the things they carried introduction essay

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The Things They Carried

To further complicate the overlapping of genres, and the continual shifts between fact and fiction, the protagonist in The Things They Carried  is a veteran of the Vietnam war by the name of “Tim O’Brien.” With the creation of this fictional persona, O’Brien is effectively able to explore his true emotions as if they were fictitious and challenges readers to reconsider stories that they perceive to be false, as they could just as easily be true .

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The Things They Carried

Tim o’brien.

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Mortality and Death

The threat, even expectation, of death hangs over all of the soldiers in The Things They Carried . Even before he reaches Vietnam, Tim O'Brien (both the author of the collection and the frequent first person narrator) meditates on the inevitability of his death after he is drafted in "On The Rainy River," and considers dodging the draft and fleeing to Canada. The collection is haunted by the deaths of O'Brien's comrades—Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon…

Social Obligation

In The Things They Carried , O'Brien often focuses on how the men in his stories, even if they volunteered to fight, joined the army because of the unspoken pressure to fulfill their obligations as citizens and soldiers. These social obligations range from that of wider society (government, city/town) and narrows to the nuclear (family, friends, personal reflection). After being drafted in "On the Rainy River," Tim O'Brien runs from his hometown and ends up…

Within the stories in The Things They Carried the characters tell many stories to each other, and the question always asked of the storyteller is "What's the moral?" In "How to Tell a True War Story," Mitchell Sanders tells O'Brien about a company who has to lie dormant and watchful in the pitch-blackness over a village. They begin to have auditory hallucinations: champagne glasses clinking, music playing, a full chamber orchestra. They aren't supposed to…

Storytelling and Memory

Storytelling in The Things They Carried operates on multiple levels: at the level of the book itself, the stories within stories, and the reflections on the value of these stories both in the context of the war and then post-war. "The Lives of the Dead" speaks to O'Brien's belief that stories have the power to give an entire life to those who have passed on. He refers to his childhood love Linda who passed away…

Shame and Guilt

Shame and guilt are constant and often inextricable themes in The Things They Carried . Soldiers felt obligated to go to war for fear of embarrassing themselves, their families, and their towns if they fled. This embarrassment is bolstered by the guilt of not being "masculine" enough—not being brave, heroic, and patriotic enough. O'Brien reflects on how he thought he had a secret reserve of bravery and heroism stored away, waiting for the moment when…

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“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien: Analysis

Published in 1990, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a semi-autobiographical novel that draws on the author’s experiences in the Vietnam War.

Introduction: “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Table of Contents

Published in 1990, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a semi-autobiographical novel that draws on the author’s experiences in the Vietnam War. The story follows a platoon of American soldiers grappling with the physical and emotional challenges of war. Through evocative descriptions of the soldiers’ gear and internal struggles, O’Brien crafts a haunting and introspective narrative that delves into the complexities of human nature under duress. Hailed as a classic of contemporary American literature, “The Things They Carried” is lauded for its poignant portrayal of war’s human cost and its innovative blurring of factual and fictional elements.

Main Events in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

• Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his platoon carry various physical and emotional burdens as they navigate the realities of war in Vietnam.
• Cross obsesses over his unrequited love for Martha, a college student back home, and realizes he needs to focus on his duties as a leader.
• The platoon comes under enemy fire and suffers casualties, including Ted Lavender, a young soldier who had been heavily medicated to cope with the stress of war.
• The platoon burns down a village and kills a water buffalo, further revealing the moral ambiguity and psychological toll of war.
• O’Brien introduces the concept of “story truth,” exploring the role of memory and imagination in shaping individual and collective experiences of war.
• Kiowa, one of Cross’s closest companions, is killed in action, and the soldiers are forced to grapple with the fragility of life and the weight of loss.
• O’Brien reflects on the power of storytelling to convey emotional truths and provide a sense of catharsis for those who have experienced trauma.
• The soldiers participate in a night patrol and encounter a young Vietnamese soldier, further highlighting the complexities and human costs of war.
• The platoon is sent on a mission to retrieve the body of a soldier who has been killed, prompting reflections on the value and meaning of sacrifice.
• The story ends with Cross burning the letters and photographs he had carried with him, symbolizing his commitment to moving on and living in the present.

Literary Devices in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

• Allusion : A reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work. Example: The title “The Things They Carried” alludes to the physical and emotional burdens borne by soldiers, resonating with the broader literary theme of characters facing hardship.
• Ambiguity : The presence of multiple meanings or interpretations within a text. Example: Whether the killing of the baby water buffalo was an act of cruelty or mercy is left ambiguous, highlighting the moral complexities of war.
• Foreshadowing : A hint or clue about what will happen later in the story. Example: Ted Lavender’s unnecessary death, so early in the narrative, subtly foreshadows the tragedies awaiting other members of the platoon.
• Hyperbole : An exaggeration used for emphasis or effect. Example: Describing the soldiers’ load as “humping…at least 20 pounds” doesn’t refer to literal weight but conveys the overwhelming burdens they bear.
• Imagery : Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating a vivid mental picture. Example: O’Brien’s evocative details of the Vietnamese landscape (“sun-filled paddies…tall, swaying grass”) transport the reader into the soldiers’ environment.
• Irony : A situation that is the opposite of what is expected, often for humorous or poignant effect. Example: Jimmy Cross’s preoccupation with his unrequited love for Martha ironically distracts him from the deadly serious reality of leading his men.
• Metaphor : A comparison between two things without using “like” or “as.” Example: O’Brien compares the emotional weight the soldiers carry to literal objects like “clamshells on their backs.”
• Motif : A recurring element or image that contributes to the overall theme. Example: The recurring descriptions of the physical things the soldiers carry highlight the theme of how war’s burdens extend far beyond mere equipment.
• Onomatopoeia : The use of words that sound like what they describe. Example: O’Brien uses “whoosh” and “whap” to mimic the sounds of gunfire, bringing the reader closer to the battlefield experience.
• Personification : Giving human qualities to non-human things. Example: O’Brien refers to the land itself as “the enemy,” making war an overwhelming, inescapable force.
• Repetition : Repeating a word, phrase, or sentence for emphasis. Example: The repetitive listing of everything the soldiers carry emphasizes the overwhelming nature of their combined physical and emotional burdens.
• Simile : A comparison using “like” or “as.” Example: The soldiers’ movement through a field is likened to “the wind against wheat,” highlighting their vulnerability.
• Symbolism : The use of objects, images, or actions to represent abstract ideas. Example: The young Vietnamese soldier killed on the trail symbolizes the human cost of war on both sides of the conflict.
• Tone : The author’s attitude towards the subject matter. Example: O’Brien’s tone shifts between wistful, melancholy, and starkly realistic, mirroring the soldiers’ emotional experiences.
• Verisimilitude : The appearance of being true or real. Example: O’Brien’s blending of actual events with invented stories creates a sense of verisimilitude, making the emotional impact of the narrative even more powerful.

Characterization in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Absolutely! Here’s a characterization analysis for some of the key figures in “The Things They Carried,” along with specific supporting references from the story:

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross

• Conflict: Torn between his duty as a leader and his obsessive love for Martha, a girl back home who represents an idealized escape (“letters were full of love” – ‘Love’).
• Motivation: Desperately seeks a sense of normalcy and control amidst the chaos of war, clinging to the illusion of Martha as a lifeline.
• Evolution: The death of Ted Lavender forces him to confront his misplaced priorities (“He hated himself” – ‘Love’). His burning of Martha’s letters symbolizes a shift towards commitment to the present and his responsibility to his men.

Tim O’Brien (the narrator)

• Meta-character: O’Brien blurs the lines between the author and a fictionalized version of himself within the narrative.
• Role: Serves as both a participant in the events and a reflective storyteller examining the nature of memory and truth (“And in the end, really, there’s nothing much to say about a true war story…” – ‘Good Form’).
• Motivation: Seeks to process his own war trauma through storytelling, exploring the emotional truths often obscured in factual accounts.
• Morality and Compassion: Represents a grounding force of decency amidst war’s dehumanizing effects. (“Kiowa, who was a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament…” – ‘The Things They Carried’).
• Symbolic Death: His sinking into the ‘muck’ after a mortar attack exemplifies the senseless loss of innocence in war.
• Impact: Kiowa’s death leaves a void in the platoon, symbolizing the erosion of compassion and morality necessary for survival in conflict.

Norman Bowker

• Invisible Wounds: Embodies the lingering psychological trauma of war even after returning home. His lack of tangible injuries underscores this. (“…the ache in his heart was worse than any belly wound” – ‘Speaking of Courage’).
• Cyclic Narrative: His story, told in ‘Speaking of Courage’, highlights the suffocating impact of unprocessed trauma.
• Symbolism: His eventual suicide tragically emphasizes what can happen when the ‘weight’ of memory and experience becomes unbearable.
• Medic’s Perspective: Rat offers a glimpse into the physical and emotional toll of treating horrific injuries (“…Rat Kiley was crying” – ‘Friends’).
• Dark Humor: His tendency towards exaggeration and grim jokes serves as a coping mechanism for the relentless suffering he witnesses.
• Breaking Point: The shooting of his own foot, while self-inflicted, signifies the psychological breaking point a medic can reach in the war’s intensity.

Additional Notes:

• Nuance: O’Brien depicts his characters with complexity; no one is purely “good” or “bad.” They are humanized by their flaws and moments of vulnerability.
• The Power of What’s Carried: Each soldier’s physical and emotional burdens define their experiences. These burdens are often unique, leading to both camaraderie and a sense of isolation.

Major Themes in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Writing Style in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

• Blurring Fact and Fiction: O’Brien merges personal experiences with invented elements, challenging the notion of absolute truth in war narratives. This creates his unique notion of “story-truth” ( ‘How to Tell a True War Story’).
• Visceral and Introspective: O’Brien combines vivid descriptions of the war’s physical realities with reflections on soldiers’ inner emotional turmoil, creating a deeply affecting portrayal of their experiences.
• Repetition: Repeated phrases and descriptions, like the listing of the things the soldiers carry, emphasize both the physical weight and the psychological toll of war.
• Imagery: O’Brien’s powerful sensory descriptions bring the Vietnamese landscape, the soldiers’ equipment, and moments of violence to life, immersing the reader in the story’s world.
• Metaphor and Symbolism: Comparisons like intangible burdens to “humps” and “clamshells” ( ‘The Things They Carried’) deepen the portrayal of the soldiers’ emotional weight. Objects like Kiowa’s New Testament symbolize hope and faith amidst despair.
• Honesty and Authenticity: Despite his fictionalizations, O’Brien aims to convey the emotional core of war’s impact, admitting the impossibility of a purely objective account (‘Good Form’).

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Questions and Thesis Statements about “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Question 1: How does O’Brien’s blurring of fact and fiction impact the reader’s understanding of war and its emotional consequences?

• Thesis Statement: In “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien’s blending of personal experience with invented elements destabilizes traditional war narratives, emphasizing the subjective nature of memory and highlighting the emotional resonance of “story-truth” over factual accounts.

Question 2: How does the motif of physical burdens symbolize the psychological toll of war in “The Things They Carried”?

• Thesis Statement: O’Brien’s detailed catalogs of the soldiers’ equipment evolve into powerful metaphors for intangible burdens like fear, grief, and guilt, demonstrating the interwoven nature of physical and psychological hardship faced by soldiers in combat.

Question 3: In what ways does O’Brien challenge traditional notions of heroism in his portrayal of the soldiers in “The Things They Carried”?

• Thesis Statement: “The Things They Carried” subverts conventional depictions of battlefield valor by emphasizing the quiet courage of endurance, the moral complexities of survival, and the vulnerability hidden within the facade of stoic soldiers.

Question 4: How does “The Things They Carried” function as a form of trauma narrative, and what does it reveal about the lasting psychological impact of war?

• Thesis Statement: Through fragmented narratives, metafictional reflections, and depictions of the soldiers’ coping mechanisms, “The Things They Carried” reveals the profound and often unresolved legacy of trauma carried by those who have experienced the horrors of war.

Question 5: To what extent does O’Brien’s portrayal of the Vietnamese people and culture in “The Things They Carried” perpetuate or challenge colonialist perspectives?

• Thesis Statement: “The Things They Carried” offers a limited and often stereotyped view of the Vietnamese experience. A postcolonial analysis examines how this portrayal reinforces or subverts power dynamics and contributes to the otherizing of the Vietnamese people in the American war narrative.

Short Question-Answer “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Suggested Readings: “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Scholarly articles.

• Bar-Yosef, Eitan. “War and Truth: ‘The Things They Carried’ from the Postmodern/Trauma Perspective.” Style , vol. 35, no. 4, 2001, pp. 645-664.
• Briggum, Sue, et al. “‘You’d Have to Carry a List’: Tim O’Brien and the Vietnam War Story.” Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal , vol. 46, no. 4, 2013, pp. 147-62.
• Heberle, Mark A. A Trauma Artist: Tim O’Brien and the Fiction of Vietnam . University of Iowa Press,‌ 2001.
• Calloway, Catherine. Tim O’Brien and the Vietnam War: Rewriting the World . Twayne, 1996.
• McDaniel, Tim. The Limits of a Vietnam War Literature: Stories by Tim O’Brien . Susquehanna University Press, 1996.
• Searle, William. Tim O’Brien . Twayne Publishers, 1991.
• SparkNotes: “The Things They Carried” Summary & Analysis. [invalid URL removed]
• LitCharts: “The Things They Carried” https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-things-they-carried
• The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University: Tim O’Brien collection (includes manuscript drafts, letters, and other archival materials relating to the author and his work). [invalid URL removed]

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Introduction & Overview of The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried Summary & Study Guide Description

First published in Esquire in August, 1986, and later collected in The Best American Short Stories 1987, "The Things They Carried" became the lead story in a book of the same name published in 1990 by Viking Penguin. Since Tim O'Brien had already established himself as a literary voice to be reckoned with, this collection of interrelated stories received a great deal of attention. The book quickly established O'Brien as one of the leading figures in Vietnam literature.

Critics and readers alike have paid considerable attention to the question of whether the events in the book are literally true or products of O'Brien's imagination. Though O'Brien has made it clear in interviews that he believes the truth in literature has nothing to do with what actually happened, the similarities between his writing and his experience in Vietnam are striking. When O'Brien published the disturbing and confessional article "The Vietnam in Me" in the New York Times Magazine in 1994, he sparked renewed interest in the connections between his life and his writing. His last two novels are set in the United States but still prominently feature the Vietnam veteran's experience.

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The Things They Carried

By tim o'brien.

• The Things They Carried Summary

The Things They Carried is a collection of twenty-two stories, or chapters. All focus on the Alpha Company and the fate of its soldiers after they return home to America. A character named Tim O’Brien (same name as the author) narrates most of the stories.

In “The Things They Carried,” the Alpha Company is mobilized to fight in the Vietnam War. The soldiers carry goods necessary to their survival as well personal items. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries letters and photos from a female friend named Martha , and spends most of his time mooning over her. The first casualty for the company is Ted Lavender , shot dead while relieving himself. Cross blames himself for the death because he thinks he was too busy thinking about Martha to properly take care of his troops. He burns her letters and photographs and decides to be a better leader.

In “Love,” Jimmy goes to visit the narrator, Tim O’Brien, in his home in Massachusetts after the war. Cross relates that he bumped into Martha after she got home, and that he still loves her although she doesn’t love him back. He has never forgiven himself for Lavender’s death, but pleads with O’Brien to portray him as a great leader if the writer ever writes about their experiences.

“Spin” is made up of a collection of recollections of the ordinary things soldiers do when they are at war, such as playing chess games. O’Brien compares the war to a Ping-Pong ball, saying that one can spin it in many different directions. He is now a 43-year-old writer who only writes war stories. His daughter thinks he should find a happier topic, but O’Brien keeps replaying the gruesome war scenes over and over in his mind.

In “On The Rainy River,” O’Brien describes the decision of whether or not to go to war after receiving his draft card. He had just graduated college and planned to go to Harvard for graduate school. He was split between the instinct to run, and the instinct to do what everyone expected: go to war. He took the car up to the Canadian border, and a friendly hotel owner rowed him along a river right up to Canada. In the end he couldn’t bring himself to jump out of the boat. He cried in the boat, paid Elroy for the room, and drove home. It is a hard story for O’Brien to tell, he writes, because it shows that he was a coward and that he made the wrong choice.

In “Enemies,” two members of the company, Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen , get into a fistfight over a missing penknife. Jensen wins the fight and breaks Strunk’s nose. Jensen borrows a pistol and uses it to break his own nose. Then he asks Strunk if they are “square.” Strunk says yes and laughs at his new friend -- because he was the one who had stolen Jensen’s knife in the first place. In “Friends,” Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk make a pact that if either were seriously injured or crippled, the other would find a way to kill him. In October Lee Strunk steps on a mortar and loses his leg as a result of the accident. He is terrified, because he thinks Jensen will kill him. Later the men find out that Strunk has died, which seems to relieve Jensen of a big burden.

In “How to Tell a True War Story,” Curt Lemon steps on a mortar and is killed. O’Brien has to go up into a tree to pick out his remains, and one of the other men makes a bad pun on “lemon tree,” similar to many other morbid jokes the soldiers make throughout the book After Lemon's death, Rat Kiley writes his sister a long letter to which she never responds. Rat dismisses her as a “dumb cooze.” O’Brien says this is a true story because such stories are unsentimental, seem too crazy to believe, or else never end. Another “true” story O’Brien tells is about a water buffalo the company tortured after Lemon died. It seems incomprehensible, so it must be true, he writes.

After Curt Lemon was killed, and O’Brien describes having a hard time mourning him in “The Dentist.” Lemon was a macho guy, but one day a dentist came in on a helicopter to check up on the men’s teeth. Lemon was so afraid that when it was his turn he passed out in the dentist’s chair. Then he was so ashamed that he woke up the dentist in the middle of the night, insisted that he had a toothache, and made the dentist remove a perfectly good tooth.

O’Brien retells a story that he first heard from Rat Kiley in “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.” Before joining up with Alpha, Kiley was stationed at a medical detachment near the village of Tra Bong along with a special force called the Green Berets. A young man named Mark Fossie imported in his American girlfriend. Fossie got upset when she didn't return to their quarters one night. It turns out she wasn’t cheating on him, but was on ambush duty with the Green Berets. Later, Fossie finds her in the Green Beret encampment wearing a necklace made of human tongues. In the end, she becomes a killer and disappears into the mountains by herself.

Henry Dobbins keeps his girlfriends’ stockings wrapped around his neck for good luck, and credits them with the fact that he never gets shot. Then, in “Stockings,” his girlfriend says she wants to break up. He continues to wear the stockings around his neck all the same. In “Church,” the company sets up camp at a pagoda where a few monks still remain. The monks especially like Henry Dobbins, who talks about possibly joining the order and gives the monks some chocolate and peaches as a parting gift.

In “The Man I Killed,” Tim O’Brien surveys the man he killed, repeating the same details over and over: He has thin, arched eyebrows, like a woman; he is thin, with a concave chest, like a scholar. O’Brien imagines that the man was always afraid to go to war, was possibly in love, was possibly a scholar. Kiowa tries to get O’Brien to stop staring at the corpse, with no success.

In “Ambush” O’Brien’s nine-year-old daughter, Kathleen , asks her father if he has ever killed anyone. Of course not, O’Brien tells her; he thinks when she is a grown-up she will understand better. In “Style,” his company enters a burnt-down compound full of dead bodies, and the only living person they find is a young girl, dancing. Azar thinks she is performing some strange rite. Dobbins thinks she is dancing because she likes to dance.

In “Speaking of Courage,” Norman Bowker returns to his hometown after the war is over. His best friend is dead and his ex-girlfriend has married someone else, so he has no one to talk to about why he failed to get a Silver Star medal for courage. He imagines a conversation with his father about the subject; the reason he didn’t get the medal was that he let his comrade Kiowa die in a shit field after Kiowa was shot. Bowker stops for a burger, drives around his hometown lake, and stops to admire the sunset. In 1975, writes O’Brien in “Notes,” he received a letter from Bowker telling the story that he retells in “Speaking of Courage.” O’Brien wants to emphasize that he made up the part about Bowker failing to save Kiowa and worrying about why he didn’t get the Silver Star. The letter shook O’Brien, who had congratulated himself on adjusting so well, transitioning straight from Vietnam to Harvard. In 1978, Bowker hanged himself.

All 18 soldiers in the company search for Kiowa’s body in the shit field in “In the Field.” Bowker eventually locates Kiowa’s body. Cross mentally rehearses different letters he might write to Kiowa’s father; perhaps he will take responsibility for the death, perhaps not. Instead of writing the letter to Kiowa’s father, he decides, he’ll play golf. In “Good Form,” O’Brien, the 43-year-old writer/narrator, says that “story truth”, i.e. what happens in the story, is more important than “happening truth,” i.e. what happened in reality. A few months after writing “In the Field,” O’Brien returns to Vietnam with his daughter, Kathleen, who is ten. In “Field Trip,” she doesn’t understand what the war was about, nor why her father insists on traveling to a funny-smelling place (the shit field). O’Brien buries a pair of Kiowa’s moccasins where his friend died, and tries to say goodbye.

O’Brien blames Bobby Jorgenson , a young medic who replaced Rat Kiley with the company, for almost letting him die of shock after getting shot. In “The Ghost Soldiers,” O’Brien enlists Azar’s help to get revenge on Jorgenson. They make noises outside Jorgenson’s encampment to make him think he is being attacked. Jorgenson is terrified, but then he figures out it's just O’Brien, and the two say they are “even.” “Night Life” is the account, culled secondhand from another soldier, of how Rat Kiley went beserk and had to leave the company. The strain of the war was too much for him and he shot himself in the foot to be discharged from the army.

In “The Lives of the Dead” O’Brien writes that the purpose of stories is to save lives. He had been in love with a nine-year-old, Linda , when he was also nine. They went on a date, and then she died of a brain tumor. Afterwards, he made dates with her in his dreams, and they went ice-skating together. The purpose of stories, writes O’Brien, is to make people like Linda or the soldiers killed in Vietnam live again.

The Things They Carried Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Things They Carried is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

is this a war story, per se? if so who is the main character, and why?

This particular story is more about sexual longing than war. Mark Fossie seems to be the main character who wants to import his girlfriend.

What is it that Jimmy cross carries with him? What do they represent?

Jimmy always carries letters from Martha. His identity and hopes for the future are part of those letters.

How does Tim kill his first enemy

I think with a grenade.

Study Guide for The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried study guide contains a biography of Tim O'Brien, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Things They Carried
• Character List

Essays for The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

• Rationalizing the Fear Within
• Physical and Psychological Burdens
• Role of Kathleen and Linda in The Things They Carried
• Let’s Communicate: It’s Not About War
• Turning Over a New Leaf: Facing the Pressures of Society

Lesson Plan for The Things They Carried

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Things They Carried
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Things They Carried Bibliography

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Things They Carried — Analysis of Storytelling in the Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

Analysis of Storytelling in The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien

• Categories: The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien

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Published: Dec 3, 2020

Words: 1272 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, meanings of fear and dehumanization in "the things they carried".

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83 The Things They Carried Essay Topics, Questions, & Examples

Looking for The Things They Carried essay topics? The book by Tim O’Brien, a renowned American writer, is definitely worth reading and discussing!

📜 The Things They Carried Essay: How to Write

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Writing The Things They Carried essay on Tim O’Brien’s collection of short stories is a challenging yet exciting task. In your paper, you might want to focus on the themes in The Things They Carried , talk about the key characters or symbolism of the book. In this article, you’ll find everything you might need to write an essay on this masterpiece. Below we’ve collected The Things They Carried essay questions, examples, ️and writing tips.

• Pick up your topic. Carefully read the book and make highlight places that you think you can put into consideration in your paper. Brainstorm some ideas you can use. Alternatively, take a look at our The Things They Carried essay examples to get inspiration.
• Draft your thesis statement. Take a look at your topic and think, what issue you’re going to analyze in your paper. Should it be about symbolism, or on The Things They Carried themes, or you will write a literary analysis on the author’s writing style?
• Stick to the structure. Organize your essay and make sure all your ideas and arguments follow one another in a logical sequence. First of all, present the topic and The Things They Carried essay thesis in your intro. The next step is to write the body paragraphs, where you will provide your evidence, arguments, counterarguments, illustrations, and quotes to support your point of view. And lastly, summarize all your ideas presented in the paper. Restate your thesis statement but don’t repeat it.

The Things They Carried: Thesis Statement Examples

• The Thing They Carried presents an exciting and rare combination of fiction and nonfiction.
• The distinction between “story truth” and “happening truth” presented in the short story Good Form highlights the theme of truth vs. reality that is one of the key in the book.
• The theme of morality in The Things They Carried is highlighted by the conflict faced by the soldiers when they are transitioning from their civilian lives to the reality of war.
• Why does “The Man I Killed” story focus on a Vietnamese character? Why are similar characters missing in other stories?
• Think, why did O’Brien end The Things They Carried with an episode from his childhood although the masterpiece is dedicated to the Vietnam war?
• Explore why this war stories collection doesn’t have heroes? How does the author define the term “heroism”?
• Is there a place for women on the war? Why do characters like Mary Anne, Martha, and Kathleen are essential in the novel?
• Investigate the book structure. Explore if the stories shift linearly and how the writing style contributes to the themes. How do the first person and third person narratives impact on readers perception?
• Explore the shame theme. Why did Tim O’Brien decide to go to Vietnam? Is there a place for shame in soldier’s lives? Does it drive them to heroism?
• What are the roles of women in O’Brien’s story? How does gender affect attitude to war? Analyze Mary Anne character to prove your point of view, explore her transition from an innocent girl to a killer. Check The Things They Carried essay topics for more inspiration.
• Think about the book title. Why O’Brien decided to use it? What do the main characters have to carry with them for the rest of their lives?
• Is this book fictional or non-fictional? Check the dedication page of the novel and explore how it is connected to the stories. Do you think that some book elements point to the actual events in the Vietnamese war?
• Which role does death play in The Things They Carried? Provide some examples that support your point of view, whether it is something to be afraid of or a release from a dreadful life?

Now, you can use the sample questions above or choose your own and write an excellent great paper on O’Brien’s novel. Make sure to check the essay examples below to get more sources of ideas!

• O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”: Literary Analysis Also, O’Brien seems to exaggerate in his vivid accounts of the experience the soldiers in the war. This collection of short stories is devoted to a platoon of American soldiers who fight in the Vietnam […]
• Emotional Burden in O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” Jimmy Cross, a lieutenant enlisted to take care of the other soldiers is the victim of the guilt burden. Collectively, these soldiers experienced different forms of emotional torture, which boiled down to emotional burdens as […]
• The Things They Carried Therefore, the Lieutenant relives this experience in his imagination, unable to escape these thoughts as a way of dealing with the difficulties and emotional burden of the war.
• Fiction in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien In the story, the author portrays the inner nature of each of the characters via the symbolic features of the things carried by them.
• “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien The main theme of “The Things They Carried” by O’Brien is the events that were happening during the Vietnam War. It is a compelling short story of the Vietnam War.
• The Realistic Setting in the O’Brien Story “The Things They Carried“ In the end, it was clear that the things that soldiers carried were not at all ‘things.’ The soldiers had to deal with the emotional feelings of men who were exposed to the risk of […]
• Psychological Aspects of War in “The Things They Carried” by O’Brian Written in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the work conveys the brutality and bloodthirstiness of military actions as well as the mental state of soldiers.
• “The Things They Carried” by O’Brien The suggested statement indicates that The Things They Carried by O’Brien broadcasts the horrors of the Vietnam War to the reader and allows one to understand the psychological aspects of that impact.
• “Slaughterhouse-Five” and “The Things They Carried” Place in Protest Literature The system, as a rule, is in a state of quasi-stable equilibrium with the environment, with the transformation from one state to another occurring cyclically and permanently through some limit states of the system.
• Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried Critical Analysis The Things They Carried is an extraordinarily comprehensive and graphic account of the Vietnam War that paints startlingly realistic imagery of the conflict.
• Tim O’Brien’s Story “The Things They Carried” The objects represented a thread that connected the soldiers in the depressing war setting to the real world that still exists somewhere.
• Tim O’Brien’s ‘The Things They Carried’ – Unpacking the Masterpiece The first narrative strategy to be mentioned in regards to The Things They Carried is the point of view. Repetition is a narrative strategy that is traced to the end of the story.”He hated her.
• Tim O‘Brien‘s “The Things They Carried” These soldiers were in a bad position, true, but that does not in any way excuse what happened to the village of Than Khe.
• O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily It further assesses the impact of the mode in which the information in the books is arranged compared to if it were set in a sequential manner.
• Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” This appears to be the main motif of O’Brien’s book and it is readers’ existential mode that prompts them to look at “The Things They Carried” as literary piece that promotes an anti-war sentiment or […]
• “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien: Novel Analysis It is possible to say that the author significantly contributed to the development of the comprehension of the Vietnam War in the American literature.
• Literary Success of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien He was one of the soldiers sent into the fray, but due to his sense of duty, he managed to earn a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star during his stint in the said Vietnam […]
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien – Literature Analysis As it has been mentioned, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is full of different symbols which help understand the full meaning of the story along with the significance of the title and its […]
• Conventional Repetitive in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien Additionally, the author documents the heaviness of the objects to underscore the physical items the soldiers carried. Through repetitive documentation of the tangible objects carried by the soldiers, the author opens a leeway to allow […]
• War Impacts in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien The book gives a true reflection of the effect of war on soldiers from the perspective of a soldier who directly participated in a war to defend his country.
• Tim O’Brien: What Were “The Things They Carried” He brings out the aspect of emotional burdens that the soldiers draw from the war. Loneliness continues to engulf in the lives of the soldiers long after the end of the war.
• The Setting in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien In the beginning, Jimmy is painted as an indecisive person who has to deal with the pressure of war in Vietnam and nonreciprocating love from Martha.
• Vietnam War in the Book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien The Irony of being at war is that Peace and conflict are both inevitable; it is the way we handle either of the two that determines our opinion of life in general both in the […]
• “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien: A War Memoir This paper will focus on the title of the story “The Things They Carried” and how it acts as a guide to the meaning of the story.
• Literary Interpretation & Critique Paper Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried In reference to the statement, the author in essence questions the actuality of a “true war story,” which is also sustained by the fact that according to Tim, his story is merely a dream.”O’Brien creates […]
• The Things They Carried Given the fact that he was the one in charge of the other soldiers’ well-being, he felt he could have done something to prevent Lavender’s death.
• Truth and Troop Hardships in a Chapter of “The Things They Carried”
• The Emotional and Psychological Burdens in “The Things They Carried”
• The Metaphors of the Soldiers’ Burden in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• True War Story in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Portrayal of Vietnam in “The Things They Carried” and “Good Morning Vietnam”
• Trauma for Soldiers in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Significance of Legacies in “The Things They Carried”
• Women and Their Role in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Things Carried by Soldiers During the Vietnam War in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Symbolism of Weight in “The Things They Carried”
• The Masculinity of the Vietnam Veterans in “The Things They Carried”
• Tim O’Brien Rhetorical Strategies in “The Things They Carried”
• The Patchwork of Reality and Fiction in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• Tim O’Brien’s Captivating and Life-Changing Story “The Things They Carried”
• “The Things They Carried”: What Makes a War Story True?
• Comparison of “The Things They Carried” and “The Cask of Amontillado”
• The Vietnam War as Described in O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• The Story of Burden, Love, and Sacrifice in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• Theme of Fantasy Versus Reality in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Impact of Physical and Emotional Challenges in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• Moral Ambiguity in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Themes of Loss, Coping With War, and Death in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Trauma of War in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Real and Fake Stories in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• War Experiences and Observations in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• Post Modern Critical Theory in “The Tortilla Curtain” and “The Things They Carried”
• Tim O’Brien’s Use of Figurative Language to Portray the Theme of Death in “The Things They Carried”
• The Motif of Love During the Vietman War in “The Things They Carried”
• Three Characters’ Loss of Innocence in “The Things They Carried”
• The Use of Storytelling to Keep the Good Memories Alive in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The War at Home and Abroad in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• The Importance of Metafiction as a Literary Device in “The Things They Carried”
• Themes and Motifs in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• The Internal and External Conflicts in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Story Truth and the Happening Truth in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Theme of War and Conflict in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Lasting Effects of War as Demonstrated in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• The Themes of Fear, Faith, Humiliation, Guilt, and Storytelling in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Memories of Female Characters in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”: What Really Defines a War Story Being True
• The Writing Techniques Used in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• Trauma, Psychological Exile, and Displacement Within “The Things They Carried”
• The Struggles During the Vietnam War in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• Wounds Endured in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• The Expectations of Soldiers During War in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
• Comparison of Themes in “The Things They Carried” and “Three-Day Road” by Tim O’Brien
• Using Fiction to Depict the Vietnam War in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
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IvyPanda. (2024, March 1). 83 The Things They Carried Essay Topics, Questions, & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-things-they-carried-essay-examples/

"83 The Things They Carried Essay Topics, Questions, & Examples." IvyPanda , 1 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-things-they-carried-essay-examples/.

IvyPanda . (2024) '83 The Things They Carried Essay Topics, Questions, & Examples'. 1 March.

IvyPanda . 2024. "83 The Things They Carried Essay Topics, Questions, & Examples." March 1, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-things-they-carried-essay-examples/.

1. IvyPanda . "83 The Things They Carried Essay Topics, Questions, & Examples." March 1, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-things-they-carried-essay-examples/.

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IvyPanda . "83 The Things They Carried Essay Topics, Questions, & Examples." March 1, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-things-they-carried-essay-examples/.