Essay On War In Tim O 'Brien's' The Things They Carried

Three quarters of Vietnam is made up of mountains and hills, and densely forested highlands, with level land covering no more than 20 percent of the area.(Vietnam) Vietnam is an “S” shaped country stretching over 1,000 miles. It is divided into four geographic regions the highlands and the Red River Delta in the north, the Truong Son Mountains form the Central Highlands running almost the full length of Vietnam along its borders with Laos and Cambodia, the coastal lowlands, and the Mekong River Delta in the south.(Vietnam) The geographical aspects of Vietnam allowed for physical and mental exhaustion, fear of location, and fear of safety in the The Things They Carried .

Many people say that the metal of a man is found in his ability to keep his ideals in spite of anything that life can through at you. If a man is found to have done these things he can be called a hero. Through a lifelong need to accept responsibility for all living things, Robert Ross defines his heroism by keeping faith with his ideals despite the betrayal, despair and tragedy he suffers throughout the course of The Wars by Timothy Findley.

A natural behaviour for humans is trying to relate to other’s points of view, one thing most people do not realize is that when you actually experience the event, you will have a different point of view versus trying to relate to it. Tim O’Brien, the author of The Things They Carried, had a completely different point of view on war than others who just watched it on the news. The main character and the stories in the book resemble Tim O'Brien's life in many ways, one of which is how Tim and the main character both oppose the war but other’s point of view about the war makes them conform and go to war anyways. .The Vietnam war, which is the basis of this book, had two opposing groups like all wars. The first was the opposition to U.S

     How does death affect the behavior of people? Although death affects everyone's behavior differently, knowledge of one's imminent death is a main force behind behavioral changes. This knowledge causes emotions that motivate people to act in ways that they normally would not. In Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried,'; the knowledge of death and its closeness causes the men in the story to alter their behavior by changing they way they display power, modifying emotions to relieve guilt, and by exhibiting different actions to ease anxiety.

Joseph Conrad once observed that “a belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” As a result of the violence that is necessary during wartime, soldiers are permitted to engage in savage behavior that is normally forbidden in society. In The Wars by Timothy Findley, however, soldiers act in violent ways even when they are not actively engaged in battle. The inherently savage nature of humankind is evident when Robert Ross kills the German soldier after the gas attack, when Robert is raped in the baths, and when Robert kills Captain Leather. These violent events that occur outside the direct action of the war demonstrate the evil inherent in

War is something that is hard to forget. War can change someone forever. In a war, people see each other die and that is hard to forget. A literary example of a story that demonstrates the effects of war is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O' Brien. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is busy looking at a picture of Martha and one of his men dies because of him. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross burns everything that is related to Martha and tries to lead his men to survival. Based on the use of characterization and symbolism in "The Things They Carried", Tim O' Brien argues that war forces people to abandon their attachment to people they care about in order to survive.

Tim O’Brien reminds us that true war stories are never moral. A war story is true if it is obscene and evil, with no virtue. A true war story will have no examples of the way humans should behave (514). The contributing authors absolutely influence the perception of the war, their works are meaningful, powerful. Further, we have the luxury of 20/20 hindsight and a PBS documentary that took 10 years to complete to consider when forming our opinion. Personally, I am grateful for the influence media and writings have on perceptions of warfare. I am coming to understand my grandfather who served in the Navy and the biases he brought home from the war. While I disagree with them, I am beginning to see where they originate from and why even at the

In the story “The Things They Carried” Tim O’brien really shines a light on the reality of war rather than just sugar coat it like any other author would. O’brien wants to be real with the whole situation, what really goes on during the war, unlike everyone else trying to make war seem like it’s not so bad but when in reality it really is. They don’t know the terrors these men have been through and do not have to fall asleep every night to flashbacks to those days and have potential PDS. However, Tim has actually been through all of the harsh conditions war will put you through and he has seen all the horrors and wishes to tell a true war story displaying the violence that actually occurs.

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien may seem like a classic narrative story that is composed of numerous lists, outlining what each soldier carried during the Vietnam war. But this is merely a surface level interpretation and there is more to the story than just lists. Once the reader deciphers what is being said between the text and carefully analyzes the short story on a deeper level, it reveals how the many parts of the Vietnam war have had a lasting and extensive impact on the soldiers. The story emphasizes the idea of how the items they carry exemplify a greater significance than simply their physical characteristics, such as a gun used to kill the enemy. The items hold an emotional and psychological connection with every veteran as each object is unique to the individual. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reflect how it contributes to the structure of the short story. The sudden shifts and constant altering of going back and forth from events echo key symptoms that veterans experience subsequently after a war. Even though there is a distinct correlation between the physical objects that the soldiers carry, it is unequivocally evident that the intangible “things they carry” have a greater implication on their personal life. These objects provide the reader with a valuable insight into the true struggles the veterans faced during the war and after as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder.

War as we know is destructive, violent, and unfair. War is neither fun or rewarding, it is deadly. Due to these circumstances, there are innocent civilian casualties, woebegone deaths, and vulnerable families. Moreover war requires troops, a panoply of drafted troops, unprepared civilians thrown into a war; known or unknown to them. War will be ephemeral if there are casualties. “500,000 of the 3 million troops who served in Vietnam suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and rates of divorce, suicide, alcoholism and drug addiction were markedly higher among veterans.” War brings despair into homes, troops who don’t come back, homes that become barren lands, and more financial problems. There is no harbinger for

When faced with obstacles, humans will commit crimes to overcome the problems and survive. Firstly, “There must be something we can do.” “There is,” Herb said. “There’s only one option. We have to attack.” (pg.372) When in survival mode, our first instinct is to go in attacking mode to protect ourselves. The neighbourhood of Eden Mills has decided to attack in order to have the safety of its people. They are attacking because they have no other choice to overcome the problem of being pounced by this enemy neighborhood, whether it’s killing them or striking their neighborhood. After trying to solve the problem without violence, they have now come to realize that their last option is to attack the military group or

Through our time here on earth, we all experience different events that make us into the people we are. Some of us experience the small things in life and never experience the sensational things. Certain people experience pain and unimaginable hardship while others experience love and comfort. We can be effected by small subtleties and overwhelming moments that open our minds and change us. War is an event that has influenced the human race since the beginning of time. War has the power to change a person, change emotions concerning life, and cause permanent psychological effects. It is an experience that has formed legends and stories which have changed culture. War has established itself with our human race, and it has given us many experiences which make us who we are today.

We have all seen or read about the political and social upheavals caused by war. Some may have even experienced it first-hand. Throughout history war has had negative psychological implications on those effected. However, there is no greater negative impact of war than the psychological and emotional turmoil that it causes individual soldiers.

War has been a part of human culture since it's birth. It has led to a great many massacres and has shown us the evil that exists within the souls of humanity. Some have even gone as far as saying that war is human nature. To better understand the reasons behind war and how it affects others, I've examined several different societies and cultures so as to better understand the necessity of war and see the cause of their external war attitude. To do so, different variables from two topics (military institutions and external war attitude) were matched up and crossed so as to look into the answers to these questions. The variables were then calculated and through these graphs, I was able to find different societies in which

War is a harrowing experience, that can cause many changes in the soldiers that experience it. The texts The War Drags On by Donovan, Hero of War by Rise Against, Wrong Side of Heaven by Five Finger Death Punch and Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg all share the theme “the reality of war changes people”. This is illustrated by the lyrics, quotes and visuals featured in these texts.