Suspense In The Things They Carried

The Things they Carried by Tim O’Brien centers around O’Brien and the soldiers in the Alpha Company during the Vietnam War. O’Brien uses point of view, imagery, and details to create suspense and make his experiences more real to the reader.
In the excerpt O’Brien uses a second person point of view so the reader may feel the same suspense and fear he felt in the dark. O’Brien tries to convey this feeling when he explains, “You try to block it out but you can’t. You see ghosts. Bullshit, you tell yourself. But then you remember the guys who died.” He creates suspense by using second person point of view so the reader can imagine themselves in O’Brien’s place and feel as if it is happening to them. O’Brien also creates suspense when he states, “You jerk up, you freeze, you squint at the dark. Nothing, though. You put your weapon on full automatic.” O’Brien’s use of second person point of view creates suspense because he is describing the fear in detail to illustrate how tense a soldier feels listening to sounds in the dark. The use of second person point of view reminds the reader of their own memories or experiences in the dark. This makes O’Brien’s

He uses personification when he describes the dark as he states, “You wait. Because the darkness squeezes you inside yourself.” This use of personification creates suspense because it reveals how O’Brien sees the darkness as suffocating. The use of personification creates suspense because the darkness and lack of ability to see leaves a person more vulnerable. O’Brien also uses personification to create suspense when he states, “The crickets talk in code.” This describes how O’Brien feels so tense that he’s hearing the crickets, “talk in code.” O’Brien’s senses are heightened due to lack of sight and he is already vulnerable in the dark, the cricket noises sounding like code adds to make him feel more paranoid and alert as if something might happen at any