The things they carried pages. The Things They Carried Notes Summary & Analysis 2022-10-27
The things they carried pages
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The Things They Carried is a collection of interconnected short stories by Tim O'Brien, set during the Vietnam War. The title refers to the various physical and emotional items that the soldiers carry with them during the war. These items range from practical military equipment to personal mementos and memories.
One of the central themes of The Things They Carried is the weight of memory and the impact of war on the individual soldiers. The soldiers carry a wide range of personal items that serve as reminders of their past lives and loved ones, such as photographs, letters, and mementos. These items provide comfort and serve as a connection to the world they left behind, but they also carry a heavy emotional weight. The soldiers are constantly reminded of the sacrifices they have made and the dangers they face, and these memories weigh on them both literally and figuratively.
Another important theme in The Things They Carried is the concept of masculinity and how it is shaped by war. The soldiers are expected to embody traditional masculine traits such as strength, bravery, and stoicism, and they struggle with the realities of war that challenge these expectations. Many of the soldiers cope with their fears and emotions by resorting to macho posturing and bravado, but this facade often crumbles when faced with the harsh realities of combat.
The Things They Carried also explores the complex relationships between the soldiers, who rely on each other for support and companionship during their time in Vietnam. The soldiers form strong bonds with each other, but they also struggle with feelings of jealousy, resentment, and competition. These relationships are tested by the brutality of war and the loss of comrades, leading to both moments of great camaraderie and intense conflict.
In conclusion, The Things They Carried is a powerful exploration of the impact of war on the individual soldiers who fought in Vietnam. Through its depiction of the various physical and emotional items that the soldiers carry with them, the novel delves into themes of memory, masculinity, and relationships. The Things They Carried serves as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served in Vietnam and the lasting impact of war on the human psyche.
The Things They Carried: Full Book Summary
It's a great time—the nurse loves him to death—the guy gets whatever he wants whenever he wants it. Moreover, I could not claim to be opposed to war as a matter of general principle. Parts of this book are fiction, and I am not sure this actually happened. Otherwise, I would have quit the class immediately and never written so much as a grocery list ever again. What would you do? You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance. Over and over—there it is, my friend, there it is—as if the repetition itself were an act of poise, a balance between crazy and almost crazy, knowing without going, there it is, which meant be cool, let it ride, because Oh yeah, man, you can't change what can't be changed, there it is, there it absolutely and positively and fucking well is. Would they have the courage to drag you out? I could see tiny red berries on the bushes.
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The Things They Carried Full Text Pages 1
Off to my right was the Rainy River, wide as a lake in places, and beyond the Rainy River was Canada. They stripped off Lavender's canteens and ammo, all the heavy things, and Rat Kiley said the obvious, the guy's dead, and Mitchell Sanders used his radio to report one U. They carried their reputations. I remember opening up the letter, scanning the first few lines, feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes. What about SEATO and the Cold War? In the first week of April, before Lavender died, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross received a good-luck charm from Martha. Remarque was a veteran of World War I, and the book chronicles the extreme anguish, both mentally and physically, most soldiers experienced during the war. No, man, go on.
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The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
They carried the standard fatigue jackets and trousers. He would accept the blame for what had happened to Ted Lavender. Henry Dobbins thought about it. He and Elroy only make small talk, but as Tim realizes later, Elroy knows what's going on, yet never says anything. This was not Mount Sebastian, it was another world, where there were no pretty poems or midterm exams, a place where men died because of carelessness and gross stupidity. The teeth were broken. He was realistic about it.
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The Things They Carried Notes Summary & Analysis
Certainly that was my conviction back in the summer of 1968. Commencing immediately, he'd tell them, they would no longer abandon equipment along the route of march. There was a banquet, and then a dance, and then afterward they took a walk across the campus and talked about their lives. Kiowa, who saw it happen, said it was like watching a rock fall, or a big sandbag or something—just boom, then down—not like the movies where the dead guy rolls around and does fancy spins and goes ass over teakettle—not like that, Kiowa said, the poor bastard just flat-fuck fell. They carried diseases, among them malaria and dysentery. Lee Strunk carried a slingshot; a weapon of last resort, he called it. The current was fast.
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The Things They Carried Study Guide
They were pressed together, and the pebble in his mouth was her tongue. He thinks about letters she wrote him; he thinks about whether or not she is a virgin; he thinks about how much he loves her and wants her to love him. I've read all five of O'Brien's books with admiration that sometimes verges on awe. He decides he will get rid of the pebble, get rid of the rest of Ted Lavender's drugs, accept all the blame for Lavender's death. They would do what they had always done. The afternoon was sunny and cold. Goggles were a necessity, and a rubber apron, but even so it was like standing for eight hours a day under a lukewarm blood-shower.
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The Things They Carried: Summary & Analysis
Loaned out and lost to a college crush years ago, a dear friend bought me a replacement copy awhile back signed to me by Tim O'Brien himself. Lee Strunk made a funny ghost sound, a kind of moaning, yet very happy, and right then, when Strunk made that high happy moaning chewing tobacco, liberated joss sticks and statuettes of the smiling Buddha, candles, grease pencils, The Stars and Stripes , fingernail clippers, Psy Ops leaflets, bush hats, bolos, and much more. The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension, replaying itself over and over. On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha's letters. They made themselves laugh.
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The Things They Carried The Things They Carried Summary & Analysis
At dusk, he would carefully return the letters to his rucksack. They carried lice and ringworm and leeches and paddy algae and various rots and molds. He could see her moving in the rain. He can bring the dead back to life. I've heard this, said Norman Bowker. It was the kind of day where in the back of our mind we were maybe more vigilant than necessary because the threat of anything bad seemed so far away — so therefore we needed to be more on the guard. As a hedge against bad times, however, Kiowa also carried his grandmother's distrust of the white man, his grandfather's old hunting hatchet.
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The Things That They Carried Full Book
I'm sorry but I'm gone! Taking turns, they carried the big PRC-77 scrambler radio, which weighed 30 pounds with its battery. She had never married, she said, and probably never would. He took my presence for granted, the same way he might've sheltered a stray cat—no wasted sighs or pity—and there was never any talk about it. Elroy Berdahl was no hick. Intimate secrets: Why poetry? He enjoyed not being dead.
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