Cruelty of War

A detailed Summary of Cruelty of War


Primarily, Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" depicts the experiences of a Lieutenant and his men during the Vietnam war. As O'Brien develops the story, he embodies the idea that life at war inflicts psychological trauma and emotional conflicts within American soldiers. O'Brien develops the predominant theme by portraying the characters' internal conflicts, describing the characters' violent actions, and by displaying symbols.

To develop the theme, O'Brien portrays the characters' internal conflicts while serving in Vietnam war. O'Brien introduces the main character, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, as a man deeply enamored with Martha. Narrating the story, Tim O'Brien states, "he loved [Martha] more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead"(paragraph 11). Therefore, this statement makes evident Lt. Cross's preponderant sorrow and unbearable guilt he burdens as a result of Ted Lavender's death. Moreover, the soldiers feel the desperate necessity to suppress their deepest fears. During dangerous times, the soldiers temporarily panic at the thought of death. Nonetheless, after the violent attacks, "awkwardly, the men... reassemble themselves, first in private, then in groups, becom


In addition, O'Brien's vivid descriptions of the character'actions become significant to the theme. Consequently, O'Brien reveals the psychological transformation that soldiers undergo under the pressures of war. To accomplish this, O'Brien narrates, "Norman Bowler, otherwise a very gentle person, carried a thumb. It had been cut from a VC corpse, a boy of fifteen of sixteen" (paragraph 28). Bowker's action depicts the soldiers' lack of respect for the dead and the soldiers' need to carry a trophy as a reward for their survival. Furthermore, O'Brien shows the characters' need to escape their reality. While waiting for the helicopter to take Lavender's lifeless body, the soldiers "sat smoking the dead man's dope until the chopper came" (paragraph 11). By smoking Lavender's marijuana, the soldiers attempt to numb the mental anguish of death in order to cope with the grimness of war. Also, to relieve the anger that consumes, them, the soldiers committed heinous acts. Vividly, O'Brien describes, "They searched the villages...frisking children and old men, blowing tunnels, sometimes setting fires and sometimes not" (paragraph 39). Unfortunately, these actions committed by the soldiers in the story illustrate their tremendou

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ted Lavender's, Furthermore O'Brien, Vividly O'Brien, Precisely O'Brien, Lieutenant Vietnam, Finally O'Brien's, Norman Bowler, Lieutenant Cross, Consequently O'Brien, Lt Cross's, war o'brien, ted lavender's, lavender's death, o'brien describes, characters' internal, internal conflicts, characters' internal conflicts, ted lavender's death, theme story, vietnam war o'brien, american soldiers, paragraph 28, theme o'brien, theme story o'brien,

Approximate Word count = 831
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Farwell To Arms In Ernest Hemingwayamp39s A Farewell to Arms the foil images of Italy and Switzerland help symbolize the theme of the book, which is the cruelty of war and what it ... 564 words
  • A Farewell to Arms Essay In Ernest Hemingwayamp39s A Farewell to Arms the foil images of Italy and Switzerland help shape the theme of the book which is the cruelty of war and what it does ... 526 words
  • All Quiet on the Western Front ... The first example of the cruelty of War for Baumer, was when his friend Josef Behm, was killed shortly after they began their new lives as soldiers. ... 894 words
  • An American hero ... only saw himself as being a hero. Henry later would find out the cruelty of war as Crane emphasized. To be a hero I believe you ... 632 words
  • Death ... many deaths of soldiers. He compares war to a devilamp39s sick of sin, which symbolises the cruelty of war. Lime, a poisonous gas is ... 1129 words

Professional Essays

  • Appeal to Emotions for Presidential Declaration of War ... Bush uses just as many images in his address, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them Bush, 2001, p ... 758 words
  • Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht ... In Artauds theater of cruelty in which chaos, frenzy, and violence produce this ... character of Mother Courage, whose children are sacrificed to the war but it ... 1238 words
  • Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht ... In Artauds theater of cruelty in which chaos, frenzy, and violence produce this ... character of Mother Courage, whose children are sacrificed to the war but it ... 1514 words
  • The SinoJapanese War Atrocities ... However, she states her belief that ampquotin the history of every war, there are ... suggests that this was more than persecution, but an example of cruelty and crimes ... 995 words
  • Vietnam War ampamp AntiWar Film ... This film shows the cruelty, terror, confusion, absurdity, and arbitrariness of war by Jancsoamp39s constantlymoving camera which emphasizes the ampquotconstantly ... 2791 words
  • Antonin Artaudamp39s Theater of Cruelty Techniques ... Our ampquottheater of crueltyampquot production has the spectator in the center surround by the ... Images of crime, love, war, and madness all assault the audience in a ... 972 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.