A Study of The Things They Carried by Tim O´brien

The Study of â€Å"Things They Carried† by Tim O’Brien George Carlin, during the early 80’s, had a routine that was a witticism on the importance of having personal effects. These â€Å"personal effects† or items that a person accumulates through life symbolize their identity. The impractical things carried in pockets, purses, bags and suitcases that make people feel as themselves while in strange surroundings. These things are so essential to identify the person these â€Å"personal effects† represents. If asked how to identify someone it would take on a completely different meaning. Name, social security number and birth dates are the items mostly associated with someone’s Identity. This phenomenon can be oppressed by the replacement of possessions by removing the things that make a person feel complete and replacing them with items that represent a new identity. Tim O’Brien’s story entitled â€Å"The Things We Carried† illustrates how people carry objects that represent their identity. Some objects are tangible like weapons and items for personal protections and other are intangible like fear and guilt. No matter how or what these objects are they hold the key to one’s identity. This story gives us an introspect of an unfamiliar person’s identity is through physical characteristic, mannerisms, or the objects that used for personal reassurance. The physical characteristics of an identity is a role played by each individual expressed with new customs and a different lifestyle based onShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Man I Killed By Tim O Brien992 Words   |  4 PagesKilled taken from Tim O Brien s war novel The Things They Carried. Set during the Vietnam war, American Soldier Tim O Brien is strongly affected by an unpredictable event. In The Man I Killed we consider how O Brien was heavily affected and shocked after killing a young Vietnamese soldier and the randomness of killing in war. We also take a look at how the author plays with truth and non-fiction in his story telling. When passing on foot through the village of My Khe, soldier O Brien instinctivelyRead MoreEssay On The Things They Carried1624 Words   |  7 PagesFor the seventeen Soldiers portrayed in â€Å"The Things We Carried† by Tim O’Brien, the physical pain was very minimal weight to carry compared to the emotional scars that they will carry throughout their entire life. This story does an amazing job portraying full human emotion that anyone put into a situation would feel, such as heavy guilt, sadness, anger, lack of motivation, perseverance, horror, and false security. All of these are notorious feelings that every soldier back in history, and now stillRead MoreEssay On The Things They Carried1629 Words   |  7 PagesThe Things They Carried, reflects the saga of drafted soldiers during the Vietnam era who were sent to the Vietnam War. The author, Tim O’Brien, describes the things that the men carry during their tour of duty. The items carried are both physical and impalpable items and what these things are is subject to the individual soldier. They carry the necessities for survival in the jungles of Vietnam as well as the personal things each soldier feels necessary to make life as comfortable as possibleRead MoreEssay On The Things They Carried1777 Words   |  8 PagesThe Things They Carried, is a story about drafted soldiers during the Vietnam era who were sent to the Vietnam War. The author, Tim O’Brien, describes the things that the men carry during their tour of duty. The items carried are both physical and impalpable items and what these things are is subject to the individual soldier. They carry the necessities for survival in the jungles of Vietnam as well as the personal things each soldier feels necessary to make life as comfortable as possible. AdditionallyRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )2357 Words   |  10 Pagescannot relate to this disorder. Only a select few who experience a traumatic event will be affected by this disorder. A well-known appreciated author who once suffered from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is Tim O’Brien. He transcribes his experience in the novel, â€Å"The Things They Carried.† Tim O’Brien does a phenomenal job of illustrating the disorder through a collection of fictional short stories. In addition, he also speaks about the therapy he went through to suppress the feelings of stress broughtRead MoreTim OBriens The Things They Carried1170 Words   |  5 Pagesmedical professionals. After returning home from the war, Tim O Brien author of the novel The Things They Carried, was diagnosed as having PTSD. In view of this, it took men and women years to salvage their lives due in part to the trauma suffered and observed in Vietnam, which incessantly transformed their lives. Most of the soldiers who fought and served in Vietnam did not know the determining factors for being in Vietnam. The Things They Carried communicates to the reader how soldiers withstood theirRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreAnalysis Of Tim O Brien s The Things They Carried All Experience1859 Words   |  8 PagesYou: Tim O Brien s Methods To Overcome Loss Throughout the 1980s, Dr. Terence M. Keane ran experiments on a new idea called exposure therapy. The case studied how victims of trauma would react to being repeatedly shown places, imagines, and stories that mirrored theirs. In the study was twenty four veterans of the Vietnam War, and at the end of the study, they no longer had reactions classified as severe anxiety. Like the veterans in this case study, soldiers in Tim O Brien s The Things TheyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Fog Of War : Twelve Lessons From The Life Of Robert S. Mcnamara And O Brien2146 Words   |  9 Pagesbetter resonate with our audience by connecting with them on an emotional level. Such is the manner in which the personal experiences of war are shared in the pieces The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara and The Things They Carried. Although McNamara and O’Brien’s experiences of war were vastly different, their personal recollections and the separate examinations of th e manner in which they each experienced the war can serve to provide insight into the true nature of warfare