Yes Or No?

Yes, I would recommend "The Things They Carried" to just about anyone. The book has a lot to offer, a history lesson to a emotional love story. Tom O'Brien does a great job of writing it to, as he uses rhetorical devices, such as Tone, Imagery, and figurative language. The only con is that before you read the book, it will be beneficial if you have some previous knowledge of Vietnam. Therefore I would suggest it to most High School Students as a side assignment from a History Class.

Summary of the book.

The Protagonist, is Tim O’Brien, and he begins "The Things They Carried" by describing an event that occurred in the middle of his Vietnam experience. The book consists of a variety of things that his fellow soldiers had brought on their missions. Several of these things are emotions, including guilt and fear, while others are specific physical objects, including matches, morphine, M-16 rifles, and M&M’s candy.

                                          Source: Spark Notes/ Paraphrased

Best Chapter!

Most people tend to believe a climax, as being the best section of a book. But in "The Things They Carried" that is not the case, I believe the first chapter to be the best. My reasoning behind this is, because I have never read a book with more relation to the title, than this one. It is the best, because for once right in the beginning a story starts to develop and it also gets straight to the point of what your about to read. Without giving it away to, I must say that the First Chapter provides the most insight of what is to come.  

One Page and the Tone

"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--

these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they 

had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of 

cowardice.... Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to."  Page 21 

The above is just a section from Pg. 21. Tim O'Brien uses a broad variation of tone, throughout his book "The Things They carried." I chose this particular page to demonstrate O' Brien's tone, because it represents the factual position that is at state, and that is fear. With just a few sentences O' Brien clearly explains, that although you may have all these men that carrying a variety of things it still doesn't replace the feeling of fear, being brought upon by the war.    

10 Events chronological Order...

1.)  Tim O'Brien had to grapple with the effects of the Vietnam War. 

2.) Tim O'Brien tries to pursue his career in writing. Later becoming one he writes book, such as " The Things They Carried."


3.) In the summer of 1968, Tim O’Brien receives a draft notice. Despite a desire to follow his convictions and flee to Canada, he feels he would be embarrassed to refuse to fulfill his patriotic duty and so concedes to fight in Vietnam.

4.) Tim O'Brien takes most of his tour of duty in My Lai. Learning about the past of this particular place encourages him to write.

5.) During their tour of duty, the men of the Alpha Company must cope with the loss of their own men and the guilt that comes from killing and watching others die.

6.) After he returns from war, O’Brien grapples with his memories by telling stories about Vietnam.

7.) Physical and emotional burdens; fear of shame as motivaton; the subjection of truth to storytelling

8.) O’Brien mentions the deaths of men such as Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon, and Kiowa before he gives detailed accounts of how and when they died in later stories.


9.) Tim O'Brien kept his tales bottled up, then he later wrote books to express his experiences to the public. 


10.) O'Brien became noticed as a well pronounced author, and was looked upon by the military as a man who deserves to receive rewards, such as the Purple Heart, a Bronze Star for Valor, and a Combat Infantry Badge. 


All of the following led to Tim O'Briens reasoning's to becoming a writer...

Two Places Mentioned...

There are several places where Tim O'Brien mentions his characters to be in, but I did some research and decided to mention the places where he himself was deployed. The two main places in which O'Brien listed were  known as My Lai and the Jungle in itself. First off Tim O'Brien was dropped in the Southern portion of Vietnam, where he then had to make his way through dense and thick forests with little to any sunshine, as it rained 3/4 of the time. O'Brien later made his way to the Village of My Lai, where in the previous year a massacred occurred killing hundreds of men, women, and children. He did his time there, then was later sent back to become the well pronounced writer that Tim O'Brien is today.  

Important People Of The Things They Carried

In the craft of Tim O'Briens writing, he included several different characters throughout the book. The center character is lieutenant Jimmy Cross who is responsible for the entire group of men. Cross continues to face emotional struggles with the war, and with his strong love for a girl named Martha. Other characters consist of Kiowa, who was a man that demonstrates the effects war can have on a man, and how opinions can change greatly, just because of one man's death. In addition to best friend Kiowa, Mitchell Sanders committed greatly to O'Briens creation of the book ,as Sanders was a well known devoted solider. This allowed O'Brien to continue attempting getting his message out there ,and sure enough he did.

Title "The Things They Carried" In relation To the Book...

Tim O'Brien uses the title throughout the majority book, as he literally explains the things his men carried. For example he explained someone carrying  a lucky pebble compared to a RPG,that can destroy a enemy operations base in a blink of an eye. O'Brien inter-twines the title with the plot of the book, as he takes the outlook of what people carried towards the events that took place in Vietnam.

About Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien (born October 1, 1946) is an American novelist who writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact that the war had on the American soldiers who fought there.

Born in Minnesota (a setting which figures prominently in his novels), he earned his BA in Political Science in 1968. That same year he was drafted into the infantry, and was sent to Vietnam, where he served from 1969 to 1970. He served in the Americal division, infamous for its participation in the My Lai massacre, shortly before O'Brien arrived in Vietnam. That event also figures in his writing.

Upon completing his tour of duty, O'Brien went on to graduate school at Harvard and received an internship at the Washington Post. His writing career was launched in 1973 with the release of If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Send Me Home about his war experiences.

The Things They Carried MLA Doc.

O'Brien, Tim; "The things They Carried" Mariner Books; 1 edition 18 Nov. 2011

"Things They Carried"

Things they Carried is the book I chose, well technically Mrs. West chose it. I agreed to raed this because it demonstartes facts intertwined with a story. This book tempted me to read it, because of the romance, war, and action concepts of it. It quickly got my attention and had got my eyes glued.

Why I write, George Orwell

With Orwells writing I feel that he compares to me, by he looks at writing as the way a word can be used, and its much important meaning towards it. He thinks of stories becoming movies as if the writing creates a cinema in your head. Also he demonstartes that writing takes time and development.

Why I write Terry Tempest Williams

My opinion on Williams essay of "Why I write" is that I am similar to him, because I use writing to say things that aren't meant to be contoroled. With writing it allows me to put all my inner feelings into it and have the outcome appear to be nothing. For example if I want to say something bad towards someone, it may develop into a out of hand situation, but with writing thats not the case. In other words writing allows me to say what I want without any limitations and Williams demonstrates this.