The obvious inspiration for writing these stories was Tim O’Brien’s The Things We Carried. I was struck by O’Brien’s fascinating and impactful way of telling his story using story truth. Therefore, I decided to apply the concept of story truth to one of the most important segments of my life: my years in college. The stories that I told above, I believe, accurately capture how I felt during some of the most influential times of college. I chose to keep the stories based around an actual event that happened to me but the details were altered to better capture how I felt, rather than just describe it exactly as it happened. I chose this over completely creating an event that didn’t happen at all as I preferred being able to base each story around something I went through, …show more content…
I did not actually drive all the way to Louisville that night but I told the story in this way to capture the fact that I quite often thought back to that night and couldn’t shake the feeling that I hadn’t done enough. I went back to that night so often in my mind that I felt the best way to capture it in the story was to have me physically go back there and reflect on it from the actual location. I also altered the way in which Carly called me and I went back to her. My drive did not take me very far in actuality but I was gone a while. Her call to me was not as literally romantic as presented in the story but that is how it felt to me at the time because in the moment it was the most important phone call I had received and her wondering where I had been made me feel so loved and it did remind me that it was going to be alright, even if these are not the things she actually said that night. We didn’t confess our love that night, but it felt like it because from there forward we built up to eventually saying it and beginning a
Everyday individuals face decisions in which they must choose whether to do what is appealing to them or to choose a more suitable and compliable choice. In the fictional work of ‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’ Brien, certain characters such as Tim O’ Brien himself must face decisions similar to these. The novel demonstrates that when an individual is faced with a decision in which there is a choice that he may have to conform, the individual tends to conform due to not wanting to embarrass themselves or to not be portrayed as a coward to others. However when the individual is challenged with these types of decisions, the choice does not matter since the outcome will be what the individual was trying to avoid. That is to say that in the excerpt “The Rainy River” Tim O’ Brien was going through a conflicting decision on whether or not he should go to the war. Yet, as we see it turns out that either choice will lead to either shame or cowardice. If he goes to the war he feels that he will be a coward and that he gave up his own morals and values and accepted something he does not believe in, but if he does not go to war he will be shunned by society and will be labelled as a coward because he will not fight for his country.
Experiences and Emotions in The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is not a novel about the Vietnam War. “It is a story about the soldiers and their experiences and emotions that are brought about from the war” (King 182). O'Brien makes several statements about war through these dynamic characters. He shows the violent nature of soldiers under the pressures of war, he makes an effective antiwar statement, and he comments on the reversal of a social deviation into the norm. By skillfully employing the stylistic technique of specific, conscious detail selection and utilizing connotative diction, O'Brien thoroughly and convincingly makes each point.
The impact of the Vietnam War upon the soldiers who fought there was huge. The experience forever changed how they would think and act for the rest of their lives. One of the main reasons for this was there was little to no understanding by the soldiers as to why they were fighting this war. They felt they were killing innocent people, farmers, poor hard working people, women, and children were among their victims. Many of the returning soldiers could not fall back in to their old life styles. First they felt guilt for surviving many of their brothers in arms. Second they were haunted by the atrocities of war. Some soldiers could not go back to the mental state of peacetime. Then there were soldiers Tim O’Brien meant while in the war that he wrote the book “The Things They Carried,” that showed how important the role of story telling was to soldiers. The role of stories was important because it gave them an outlet and that outlet was needed both inside and outside the war in order to keep their metal state in check.
I was carrying my whole life with me, as I walked towards the aircraft. I was carrying two suitcases, filled mainly with clothes and books. I know they were less than 20 kilograms because that was the permissible weight. I could not feel their weight as they were on the trolley. I had a backpack on my shoulders. It contained some eatables, some clothes, a novel, some magazines, a portable CD player, some CDS, a deck of cards, and an inflatable pillow. I was well prepared for my long flight. In my hand I carried as brown leather case containing my passport, visa, and all other personal documents and papers. If I were to lose that case, technically I would cease to exist. Other than that, I had a tennis racket slung over my left shoulder. In short, I was carrying almost all my belongings with me. But that was not all I was taking with me. I was carrying with me memories of 18 years. Things and incidents, long forgotten, resurfaced in my mind, with incredible detail. Every face around me reminded me of uncountable incidents. I was carrying with me a sense of tremendous loss. But, at the same time, I was also carrying with me hope and excitement. A new world called me, and I was looking forward to go there. To protect me in this new place, I had a holy red thread tied on my wrist. That was the explanation my Mom had given me when she was tying it. Though I did not necessarily agree with her, looking at the thread did bring a warm feeling in my heart. It symbolized the love and blessings of my parents which I carried with me, wherever I went.
Have you ever pack to make a long trip to fight for the beliefs of your country? If you have not, the short story, The Things They Carried, will take you into an adventurous journey. Tim O’ Brien describes the story of a platoon led by Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. The items soldiers carried were described as tangible and intangible. There are physical and emotional loads in which every ounce is considered. They walked with the burden to stay alive. Having to stay in a deserted land and away from tranquility awakens their fear that will stay active for the reminding of their journey. Ultimately, the main objective of this text is to revive and embody the experiences encountered while fighting during the Vietnam War. Therefore, in the story, the author
Create a list of O'Brien's criteria of how to tell a true war story and give an example of each criteria in outline form.
are based on embarrassing you. I think that these four stories show you how your
In “The Truth about Stories”, Thomas King, demonstrate connection between the Native storytelling and the authentic world. He examines various themes in the stories such as; oppression, racism, identity and discrimination. He uses the creational stories and implies in to the world today and points out the racism and identity issues the Native people went through and are going through. The surroundings shape individuals’ life and a story plays vital roles. How one tells a story has huge impact on the listeners and readers. King uses sarcastic tone as he tells the current stories of Native people and his experiences. He points out to the events and incidents such as the government apologizing for the colonialism, however, words remains as they are and are not exchanged for actions. King continuously alerts the reader about taking actions towards change as people tend to be ignorant of what is going around them. At the end people give a simple reason that they were not aware of it. Thus, the author constantly reminds the readers that now they are aware of the issue so they do not have any reason to be ignorant.
Throughout Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, a plethora of stories are told concerning the lives of a select number of soldiers in and out of the Vietnam War. In his writing, O’Brien also conveys his own thoughts on the art of storytelling and the nature of stories themselves. In these passages, O’Brien provides a detailed analysis of the challenges of storytelling, the effects of time on memory, the role of imagination in storytelling, the reason for retelling a story, and a story’s purpose and process for the reader.
Everyone is supposed to have a story about how he/she became the reader and writer he/she is today. For me, my story is not just about how I became an exceptional reader and writer; it is about how I became the person I am. I do not have some dark childhood story filled with depressed memories. I had a delightful childhood and cannot complain about anything that I have been through. However, I feel as if I live a life much different from all the children I knew.
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
In October of my freshman year, I was admitted into a psychiatric hospital for one week. The events that led up to this are long and many in number, so much so that to explain it all fully would require forty more pages and essay submissions, something neither you nor I have time for. They don't matter any way. What matters is that I was there, along with seven other perfect strangers who would later become the greatest people I had ever had the blessing of meeting and yet destined to never see again.
Unfortunately, it was a dark and cold rainy day which made it difficult with the rain soaking our clothes and all of our equipment. But aside from that, the rain didn’t seem to bother me or anyone else for that matter. Instead we had a slight appreciation for the rain, as if it was mimicking the melancholy feeling that we felt. It always seemed as if our camping trip couldn’t come soon enough, and then when it finally did arrive it was as if it was gone too soon. As the rain started to pour down we loaded everything in the car as fast as we could and we gathered ourselves inside. We watched out the back window as we drove away from the campground, seeing it dissipate in the distance. On our ride home we all felt a little nostalgic and talked about favorite memories of the trip and what we’d do next year. The drive was about 3 hours away from our house and somewhere along the way I fell asleep on Alicia’s shoulder while listening to Taylor Swift. I remember feeling as if I was still drifting in the soft waves of the water, and the thought of that relaxed me into a peaceful sleep. When I finally arrived at home I rushed into the living room where my parents were waiting on the couch to hear all about the awesome experiences I had on my trip. After that I went into my room to call Alicia, and we stayed on the phone with each other while we marked our calendars together to begin the countdown for our camping trip next
Experiences mold people into who they are destined to become. They teach lesson to the ignorant, inspire the stagnant, and spark the content. A person’s experiences write their past and present, and my experiences wrote a dramatic story. My story begins with a naive child who was blinded by the wicked’s of the world, but one day hell released it’s beast. The beast came in the form of shattering words cracking picture frames and smashing children's hearts. It tore a family into two and transformed this girl into an adult. The beast had hunted her down and handed her the role of a leading her siblings to success. But this evil didn’t gain power over the young child; inside of her it blossomed a caring heart that strived to ease the pain of others
A new experience, a change from the norm, looking out for myself, and living on my own: for me this is college. The transition of high school student to college seemed immensely overwhelming and even a bit scary. The shift opened a can of worms and created challenges, both good and bad, behind every corner. Due to the change of scene, I am now dealing with the everyday acceptance of the greater world around me: the town, the people and my new life.