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- O'Brien details at great length what all the men carry: standard gear, weapons, tear gas, explosives, ammunitions, entrenching tools, starlight scopes, grenades, flak jackets, boots, rations, and the Army newsletter. They also carry their grief, terror, love, and longing, with poise and dignity.
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Tim O’Brien is both the narrator and protagonist of The Things They Carried. The work recounts his personal experience in the Vietnam War and allows him to comment on the war.
- Kiowa
He is practical, carrying moccasins in order to be able to...
- Mitchell Sanders
Mitchell Sanders is a likable soldier and a devoted friend....
- Elroy Berdahl
O’Brien uses Elroy to show that many Americans were dubious...
- Mary Anne Bell
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- Norman Bowker
The main character of “Speaking of Courage” is Norman...
- Jimmy Cross
In “The Things They Carried,” Cross bears the grief of...
- Tim O'brien Biography, Works, and Quotes
O’Brien’s area of operations was in the Quang Ngai Province,...
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- Kiowa
O’Brien is so explicit as to say “war is hell,” but that simple statement has little impact because it is so general and clichéd. Truth is what “makes the stomach believe,” like the image of Rat Kiley torturing a buffalo because he cannot sit with his emotions about Curt Lemon’s death.
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Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, of the Alpha Company, carries various reminders of his love for Martha, a girl from his college in New Jersey who has given no indication of returning his love. Cross carries her letters in his backpack and her good-luck pebble in his mouth. After a long days march, he unwraps her letters and imagines the prospect of her ret...
The narrator, Tim OBrien, describes the things all the men of the company carry. They are things in the most physical sensemosquito repellent and marijuana, pocket knives and chewing gum. The things they carry depend on several factors, including the mens priorities and their constitutions. Because the machine gunner Henry Dobbins is exceptionally ...
Some things the men carry are universal, like a compress in case of fatal injuries and a two-pound poncho that can be used as a raincoat, groundsheet, or tent. Most of the men are common, low-rank-ing soldiers and carry a standard M-16 assault rifle and several magazines of ammunition. Several men carry grenade launchers. All men carry the figurati...
One day, when the company outside the Than Khe area is on a mission to destroy tunnel complexes, Cross imagines the tunnels collapsing on him and Martha. He becomes distracted by wondering whether or not she is a virgin. On the way back from going to the bathroom, Lavender is shot, falling especially hard under the burden of his loaded backpack. St...
The morning after Lavenders death, in the steady rain, Cross crouches in his foxhole and burns Marthas letters and two photographs. He plans the days march and concludes that he will never again have fantasies. He plans to call the men together and assume the blame for Lavenders death. He reminds himself that, despite the mens inevitable grumbling,...
In The Things They Carried, protagonist "Tim O'Brien," a writer and Vietnam War veteran, works through his memories of his war service to find meaning in them. Interrelated short stories present themes such as the allure of war, the loss of innocence, and the relationship between fact and fiction.
The Things They Carried (1990) is a collection of linked short stories by American novelist Tim O'Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War. His third book about the war, it is based upon his experiences as a soldier in the 23rd Infantry Division.
- Tim O'Brien
- 1990
Summary: Tim O'Brien's perspective in The Things They Carried is that of a Vietnam War veteran reflecting on his experiences and the emotional burdens soldiers carry.
The Things They Carried blends O'Brien’s real life experiences in the Vietnam War with fictional elements in a visceral and deeply touching affair as he tries to effectively convey the truth...
