Things They Carried Essay: American Heroes

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The Things They Carried: American Heroes

"Speaking of Courage" in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, is more than a story about a soldier's personal experience of the Vietnam War. It is more than a story about his fight for his country, God, and fellow soldiers, and not to mention his return home. "Speaking of Courage" is not only an allegorical story about the disconnection between Vietnam and the rest of the world, but also an allegory about the disconnection between the soldiers and the life they once led.

Norman Bowker's flashback of Song Tra Bong, sets up the story for cultural analysis. The monsoon signifies the war as a whole, as it causes violence to spill over the entire world. Over time the monsoon causes the mud to act as quicksand, sucking in everything it touches. Like the monsoon, the war causes men to be drafted to fight for their country. The mama-sans yelling at the soldiers to get out of the muddy field represents the world being against the war. America is protesting and rioting for the war to be called off, but the soldiers are ordered to do their job, just as Lieutenant Jimmy Cross orders the men to stay on the muddy field. Once the men discover that the field is a shit field, it is obvious that the shit field symbolizes the political involvement in the war. The politics of the world start the war, and they order men to go out and fix the shit by fighting one another. When Kiowa begins to sink in the horrible slime, all Bowker can do is watch. This not only signifies the men being drafted into war, but also the men being killed one by one. The soldiers of the war face death every day and they know that, in an instant, they could be the next to die. Bowker; however, ...

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... Bowker almost won the Silver Star symbolizes how America did not win the Vietnam War, nor did they loose. O' Brien uses July 4th, Independence Day, as the date of Bowker's return home to signify America's lack of pride for not living up to their heroic reputation. At the end of the story, Bowker watches and even enjoys the firework show over the lake. The fireworks symbolize the end of the war and a new beginning. Bowker's enjoyment denotes the soldiers blending in with society once again.

Tim O'Brien's story, "Speaking of Courage," is an allegory that opens up the hearts of soldiers. O'Brien's use of metaphor allows the reader to relate on a personal level with the soldiers of the war. Men who fight for their country and die on the battlefield are more than just a number or a casualty. These men all have a bond that most of the world does not understand.

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