I would like to explore the concept of love, the dichotomy of the masculine/feminine perspective and how it relates to the two short stories. Also I will explore the ideas of “phantoms” or in other words the imaginary idealization and objectification of the characters.
The two stories I have chosen are “The Things They Carried,” written by Tim O’Brien and “Love Letters” written by Patricia Zelver. Both of these stories in some way deal with war and love letters and how these letters affect the main characters. We see varying points of view and different levels of importance placed on the love letters in these two stories, especially by the main characters, Lt. Jimmy Cross and Emily Abbot.
One of the most interesting differences between these two stories is that they both come from opposite perspectives. “The Things They Carried” is told from the male perspective and takes place during the Vietnam War, while “Love Letters” is told from a female perspective and is told some time after World War Two.
In “Love Letters” we have a very interesting view point in that it is brought forward from the past. These letters are shared between Emily (the mother) and her daughter Rebecca. These letters are juxtaposed between their faulty relationship. In these letters Emily has a chance to explore her past and build a relationship with her daughter. The way Zelver allows her characters to examine these letters and the new meaning Emily finds in them we as the reader are privy to the dynamic relationship between soldier and the ideal girl back home.
What I would like to do with this paper is to blend the voices of all of the main characters together and perhaps come up with a more holistic picture of the significance of the...
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...that surrounds them and causes them to objectify each other. In their objectification love is casualty along with the idea of the feminine, in a masculine dominated setting of war.
Works Cited
1. Chen, Tina. “Unraveling the Deeper Meaning…” Contemporary Literature. 39 (1998): 77
2. O’Brien, Tim. “The Things They Carried.” Fiction 100. Ed. James H. Pickering. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River. 2004. 1053-65.
3. Smiley, Pamela. “The Role of the Ideal (female) Reader…” The Massachusetts Review. 43 (2002/3): 602
4. Smith, Lorrie N. “’The Things Men do‘: The Gendered Subtext…” Critique. 36 (1994): 16
5. Wesley, Marilyn. “Truth and Fiction in Tim O’Brien’s…” College Literature.
29 (2002): 1
6. Zelver, Patricia. “Love Letters” Fiction 100. Ed. James H. Pickering.
New Jersey: Upper Saddle River. 2004. 1364-72
To begin with, I will begin with a brief summary of both stories in order to better
5. Roberts, Edgar V., and Henry E. Jacobs. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: an Introduction to Reading and Writing. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall, 2008. 76-81. Print.
"Unit 2: Reading & Writing About Short Fiction." ENGL200: Composition and Literature. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 49-219. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
The domineering attitude of Emily's father keeps her to himself, inside the house, and alone until his death. In his own way, Emily's father shows her how to love. Through a forced obligation to love only him, as he drives off young male callers, he teaches his daughter lessons of love. It is this dysfunctional love that resurfaces later, because it is the only way Emily knows how to love.
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