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THE THINGS THEY CARRIED - Coggle Diagram
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
Setting
Primary Setting - Vietnam, during the Vietnam War (War took place from 1955 - 1975)
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From my personal favorite chapter, "On the Rainy River," this takes place at a lodge that sits along the Rainy River which is right on the boarder of Canada. This leads to him spending tons of time at the lodge but also on the lake.
Many more settings too, these are just the major ones.
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Figurative Language
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"All that peace, man, it felt so good it hurt. I want to hurt it back" (O'Brien 34).
The men are almost scared of the peace because they have been at war for so long that they worried and cannot handle silence and comfort.
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"It's a blur now, as it was then and all I remember is velocity and the feel of a steering wheel in my hands. I was riding on adrenaline. A giddy feeling, in a way, except there was the dreamy edge of impossibility to it - like running a dead-end maze - no way out - it couldn't come to a happy conclusion and yet I was doing it anyway because it was all I could think of to do (O'Brien 44).
I love the feeling it gives me when I read this, I feel intrigued just by his word usage and expression of feelings.
He wasn't pleased with serving at war, or with where he was currently at, this is why he decided to leave but then he again just felt lost the moment his adrenaline faded.
Characters
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Ted Lavender
Ted Lavender was unfortunately the first to die in the story. Lavender's death could definitely have been prevented, but a lack of leadership from Lieutenant Cross led to an unfortunate battle wound which killed Lavender. Ted Lavender was also young and inexperienced and was frightened by war.
Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien is the narrator of this story and uses his own real life experiences to describe very in-depth stories from the Vietnam War. He wants to help the reader understand the lasting impact war has on soldiers and help better understand what they go through.
Mary Anne
Mary Anne is a funny character because she changes a ton. Just like all of the other characters, the war changes her whole perspective of life. When we first meet her in the story, she possesses very feminine character traits, but as she spend more time around the Vietnamese culture and the men/soldiers, the traits change to tuff skinned and hard headed.
Genre
Historical Fiction
"The Things They Carried" is a historical fiction story because the majority of the scenarios are real historical moments but also have added characters and details to further the entertainment for the whoever is reading.
War Story
Although the main genre is historical fiction, it can be further described as a war story. It is clear to me that the whole agenda of this story is to help the readers further understand war and the lasting affects it will have on the soldiers.
Authors Purpose
Tim O'Brien was a soldier in the Vietnam War and uses his own life to create historical fiction stories to help his readers understand what war really is. "The Things They Carried" is broken down into shorter stories (each chapter). This means the whole book is small events describing the large event which is war.
I believe he feels there should be more respect for soldiers and that's why he describes each story with so much detail.
Symbolism
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The dead water buffalo
The water buffalo alone was not the symbol but the extremely gruesome method and how it was described in the story was what makes this such a large symbol in the story. It helps represent how heartless war can make someone.
Historical Context
"The Things They Carried" was set during the Vietnam War. This time period consists of lots of war across the whole world. Just like the author's purpose though, Tim O'Brien wanted people to understand the impact war had on society. The current state of the world did not grasp the burdens that came with serving in the war. This story was to help the people during that time but it is still prevalent to this day, and the use of symbolism can compare things for years to come.
Dialogue
"And right then I submitted. I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to" (O'Brien 57).
This is such an important part in the book and also in O'Brien's life. This was the turning point in his life.