Laos

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…

The purpose behind an author’s piece is what ultimately makes it interesting. Many people enjoy reading for various reasons; some like to read for entertainment and others like to read in order to develop a deeper understanding of a topic he or she wishes to learn more about. This can also be applied in regards to why authors enjoy writing -- he or she will always have a purpose. For instance, in Tim O 'Brien 's The Things They Carried, he tells many stories from when he was in the Vietnam War.…

War changes people. The Vietnam war changed many soldiers, families, and countries who were affected. This war was different from the other wars we had fought in the past. It was long and, it lasted years longer than they had expected. The war became increasingly unpopular at home in the United States. The Things They Carried is a historical fiction novel that follows Tim O’Brien, who is also the protagonist of the book- and his fellow soldiers in the Alpha Company during the Vietnam war. Tim…

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” This quote by poet Robert Frost states that a good work of literature, good enough to be read by others, should have a deeply personal exercise between the writer and the reader. If the writer has a reaction to an event, the reader should have the reaction as well. In my eyes, Frost is 100% accurate with this claim. In “The Things They Carry” Timothy O’Brien, a Vietnam War veteran, writes…

When people hear stories, most of the time they can tell if they are real, but sometimes it can be hard to tell. Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried shows his and the experiences of many other soldiers in the Vietnam War. He describes all the horrible things they see, what they feel, and the impact of the war on them. Along with the memories of war, he also includes the art of writing and the importance of stories. In some of the chapters, O’Brien even writes about events that never…

America from the 1950’s to the 1970’s was in complete turmoil. The Vietnam War had taken over and fear was instilled into the lives of Americans everywhere. There was the fear of being drafted, the fear of loved ones leaving, the fear of loved ones dying, and the fear of war itself. Although society wanted to believe the war was notable and heroic, many did not think that way. Men who were sent over to Vietnam during the war were stripped of their lives and forced to adapt to life under attack.…

Those with PTSD show an altered chemical formation of cortisol in the brain, which deals with acute stress. “Cortisol is normally released as anti-stress hormone that shuts off biological reactions”(Van Der Kolk, 2002, p.5). Those with PTSD have low levels of cortisol resulting in their biological reactions of norepinephrine to be released. The response to this stimuli results in a fight or flight response, which is commonly seen in war. Those engaging in a state of high arousal will often…

The Vietnam War brought many concerns to American Citizens. Protesters throughout the United States claimed America’s involvement in the war was both unjust and unethical. Likewise, Tim O’Brien, the author of many Vietnam based novels, expressed the same feelings of unjust and unethical means for America’s involvement in the war. In 1968, O’Brien graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and within the same year was drafted to the United States Army and served his time in…

War Poems: Similarities and Differences “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” This quote was made by former president Herbert Hoover in regards to truth about what happens in a course of a country during the time war. This statement is true in many ways as a majority of the large wars that the United States participated in younger men were required to sign up for the draft which people involuntary went to fight for a cause that they personally may have not…

In What It Is Like To Go To War, Karl Marlantes writes about a multitude of issues that war veterans have to deal with after coming back from war while using the rhetorical appeals of ethos and pathos to try and build common ground with his audience. Marlantes argues that loyalty difference when it is being used by civilians compared to warriors of war, even though he was drafted into the marines and did not join willingly. Loyalty is a universal concept that all people of any belief understand.…