimated one million American soldiers died in the Vietnam War. The war was brutal, and even though I have not experienced war directly, I can imagine a persistent death awaiting each and every individual on the battlefield. It is his short story “The Things They Carried”, by author and writer Tim O’ Brien, that I believe truly illustrates the hardships and death of the Vietnam War and how they affected soldiers physically, spiritually, and mentally. To begin with,…

“In its intransitive form, to hump meant to walk, or to march, but it implied burdens far beyond intransitive.” This quote by author Tim O’Brien explains the effect each character from his story, “The Things They Carried” felt during the Vietnam War. O'Brien uses the items to provide a glimpse into each character’s desires throughout the war. The men carried items for necessity, superstition, and by rank. Not only did O’Brien describe the physical items and burdens these men endure, he also…

elders are respected the most, then second generation, then the first generation. This should be used in a high school classroom because students can learn about traditions of the Kiowa tribe with an authentic piece of literature, following Reese’s rules. Towards the end of his article, Momaday tells the story of how the Kiowa tribe originated. In the story, he explains, “And later they took the name Gaigwu, a name which can be taken to indicate something of which the two halves differ from each…