The Things They Carried Response

“So I followed her down to the frozen pond. It was late, and nobody else was there, and we held hands and skated all night under the yellow lights” (Obrien 245)

Imagery

This helps me understand the novel using this scenery. The imagery of it helped put more emotion into it. It makes this romantic image sad because it is a dream of his dead lover. This could help people understand how he truly felt and what she made him feel like.

“Their clothing stretched like sausage skins, and when we picked them up, some made sharp burping sounds as the gases were released.”

Simile and Imagery

This quote helped me understand what the bloating looks like after death. It gave me good imagery to give an idea of what it looked like. Also the similie strengthened the imagery.

These literary devices help me understand the author's perspective on war. This correlates to Linda. The reason they correlate is because in war he is greeting dead bodies and it brings back what happened when he was younger with Linda. The author’s message is that he is “defeating” war with writing stories.

In the story On the Rainy River by Tim O’Brien Tim runs away after getting a draft letter in the mail. When he gets to the Tip Top Lodge he finds a very nice man that lets him stay for six days. The man was at the Lodge by himself and never cared about why Tim was there, “The man's self-control was amazing. He never pried…” (O’Brien 51). The man never asked Tim once why he showed up there. Instead, the man let Him stay for an extended period of time and fed him, and sheltered Tim. The plot was a big part of this story because if the man questioned why Tim was there and even told anyone about Tim the whole story would've turned for the worse. Time right now could be in a lot of trouble with the government and even possibly in jail. 

Also in the story On the Rainy River Tim's, six days at the Tip Top Lodge are over and he has to decide on what is next for him. After rethinking everything he realized, “I was a coward, I went to the war.” (O’Brien 61). Tim decided to finally go to the war, The good thing though is that he did survive during his deployment. Because Time was talking about himself this was an example of a Point of view. This was an example of point of view because Tim was talking about himself and he showed that he made a bad decision by running away, but he eventually went into war and came out alive. 

War can take a lot of guts to go into. The unknown about war can be very scary and terrifying.  These literary terms helped me understand that the man at the lodge did not care about Tim’s backstory, all he cared about was to take care of him at the lodge. Also if the man did ask Tim why he was there the plot of the story would have likely changed.  The literacy term point of view helped me understand what Tim was thinking when he called himself a coward. Tim thought back into his past and thought, why did he get so scared about war.

Analysis of “The Man I Killed” :

• “He had been born, maybe, in 1946 in the village of My Khe near the central coastline of Quang Ngai Province, where his parents farmed, and where his family had lived for several centuries, and where, during the time of the French, his father and two uncles and many neighbors had joined in the struggle for independence. He was not a Communist. He was a citizen and a soldier. In the village of My Khe, as in all of Quang Ngai, patriotic resistance had the force of tradition, which was partly the force of legend, and from his earliest boyhood, the man I killed would have listened to stories about the heroic Trung sisters and Tran Hung Dao's famous rout of the Mongols and Le Loi's final victory against the Chinese at Tot Dong. He would have been taught that to defend the land was a man's highest duty and highest privilege. He had accepted this. It was never open to question. Secretly, though, it also frightened him. He was not a fighter” (125, O’Brien).

This quote has plenty of imagery, although, the imagery is all an imagination. This piece of imagery helps me understand the story more because the imaginative part is used to showcase guilt, it is used to portray the message that death, even on the opposite side, can be very hard to deal with, and that guilt can accompany killing in war even if it is justified. The character would not make up an entire background story for the dead man for fun, he’s trying to create something in which he can hide or suppress the guilt.

• “ ‘Oh, man, you fuckin' trashed the fucker,’ Azar said. ‘You scrambled his sorry self, look at that, you did, you laid him out like Shredded fuckin' Wheat.’ ‘Go away,’ Kiowa said. ‘I'm just saying the truth. Like oatmeal.’ ‘Go,’ Kiowa said. ‘Okay, then, I take it back,’ Azar said. He started to move away, then stopped and said, ‘Rice Krispies, you know? On the dead test, this particular individual gets A-plus.’ Smiling at this, he shrugged and walked up the trail toward the village behind the trees. Kiowa kneeled down. ‘Just forget that crud,’ he said. He opened up his canteen and held it out for a while and then sighed and pulled it away. ‘No sweat, man. What else could you do?’ Later, Kiowa said, ‘I'm serious. Nothing anybody could do. Come on, stop staring.’ ’’ (125-126, O’Brien).

This quote shows two different perspectives that are also juxtapositioned. The first perspective is given by the man who is belittling the dead Viet soldier, and the second is the main character Tim who is remorseful and feels great guilt for killing the soldier. The message that is clearly shown in this text, again, is how killing is justified in war, although, it is hard for some to cope with the fact that in war you either kill or get killed.

In the story The Man I Killed by Tim O’Brien the first quote showcases repetition, plot, P.O.V., and imagery, “His one eye was shut, his other was a star-shaped hole” (O’Brien 124) It helps me understand that this was a memorable face that he saw and it really screwed him up. The next quote shows character and plot, “Then later he said, ‘Why not talk about it?’” (Kiowa). This shows that Tim hadn’t found a way to cope nor has he gotten past killing that man.

“ I found a envelope tacked to my door… The man knew.” (O'brien 54) Character, this quote shows that the man knew how Tim felt, he was aware of the situation without ever talking about it.  “I was a coward. I went to the war.” (O’brien 61) POV, this quote helps accentuate how Tim felt for the whole story, he was a coward, afraid to go to war and afraid to not go to war. These quotes show the author's view on war and how he hates it as a whole.

“I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to war” (O’Brian, 54)

Paradox. Usually, soldiers are not considered cowards, which contradicts his saying that he was a coward because he went to war. This suggests that the story doesn't involve great feats of courage but depicts tragedy. This helps to better describe how Tim doesn't think going to war is brave, once you're drafted it's expected of you to go but escaping the draft for life-preservation purposes is braver because he would be facing the scrutiny of his family, and everyone around him. 

“Prayed with his mother that the war might end soon” (O’Brian, 147)

Juxtaposition. He compares the young man's life to his own, he doesn't really know anything about the young man but in his mind, he made a life similar to his own. This helps the reader to understand better how Tim deals with loss. 

The author's perspective on war is: It takes more courage to run from war than going only to fulfill societal expectations, death in war is inevitable and those that die aren't just inhuman waste, they all have life stories. 

I think that war forces soldiers to dehumanize themselves as much as possible to keep going. Which could be just as damaging in the long run as it would be if they take war and dead bodies for what truly really are.

“I was a coward. I went to war.” (O'Brien 61) This quote shows character because he went to the war even though he did not want to because he thought others would think poorly of him if he did not go. This helped me understand what he thinks about war and his joining it.

“it was not a matter of life or death. There was no peril. Almost certainly the young man would have passed by. And it will always be that way” (O'Brien 179) This quote shows O'Brien's perspective on war and how it is permanent.

The literary terms help me understand that the author's perspective on war is that it takes away everything from you and from others and will never give it back.

The message about war that I got from this story is that makes you do things that you would not normally do. 

Ambush & Good Form

“Star-shaped hole.” (O’Brien 133,180) 

Repetition 

In both stories, Ambush and Good Form the author used that phrase and other phrases to show how much that body scared him and how bad he had felt for killing that person. Him repeating that phrase shows that he feels regret. It also makes me think the author does not like war and believes that it isn’t fair to anyone. 

“His sandals had been blown off. There was no wind. He lay at the center of the trail, his right leg bent beneath him, his one eye shut, his other eye a huge star-shaped hole.” (O’Brien 133)

Imagery 

This helped me better understand the setting of what is going on and it also helps me see how this man's body had been blown up and put a visual of what that is supposed to look like in my head. The author thinks that killing someone is very hard and sad even if it is someone you are fighting against and do not even know. 

This story taught me that killing someone or even just watching someone be killed also kills a part of you. 

Quote 1: “[Linda would] say amazing things sometimes. ‘Once you’re alive’ she’d say, you can’t ever be dead.” This quote represents a paradox. It represents paradox because once you’re alive (birthed), you’re already dying. It contradicts itself. It helped be understand the story more because it’s saying that once you are alive and conscious, you make memories with people and they won't forget you. Therefore, you can never be dead. 

Quote 2: “Even in bad situations he had a soft, dreamy expression on his face, which was what he wanted, a kind of escape. ‘How’s the war today?’ somebody would ask, and Ted Lavender would a little smile to the sky and say, ‘Mellow--a nice smooth war today.’” This quote represents character because Ted Lavender reacted to the war in a bad way where he would be high on tranquilizers to try and cut off the bad and think that he is okay. In the quote, he wanted to escape. 

 The things they carried

“He did not hate the young man; i did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality and politics” This is repetition it is repeating the same thing, it helps understand the story because he is trying to say that he didn't see the guy as a enemy but he still killed him. He doesn't see anyone as an enemy but he is in the war so he has to fight to survive, and kill people. This helped me understand the author's perspective on war by showing that sometimes you can't be ok with things that you have done, even if you didn't want to do those things. The message I took away from this story is: People who don't experience war will never understand what it was like, and what they went through, you never forget who you kill.

“Even in bad situations he had a soft, dreamy expression on his face, which was what he wanted, a kind of escape.” This is imagery, you can picture the guy's face and how his smile is. This is showing you that no matter what situation he always has a nice expression on his face, but which also means he could be hiding a lot of emotions. This helped me understand the author's perspective on war by showing that even when things get bad you should always try and make the best out of it. Inside you know the pain you're going through but on the outside you have to act like everything is perfect. The message I took away from this story was that death can change the way you view the world, and sometimes things never get better. 

The Things They Carried Forum
“A drowning sensation, as if I had toppled overboard and was being swept away by the silver waves” (Pg. 57). This quote represents a simile. The author, Tim, is describing the feeling of drowning and falling off the boat and being swept away by the waves. This helps me better understand how Tim felt helpless and that there was no other way to go. Tim feels that he can’t go back home and is being forced to go to Canada to flee the war. This literacy device helps me understand how the author thinks that war is scary and worth running away from.

“Chunks of my won history flashed by. I saw a seven-year-old boy in a white cowboy hat” This quote represents a flashback. The author is thinking back upon when he was a little kid and thinking of the home which he is about to run away from. This betters my understanding that being affiliated with war makes you remember what your life was like before it. Making your past feel like a warm, comforting place that you wish you could go back to. It’s this feeling that makes Tim decide to go back home. This tells me that Tim even with the fear of going to war, had to stay where he thought and knew he belonged

The author’s perspective on war is to not be affiliated with it. The author is terrified of war, so much so that he’ll leave everything behind to avoid it. The message about war I took out of The Rainy River is that war strikes fear in hearts that compels actions to flee and avoid it at all costs.

The Lives of the Dead 

In the short story The Live of the Dead one literary term I found was simile. “Well, right now,” she said, “I’m not dead. But when I am, it’s like…I don’t know, I guess it’s like being inside a book that nobody’s reading”(O’Brien Pg. 245). This quote gives a good comparison between death and a book nobody reads. What I believe it’s really trying to say is that, once you're gone no one has to worry about you anymore. You’ll be at peace for an eternity and that can be a huge relief to someone. It compares to the “book nobody reads” good because if nobody’s reading that book it means nobody is worrying about the book.  

The second literary term I found in the short story The Live of the Dead is understatement. “Hey, Lavender, '' he said, “how’s the war today?”

There was a short quiet.

“Mellow,” somebody said.

“Well, that's good,” Sanders murmured, “that’s real, real good. Stay cool now””(O’Brien 231).  This quote shows a good example of understatement because it comes just after a member of  the platoon gets shot in the face. Instead of being upset about this happening they joke around and make fun of the situation. They push it off and deal with it later but in the moment they take something big and shove it to the side like it’s nothing. This quote gives me a good idea on how when you are in war and something like this happens you just need to push it off and mourn later. But pushing it off is the only way you’ll get through it.

I believe the author's message about war is that you truly won’t know what it’s ;ike until you experience it. Throughout the short stories he gives you a clear picture of what it’s like and all the things you have to endure. But you’ll never know what it is like until you go through it. One message about war I got from the story is that war changes your views of death. He went through the entire story pushing off everyone’s death until the end.

“‘Mellow-a nice smooth war today.’ and then in April he was shot in the head outside the village of Than Khe.”(O’brien 330) -Understatement

This helped me understand the story better because it is showcasing how one minute they are right there alive as ever and in the blink of an eye they can be gone. The soldier and when he was younger with the girl of his dreams they were there and then they were gone. 

“When I write about her now,three decades later,it’s tempting to dismiss it as a crush, an infatuation of childhood, but I know for a fact that what we felt for each other was as deep and rich as love can ever get…She had a poise and great dignity. Her eyes, I remember, were deep brown like her hair, and she was slender and very quiet and fragile looking.”(O’brien 228) - Perspective 

He still remembers everything about her, even though she is gone. Just like how he and other soldiers remember things the dead soldier would say and do. How fragile life is, one moment they are there and next they are gone and you can’t do anything about it. The authors perspective on war is when you deal with death, you need to find something to cope about it or it will mentally destroy you. The message I took from this story is live your life while you can, because one instant your alive and living and loving and the next you can be dead.

“On the Rainy River '' by Tim O’Brien I had a realization of imagery, and plot. Tim O'brien was a young adult working in a slider house, and was drafted to war. He thought if he left america then he wouldn't have to worry and leave to canada. He stayed at a camp with an ederly man who owned the camp on the border. Plot had occurred because Tim knew that this man knew he was trying to leave america.  I found an envelope tacked to my door.. The man new (O brien 54) 

Just before he had made the decision the author was describing the feeling tim was feeling ¨A cracking popping leaking feeling (O brien 46) ¨ I think the authors perspective on war was that is a scary and nervous thing to be apart of, but you should face your fears and fight for your country and family. I looked at the meaning of this story the same way. He was a coward, but fought for his people.

The story “The Man I Killed” by Tim O’Brien had 2 literary terms that stuck out imagery and repetition 

“His neck was open to the spinal cord and the blood there was thick and shiny”(pg.124)-imagery helps me better understand the story because it shows me what soldiers see or go through some of the gruesome and disgusting that they might have to see during their time in of war.

“He hoped the Americans would go away soon, he hoped. He kept hoping and hoping.”(pg.124)-repetition helps me understand the story because it shows me how patient he was in waiting for the Americans to go away so he doesn't have to fight them and so he doesn't have to kill anyone.

These literary terms help me understand the author's perspective on war because I think he's talking about how that war can make you feel bad and make you think things that are not theirs and make you go crazy if you see enough war and the people that go to war don't want to kill people so they hold themselves back so they don't have too but they are ready to if they need to do so.

The Man I Killed

“He hoped in his heart that he would never be tested. He hoped the Americans would go away. Soon, he hoped. He kept hoping and hoping…” (Pg 125) the literary term for this quote is repetition because the author keeps saying I hope.  “Along the trail, there were small blue flowers shaped like bells. The young man’s head was wrenched sideways, not quite facing the flowers, and even in the shade a single blade of sunlight sparkled against the buckle of his ammunition belt.” (Pg 128) the literary term for this quote is Juxtaposition because the author is comparing the beauty of nature to the ugliness of death. 

These quotes helped me better understand the story better because it helps me understand that war is something that nobody wants to do or participate in however sometimes you have to do something even if its against your morals and it can lead to you doing things that will scar you and make you wonder if you had to do the things you did. It makes you stop and think about what you did while people joke and laugh about it.

The author's perspective on war is that after witnessing traumatic events, war can cause PTSD, as well as trauma. War can change the outlook on how people view their lives and other people's lives. 

“His neck was open to the spinal cord and the blood there was thick and shiny…” (O'Brien 124)---Imagery

The imagery used in The Man I Killed helps me understand the trauma and traumatic events Tim experiences by describing gore and bloody beaten bodies to really show how it can cause people returning home to have PTSD and think about the gruesome events they have seen while deployed. It really shows how imagery can affect a person mentally. 

“Along the trail, there were small blue flowers shaped like bells. The young man’s head was wrenched sideways, not quite facing the flowers, and even in the shade a single blade of sunlight sparkled against the buckle of his ammunition belt.” (O'Brien 128)---Juxtaposition Imagery

The imagery and comparing the beauty of flowers to the ugliness of death really show the main point of the book. The soldiers deployed would see dead bodies around fields of flowers which could be a trigger for a PTSD attack back home. 

If they suffer from PTSD they could see a field of flowers and all they could compare it to is the dead bodies they have seen scattered all around the field. It brings a lot of emotion into play and I feel that. The imagery really brings awareness to what the character is feeling and I believe the main point of the book is that war can change the strongest of men for the worse. 

“..his neck was open to the spinal cord and the blood there was thick and shiny and it was this wound that had killed him…” 

• Imagery: 
• This quote helps me understand the scene and what Tim did to the guy. It really makes us understand how gruesome war can be and how an image like this can stick in your head for the rest of your life.

“...you laid him out like shredded fuckin’ wheat.”

• Simile 
• Again, helping understand the situation that Tim was in with that guy and what had happened to him, this time explaining what happened at the moment. 

Both of these helped me understand the author's perspective on war because it explains what people go through and have to experience in war. His message is that war can create mental scars, not just physical ones.

“The dead bodies were everywhere. Some lay in piles. Some lay alone. One, I remember, seemed to kneel. Another was bent from the waist over a small boulder, the top of his head on the ground, his arms rigid, the eyes squinting in concentration as if he were about to perform a headstand or somersault” (242) imagery, this helps me understand more about the setting the character is in and exactly how the character is feeling. “He hoped in his heart that he would never be tested. He hoped the Americans would go away. Soon, he hoped. He kept hoping and hoping…” (pg 125) repetition, this helps the reader understand exactly how the character is feeling by constantly repeating the same word over and over. This helps the reader really understand how the character feels. The imagery and repetition really helps exemplify the message Tim O'brien tries to show about war, war can cause ptsd and cause people to go insane. The author's perspective on war is definitely to show people that war can take away your loved ones, and cause relationships to break apart. The message of war I took away is that war can be scary and cause people to lose their mind, also that soldiers that served in wars are incredibly brave.