"The Things They Carried "

Paper Summary:

The paper is a review of a book describing the War in Vietnam as seen by a soldier who is both the narrator and the protagonist of the 22 stories described. In the book "The Things They Carried " the author, Tim O'Brien gives his perspective of the events and gives a profound understanding of the main character who is also the narrator. Moreover, this paper looks at a few of the main themes and motifs of the novel which are directly and closely linked to the analysis of the main character/narrator.

From the Paper:

"This fear of shame also affects men once in Vietnam because it influences the relationships with each other. As absurd as it might seem to the adult O'Brien who can now recall the events from the safety of his home, the men engaged in battle were concerned with each other's opinions even in the immediacy of death and despite the necessity for unity during war. The best example can be encountered in the story entitled "The Dentist" when Curt Lemon decides to have a perfectly good tooth pulled out by the dentist only to ease his shame about having fainted during a previous encounter with the doctor. Moreover, O'Brien introduces us to Jimmy Cross, a young man who decided to go to war only because his friends had; this is meant to illustrate that given the proper conditions, a young man could be easily bullied into going to war by social pressure. What is more thought-provoking, as we are later shown, is the fact that due to confusion, fear, anguish, soldiers such as Jimmy Cross are put in the position where they endanger the lives of others."

Sample of Sources Used:

• O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1990.
• O'Gorman, Farrell. "The Things They Carried as Composite Novel". War, Literature & the Arts. An International Journal of the Humanities <http://wlajournal.com/wlafall/farrell_o.htm>
• Posek, Jacquelyn. "The Paradox of Necessity in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried". Fresh Writing 1997. <http://www.nd.edu/~frswrite/mcpartlin/1998/Posek.shtml>

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