The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
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Book Reviews of The Things They Carried
Book Review: the summer reading report
Summary: 4 Stars
The book that I read which is titled "the things they carried". By the author Tim O' Brien. Is a very realistic book mostly takes place centered on a troop of soldiers in Than Khe area of mission for the Vietnam War. This book also describes how things were during the Vietnam War; like for example the things the soldiers would carry along with them. Tells you about there depressing moments, the war, deaths, and love stories they would share with each other.
Some of the characters of this story were: Henry dobbins he was the solider in charge with the machine gunner. Ted lavender, he was a very quiet and sometimes scary man, always very paranoiac as to when something was going to happen then he would start by preparing an excessive amount of ammunition, rations, water, toilet paper, and a lot of tranquillizers. But his life cruelly ended with a shot, while he was outside than Khe on watch. Kiowa carried an illustrated New Testament, a gift from his father. Rat Kiley carried morphine, malaria tablets, and supplies for serious wounds, since he was the doctor of the troop. Norman Bowker was a man who embodies the damage that the war can do to a solider long after the war is over. Lieutenants Jimmy cross carries the maps, the compasses, and the responsibility for his men's live; and letter's from his Martha. Martha is Lieutenant jimmy cross's girlfriend she goes to his college in new jersey she is an English major who writes letters that quote lines of poetry and never mention the war.
There were many deaths during this war like Kiawo he died because he drowned in a mud pit. But there was also some smart soldiers like Rat Kiley that shot his ankle on propose so that an emergency helicopter can take him over to the hospital. Many others that had the chance to return home but couldn't live with the guilt of killing so many people in the war came back to there home and committed suicide.
In conclusion the book "The things they carried" is a novel based on the Vietnam War. Its explains why the book has this title; the soldiers during the Vietnam war would carry with them guns, personal stuff such as pictures of the wives or girlfriends, bibles. Letters and many more things. Curing this book there was many death and sad story. An interesting fact about this book is that the author Tim o Brien was in a war himself, but he was lucky because he returned to his home to his family, and had a very happy ending. I think this book was very interesting because it describe all the situations during the war like the Vietnam War.
Book Review: the things they carried
Summary: 4 Stars
The book that I read which is titled "the things they carried". By the author Tim O' Brien. Is a very realistic book mostly takes place centered on a troop of soldiers in Than Khe area of mission for the Vietnam war. This book also describes how things were during the Vietnam War; like for example the things the soldiers would carry along with them. Tells you about there depressing moments, the war, deaths, and love stories they would share with each other.
Some of the characters of this story were: Henry dobbins he was the solider in charge with the machine gunner. Ted lavender, he was a very quiet and sometimes scary man, always very paranoiac as to when something was going to happen then he would start by preparing an excessive amount of ammunition, rations, water, toilet paper, and a lot of tranquillizers. But his life cruelly ended with a shot, while he was outside than Khe on watch. Kiowa carried an illustrated New Testament, a gift from his father. Rat Kiley carried morphine, malaria tablets, and supplies for serious wounds, since he was the doctor of the troop. Norman Bowker was a man who embodies the damage that the war can do to a solider long after the war is over. Lieutenants Jimmy cross carries the maps, the compasses, and the responsibility for his men's live; and letter's from his Martha. Martha is Lieutenant jimmy cross's girlfriend she goes to his college in new jersey she is an English major who writes letters that quote lines of poetry and never mention the war.
There were many deaths during this war like Kiawo he died because he drowned in a mud pit. But there was also some smart soldiers like Rat Kiley that shot his ankle on propose so that an emergency helicopter can take him over to the hospital. Many others that had the chance to return home but couldn't live with the guilt of killing so many people in the war came back to there home and committed suicide.
In conclusion the book "The things they carried" is a novel based on the Vietnam War. Its explains why the book has this title; the soldiers during the Vietnam war would carry with them guns, personal stuff such as pictures of the wives or girlfriends, bibles. Letters and many more things. Curing this book there was many death and sad story. An interesting fact about this book is that the author Tim o Brien was in a war himself, but he was lucky because he returned to his home to his family, and had a very happy ending. I think this book was very interesting because it describe all the situations during the war like the Vietnam War.
Book Review: An excellent book that explores memories and the craft of writing
Summary: 5 Stars
The elusive quality of O'Brien's style might be due to the fact that the book is self-contradictory or even paradoxical in many respects. The fact that the book defies an easy definition may be the author's comment on the power of narrative over life. There is not much that can be done to change the past. However, O'Brien takes his chances writing his visions and revisions of the past. For the author, literature becomes cathartic and memories contribute to healing. By discussing the role of the writer, the function of stories in life and the purpose of memory, O'Brien has created a work that may not be defined beyond the fact that it uses metafictional techniques in its development. Other than that, all other positions are as arguable as war itself.
As a metafictional novel, The Things They Carried tackles writing as a process and the role of the author. The author dives into the issues of imagination and memory, two key elements deemed by O'Brien as important to any fiction writer and by doing that, he explores the sources of creation. Therefore, by pondering so much about the meaning of war, O'Brien somehow ends up writing a book about writing a war story in a sort of infinite regress that draws us into the narrative.
Some stories only indirectly reflect the process of writing; other selections include obvious metafictional devices. In certain sections of the book, entire chapters are devoted to discussing form and technique.
By defining a war story so broadly, O'Brien writes more stories, interspersing the definitions with examples from the war to illustrate them. What is particularly significant about the examples is that they are given in segments, a technique that actively engages the readers in the process of textual creation. Characters who are mentioned as having died early in the work are brought back to life through flashbacks in other parts of the text so that we can see who these characters are, what they are like, and how they die.
In focusing so extensively on the power of fiction and on what a war story is or is not in The Things They Carried, O'Brien writes a multidimensional war story even as he examines the process of writing one. His tales become stories within stories or multilayered texts within texts within texts. The book's genius is a seeming inevitability of form that perfectly embodies its theme - the miracle of vision - the eternally protean and volatile capacity of the imagination, which may invent that which it has the will and vision to conceive.
Book Review: A book about war that will teach you to appreciate life
Summary: 4 Stars
There is no glory in war. Each side suffers from countless deaths, fighting over a cause that most cannot recall or cannot care less about. In The Things They Carried, Tim O' Brien compiles a collection of short stories into a novel about the complications and consequences of the Vietnam War. His stories jump from one to the next, but the novel as a whole is bound together by the characters involved. Each person mentioned in the introductory story is given his or her own section in the book, told through either a detailed background or short account of a significant event. He gives life to each of his comrades, making each unique in his own way. O' Brien exposes the feelings of a soldier when he is in battle, facing life or death situations. By separating the book into shorter stories, O' Brien allows the reader to complete one story, stop, and reflect on the sufferings or victories of those who fought in Vietnam. From the depressed and suicidal Norman Bowker to O' Brien's own personal experiences, The Things They Carried encompasses the emotional aspect of war.
Being a firsthand participant in the Vietnam War, and personally knowing soldiers with whom he fought with, O' Brien details even the most trivial eccentricities of his group of soldiers, even listing the knickknacks and accessories carried by each person. Most items were necessary, including clothing, food, and ammunition. Others were more personal, from pictures to gifts. The soldiers carried other weights as well, memories of family, friends, and loved-ones. The differences are clear between the soldiers, their personalities sometimes creating problems. However, O' Brien unites his comrades with a similar item that each must carry, whether he likes it or not: the burden of fighting a war that is unnecessary, confusing, unexplainable, complicated. Each soldier finds his own way to despise the war, a war that he could not prevent, a war that he never wanted to be a part of. Through their burden, their unifying factor, the soldiers stick together, helping each other, comforting each other, and, for most, surviving with each other.
The Things They Carried is at times quite dull, including areas that are of interest only to veterans of war. At times, it was difficult to sympathize with O'Brien and his company, parts of the story being vaguely related, making the reader feel left out. Other than those flaws, The Things They Carried is great for those who want to enhance their understanding of the soldiers of war.
Book Review: "Story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth"
Summary: 5 Stars
"They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of they things they carried... They all carry ghosts... They carried the land itself - Vietnam, the place, the soil - a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues and faces."I read The Things They Carried for my sophomore English II class at Culver Military Academy. I chose the book out of five other book choices, because I was not very familiar with the Vietnam War and after looking through the first couple of pages, it drew me in. I read and discussed the novel with five of my fellow classmates in literary circles (Lit Circles). Our group discussions were completely student-based with the teacher only dropping in for a couple of minutes to listen to our conversations and ask questions. Members of the group were assigned one of six rotating jobs - discussion director, illuminator, illustrator, connector, word watcher, and the summarizer. Each job required the student to prepare something the night before to bring into class the next day to help lead group discussion.
The Things They Carried is a fictional novel by Tim O'Brien exploring the Vietnam War, specifically the pains and burdens the soldiers carried with them throughout the war. The book is divided into twenty-two stories, each slowly progressing deeper into the traumatic memories of the narrator. The stories follow members of the Alpha Company focusing on the psychological stress and the ambiguous nature of the Vietnam War. Throughout the book the narrator deals with the deaths of members of his platoon and the unexpectedness of fatalities to land mines, traps, and sneak attacks. You are drawn into the emotions of the soldiers in the jungle. This is O'Brien's way of dealing with this sense of loss and of carrying a great emotional burden.
The most striking part of the book is the difference between Tim O'Brien the author, and Tim O'Brien the character. O'Brien deals with his emotions of the war by fictionalizing his memories. The key point to keep in mind when reading this book is that it is a work of fiction. Fiction allows the narrator to explore and express memories that may not be expressed otherwise. A phrase from the story "Good Form" concludes this very well: "story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth." Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys both fiction and non-fiction because it is very close to both.