The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

The Things They Carried Essaythroughout his novel, the things The Carried, author Tim OBrien physical exercises a plethora of strategies to give the reader a deeper incite into the solar day to day life of an Ameri feces ground soldier during the Vietnam War. O Brian shares with us his extensive knowledge and first go experiences throughout the novel. Being a veteran of the Vietnam War helps O Brian gives us a look into the Statesns longest struggle, not a great deal given. Aside from recall(a)ing past situations, he uses many unique techniques that we may be less used to. The first is the use of characters and objects as representations. This is one of the tactics most practically used in the book.Another way that O Brian uses rliterature to emphasize a point is the use of meta-fiction. This is essentially telling the truth in a lie. Lastly, his knowledge and experiences add another dimension to this book that can satisfyingly engage the reader. solely of these compo nents working together are what has mad the Things They Carried, such a critically acclaimed book. I have found that a good strategy to use when reading this book, is to remember that often terms things are not what they seem. The book was filled with figurative language and representation the O Brien uses to emphasizes and prolong his points.This strategy is used with both people and objects. In the book, there are characters that O Brian tells us that he served with in the war, but in interviews told people that he fictionalized them to emphasize his point. An example of this would be Mark Fossies girlfriend Mary Ann Belle who visits the men in Vietnam. She is the classic example of the American girl. A tall, robust blonde. AT best, Rat said, she was s take downteen years old, fresh out of Cleveland Heights Senior High School. She had long, discolour legs and blue eyes and complexion like strawberry ice cream. Very friendly, too. She is a representation of what all them men l eft behind when the joined the war.The young, attractive, and vibrant girl is a dramatic contrast to the expiration and destruction that they are forced to endure perpetuallyyday. As time goes on and Mary spends all of her time in a war zone surrounded by men, there is a dramatic flip in her character and personality. She starts to embrace the devastation and carnage that the war zone is filled with. Everything I want, is simply here. Mary. Legend says that she disappeared into the black of the jungle, never to be heard from again. This experience shatters Mark Fossies erception of Mary as a harmless beauty, which was a thought he would use to escape from the horrors of war.Another example of this use of characters are more than than a character to add to the plot is O Brians daughter Kathleen. She, a great deal like Mary, is young and naive. Although to the naked eye she would appear to be nothing more than a pocketable girl, she actually represents how war has affected t he soldiers. She may show Tim what he was, pre-war and how being sent to the front lines at such a young age can turn anyone to a little girl. Meta-fiction is one of my favourite literary devices. It is essentially the use of lies to tell the truth.This may sound contradictory but in genuine cases, there is not itemual information or, truth to support your point. An example of this from the Things They Carried would be the scene where Kiowa died. This event never actually never happened during O Brians service despite the fact that he tells it this way. This is because as far as the message that the author is trying to tell us about the Vietnam War, Kiowas death represents more than just a soldier dying in engagement. Kiowa was gone. He was under the mud and water, folded in with the war. He may have known many men that died in combat but none in a way that is this representative.The mud and water where he sunk into and eventually died represents the way that the war can bog so meone down. Whether you die in combat or not, a piece of your is more or less left on the battle field. This is the point that O Brian is trying to make. Another example of meta-fiction was the entire chapter titled, The existence I Killed. In this chapter, the young Tim O Brian shorts a man in the face. After, the kill, he goes everywhere and inspects the dead body. He inspects it from head to toe, paying special attention to the star shaped bullet pain where the victims eye should have been.Again, while one may just assume that this is just the author talking about a man he killed, but in this situation, this never even happened. In fact, O Brian tells us that he never even saw any of the men that he killed. He was to s cared to see a life ended by his trigger. He inserts this chapter because this is how he imagines seeing a man that you killed you feel, and look like. Even if he had looked at the man he had killed, the real experience may not have captured all the emotions th at this fictionalized scenario would.This is a tactic used by writers because these cenarios that they prepare can capture emotions and powerful moments that may not have happened but still feel real. The more knowledge and author has on a given subject usually results in a intermit final product. O Brians personal experiences in the Vietnam War assures us that the stories and information we are receiving is as first hand as it comes. Rather than just reciting dates and facts like a history textbook, he shares with us what it was actually like to be risking your life in the field. While some of the stories he tells are true fictionalized, most are not.Even those that are often are based on some fact or true event. Tim O Brians personal experiences help him in achieving his goal of giving us a look into the day to day life of a foot soldier in Vietnam. All of these devises utilizes by O Brian help make the Things They Carried one of the best war books that I have ever read. Symb olism, meta-fiction, and personal experience help give the reader a more personal look into Americas longest war. I believe that Tim O Brian was very successful in accomplishing his goal of giving readers an in depth look into a war that is often not talked about for what happened on the battle field.