The Things They Carried
"Look, if you think about it, it's not crazy...Bring in a girl...No war here." (93) And that is exactly what the soldiers did in Tim O'Brien's book, "The Things They Carried", they brought the 'gentler sex' into their violent world. Women are introduced into the lives of a few soldiers who struggled emotionally because of the ties they had with these women. In the same sense females are utilized in this novel to bring closure to the war scene for these men. The narrator exposes his open-minded thoughts of women through the different situations in the novel in order to appeal to the audience in diverse ways. Numerous females are portrayed in the novel for certain aspects the narrator brings to focus. How does O'Brien's technique of introducing women characters throughout the novel contribute to his overall message for the reader? More specifically, how do these women affect the lives of these soldiers and what is their importance? What reaction does O'Brien evoke from his audience through these women?O'Brien immediately begins his novel with a female character. Martha, the teenager whom Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was infatuated with, "was an English major at Mount Sebastian, and she wrote beautifully about her professors and
On the contrary, O'Brien presents the reader with another female character possessing quite the opposite traits. Mary Anne Bell, Mark Fossie's lover, is described at her introduction as "an attractive girl" with "terrific legs, a bubbly personality, and a happy smile" (95). Surprisingly, she later turned into a killer who "crossed to the other side and was part of the land" (116). "She wanted more, she wanted to penetrate deeper into the mystery of herself, and after a time the wanting became needing, which turned then to craving" (114). Mark Fossie does not understand how such a giddy girl such as Marry Anne could turn into a vicious killer living in the wilderness. Through the transformation of Mary Anne, we are able to sympathize with Mark Fossie because we too cannot imagine how such a great character reversal could occur in such a short period of time. Although the audience cannot succumb to the drastic change of Marry Anne, O'Brien uses her characteristics bring a new perspective of women that is contrary to the feminine character of Martha. Mary Anne is seen to be a woman of strength and courage, which attracts the female audience once again. The narrator bypasses the submissive stereotypes of women to portray such an anomalous female character with masculine traits of vigor and audacity. This is to prove that men and women are the same when it comes to war. In the last chapter of the novel, the narrator recounts a story of love from his childhood. O'Brien had been in love with a girl named Linda when they were both nine years old. Oddly, Linda, the love of O'Brien's life, dies of a brain tumor. He tells stories of the times they spent together so that the audience can value these memories. O'Brien intentionally does this to show
Some common words found in the essay are:
Oddly Linda, Coming O'Brien, Tim O'Brien's, Cross' Martha, Mary Anne, Mark Fossie's, Lieutenant Cross, Linda O'Brien, Virginia Woolf, Mark Fossie, mary anne, female character, women affect lives, war scene, war stories, affect lives, marry anne, mark fossie, character martha, love story, stories alive,
Approximate Word count = 1190
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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