In Tim O'Briens book The Things They Carried, he tells of his experience in the Vietnam war. Throughout the book he tells the reader that most war stories are not true. That most of the time, the feelings that are being expressed are real but that the incidents being talked about are fictional. Sometimes stories are made up just to portray how hard the war really was, both mentally and physically.
In the first chapter O'Brien describes things that the soldiers carry with them .He says that there are 2 different types of burdens, the tangible and the emotional.At first he decribes the tangible items, "Among the necessities, or near necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tabs..." (2)He also makes an effort to emphasize how heavy these items were, "...Henry Dobbins carried the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds unloaded but which was almost always loaded..." (5) "Every third or fourth man carried a Claymore antipersonnal mine- 3.5 pounds with its firing device. They all carried fragmentation grenades-14 ounces each." (7) He talks about the weight of each item to point out the amount of weight and pressure each soldier was under. They also had emmense emotional burdens. They carried with them the feelings of fear, guilt, grief and courage. But they also carry memories from home. Lt. Jimmy Cross is constantly thinking about Martha and fantasizing about her. When Ted Lavender dies, Lt. Cross blames himself because instead of paying attention to his men he was daydreaming about her. The other difference between the 2 types of burdens is, that once the war is over, all the tangible burdens are gone. There's no need to carry a gun, or grenades, or maps. However, the emotional burden remains with the soldiers long after the war is over.
O'Brien also speaks of what a true hero is. From my understanding, a true hero is not someone who wins a bunch of metals and comes home to tell about it, rather, it is someone who overcomes fear and cowardice even when they don't think it's possible. "I gripped the edge of the boat and leaned forward and thought Now...Even in my imagination, the shore just twenty yards away..." (56/57)O'Brien could have escaped to Canada and escaped the war, and even though he was so close, he didnt do it. He went to war and fought even though he was scared, scared of what others would think of him if he didnt go, scared to die. He also tells the story of the 4 men who die from a grenade. In the first scenario, one man jumps on top of the grenade to save the other three men. In the other scenario the same guy jumps on top of the grenade but all 4 men die anyway. Before they die one guy looks at him and says why did you do it, and he replies “story of my life." O'Brien is basically saying that heroes aren’t necessarily the strongest or smartest but they are the ones willing to sacrifice when all hope is lost
In Tim O'Briens book The Things They Carried, he tells of his experience in the Vietnam war. Throughout the book he tells the reader that most war stories are not true. That most of the time, the feelings that are being expressed are real but that the incidents being talked about are fictional. Sometimes stories are made up just to portray how hard the war really was, both mentally and physically.
ReplyDeleteIn the first chapter O'Brien describes things that the soldiers carry with them .He says that there are 2 different types of burdens, the tangible and the emotional.At first he decribes the tangible items, "Among the necessities, or near necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tabs..." (2)He also makes an effort to emphasize how heavy these items were, "...Henry Dobbins carried the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds unloaded but which was almost always loaded..." (5) "Every third or fourth man carried a Claymore antipersonnal mine- 3.5 pounds with its firing device. They all carried fragmentation grenades-14 ounces each." (7) He talks about the weight of each item to point out the amount of weight and pressure each soldier was under. They also had emmense emotional burdens. They carried with them the feelings of fear, guilt, grief and courage. But they also carry memories from home. Lt. Jimmy Cross is constantly thinking about Martha and fantasizing about her. When Ted Lavender dies, Lt. Cross blames himself because instead of paying attention to his men he was daydreaming about her. The other difference between the 2 types of burdens is, that once the war is over, all the tangible burdens are gone. There's no need to carry a gun, or grenades, or maps. However, the emotional burden remains with the soldiers long after the war is over.
O'Brien also speaks of what a true hero is. From my understanding, a true hero is not someone who wins a bunch of metals and comes home to tell about it, rather, it is someone who overcomes fear and cowardice even when they don't think it's possible. "I gripped the edge of the boat and leaned forward and thought Now...Even in my imagination, the shore just twenty yards away..." (56/57)O'Brien could have escaped to Canada and escaped the war, and even though he was so close, he didnt do it. He went to war and fought even though he was scared, scared of what others would think of him if he didnt go, scared to die. He also tells the story of the 4 men who die from a grenade. In the first scenario, one man jumps on top of the grenade to save the other three men. In the other scenario the same guy jumps on top of the grenade but all 4 men die anyway. Before they die one guy looks at him and says why did you do it, and he replies “story of my life." O'Brien is basically saying that heroes aren’t necessarily the strongest or smartest but they are the ones willing to sacrifice when all hope is lost.
O’Brien also talks a lot about the loss of innocence of many of these young soldiers. The soldiers went to Vietnam at such a young age. They were just kids. While there, they did a lot of growing up in a short period of time. They saw things that most people do not see in a life time. They see death and gore. They can tell people their stories and all of the horror that they’ve experienced. It is one thing to hear about, and it is a totally other thing to live it. They left for the war innocent kids and came back killers.