things they carried
The Things They Carried is written from the perspective of the author, Tim O'Brien. The book is a compilation of his stories and experiences relating to the Vietnam War. It encompasses the events and lives of himself, the other members of his company, and the war as a whole. Tim O'Brien, of no important rank, is a solider in the Alpha Company that heads out most operations of Nam. They are the first troop to stake out land, the first to raid the villages, the trailblazers through the minefields. They are the best of the best. As the story is told, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross heads his troops across the marshes and paddies of Vietnam. It is in him the men must trust.As war for me goes, I had no foundation for what to expect. Being that I have never seen any war movies or read anything like this before, this, in essence, was my first realistic exposure to war. In my choosing this book, what I did expect was to have a book that I could relate to, as well as one that was written about someone's personal experience. And that is exactly what I got. Many stories, written as second-hand experience of O'Brien, take place before many soldiers are placed in or called to Alpha. They also reflect on how O'Brien interprets them. No
He opened up a can of C rations, pork and beans, but the baby buffalo wasn't interested. He stepped back and shot it through the right front knee. The animal did not make a sound. It went down hard, then got up again, and Rat took careful aim and shot off an ear. He shot it in the hindquarters and in the little hump at its back. He shot it twice in the flanks. It wasn't to kill; it was to hurt." (O'Brien, pg. 78-79) This bias is the basis to a war story. Stories come from speculation, some from absolute fact, others from pure lies. From their origin on, truth relies on the eye of the beholder. For troops, there is no other purpose than to hump their stuff, follow orders and carry their hearts, which they shove, to the bottom of the bag. Many of the troops are burdened with emotion, others with true weight or harsh responsibility. What they hold, they hold dear. If the object had no value, or they just got tired, they'd leave things for waste by the side of their trail.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jimmy Cross, Rat Kiley, Alpha Company, Tim O'Brien, Vietnam War, o'brien pg, , war story, tim o'brien, story told, normal stuff,
Approximate Word count = 935
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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