#20 last one!

For my last bl0g, I'm not quite sure what i want to blog about. I did the literary terms and blogged about some other characteristics of the novel. I guess for my last one I will make a connection between my blog title and the book as a whole. When I first made my blog title, i had not yet started reading. But as I was going through, I realized that the three words (peace, hope, and love) are brought out in The Things They Carried. In every war, people only want there to be peace. At the camps, amongst soldiers, there needs to be a sense of peace to accomplish the great tasks. The people have hope that they will one day be out of danger. Mark Fossie hoped that Mary Anne would come back to her normal self and Jimmy Cross hoped that Martha would truly love him. Lastly, love. Love is present in just about everything. In this book, there are three accounts thast stick out where the author talks about love and romance. Tim and Laura, Jimmy and Martha, Mark and Mary Anne are the three situations. So, in the end my title truly does relate to the novel. It's funny how things tend to work out :]

#19 Metaphor

On page 21, Tim O'Brien compares a plane to a bird. "but it was more than a plane, it was a real bird, a big sleek silver bird with feathers and talons and high screeching. They were flying." During war, so many people just wanted to leave. They would dream of hurting themselves just so they could ride to safety away from the maddness on a "freedom bird." The freedom birds were airplanes. When anyone got injured or died, they were taken to Japanese hospitals to be taken care of. They wanted to feel light and free away from the disaster. By including this metaphor into the story, it creates a visual for the readers to picture. Also, it elaborates how badly some of those people wanted out of their. THey wanted to soar like a bird-planes were the way to feel like that.

#18 Things to Carry

In the first chapter, we come to know all the things that the characters carry. [hints the title] You never understand what items are truly carried. There are not just tangible things that need to be carried, but the intangibles as well. I will have to say that the first chapter kind of got boring after reading the millionth thing that a person carried. The items were broken down into categories: necessity, sentimentals, rank and specialty, weapons, missions, and superstition. Every character had his own set of ideal things to carry. It was interesting finding out what each treasured the most. The one that stuck out to me the most was life. A person has to carry themself before they can carry anything else. "..and for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and the unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at loss for things to carry." This quote proves that no matter the weather, age, day, time, or person there is always something that someone has to carry. This is true for our world today. It does not just have to be war, daily life requires numerous items to be carried.

#17 War itself

The Things They Carried is a novel written about war. On almost every page it talks about this event. Fights, misunderstandings, and wars happen all over the world and have for many centuries. While reading this book, I discovered that the events happening in the book are happening in our lives today. The fallen heroes in the book are just like the fallen heroes in the wars past. This book is not all true, but in a way it seems as if it could be. The writer titles his main character his exact same name. He speaks of Vietnam and we all know the Vietnam War. We know of the deaths and the victories. War is a sad and scary thing. Losing people close to you is one of the hardest things someone will endure. In the book, Curt Lemon, Ted Lavender, Kiowa and others were killed. It hits hard knowing that those things are happening to our troops today.

#16 Stories

All along throughout the book I knew I was reading a story. Along the way, the author would add in certain comments general stories themselves.
"The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might dream along with you..." (page 218)
"But this too is true: stories can save us." (page 213)
"What stories can do, I guess, is make things present." (page 172)
"the stories that will last forever are those that swirl back and forth across the border between trivia and bedlam, the mad and the mundane." (page 85)
"Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except a story." (page 36)
All of these quotations prove something special about stories. They are what keep people in tune and allow people to cherish memories. Stories are the source of all things. They can be passed down and told and retold in many ways more than one.

#15 Heroes

In society today, we think of heroes as people who save others lives and do something amazing for someone else. This may be true, but there are more heroes in the world than we give credit to. On page 45, it reads, "The man who opened the door that day is the hero of my life." O'Brien was saying this about Elroy Berdahl. He was a quiet old man who owned the place where Tim stayed for awhile. During this time, he was running away from going to war. The old man some how knew what was taking place. He was a hero to Tim by means of letting him figure out for himself what the best action was to take on the war subject. He never came out and told Tim what he thought was best but rather gave him insight. That man changed Tim's life forever and that is why he calls him a hero. We all have heroes in our lives even if we overlook them. The simplest things someone does that has a huge impact on life is considered a hero in my eyes.

#14 Flashback

A flashback is a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time. Throughout the novel, numerous flashbacks fill the pages. Without adding these important flashbacks, the book would have given off a different message. Flashbacks are little stories and memories that help relate to the reader why something is the way it is or how they came to be. In the chapter Enemies, we learn of Jensen and Strunk's fight. The author added this in to show how people act toward eachother. Also, in the chapter Friends, the author proceedsto tell us how they worked through their differences and became cordial with eachother. Without having the prior flashback, the readers would be confused as to why they werent best friends. Anothe time in the book where we experience a flashback is when he tells us of how he came to be a part of the war. He states, "i saw a seven-year-old boy... I saw a twelve-year-old boy...I saw a sixteen-year-old boy...". These were events that flashed before him and to the reader we understand where he came from.

#13 Mary Anne

Mark Fossie was a soldier in love, as many of them were. However, he had this bright idea to bring his young girlfriend, Mary Anne, to Vietnam. At first, I didn't think that would be such a problem. I actually thought it was sweet how he wanted her to be there with him. In the chapter, Seweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, we learn the story of Mark and Mary Anne. She is this sweet, shy, and sophisticated young girl. But after a time in Nam, she begins to change into someone new. She was curious and wanted to know what went on. Mary Anne found everything very intriguing. Towards the end of the chapter we find out that Mary Anne joined the Greenies. She wanted to fight. She was ready to kill. The jewelry she war were of teeth and and tongues. Mark did not even know her anymore. It is a scary thing to think that after a short time somewhere it can have that much of an impact on a person. War messes with people's minds. Mary Anne is an example of the extreme changes that can occur. In many novels, there are always those characters who are there for a short while and have the most drastic story line. Mary Anne is that character in The Things They Carried.

#12 Kiowa

This novel was filled with many great characters. They all had qualities that made them unique and important to telling the story. Kiowa was one that I paid special attention to through the entire novel. In the beginning we learn that Kiowa is a devout Baptist and he carries the New Testament. He was a quiet character. Peaceful. I think he was scared in a way of seeing all the terrible things happen, especially death. Sometimes he would get joked upon in many ways. One night, Norman Bowker said, "one thing i hate, it's a silent Indian." He is referring to Kiowa. As the novel progresses, Kiowa is standing strong, until a sudden disappointment when we read that Kiowa dies. It was pitch black and he was sinking fast under the sewage field after the hit. Going into war the men know that they may lose their life for their country. However, if someone asked Kiowa what he thought his way of dying would be I doubt he would say drowning. I also feel bad for Norman he saw the whole thing happen. Just as war today, fallen heroes will be remembered. I feel Kiowa was a hero at that time.

# 11 Tim O'Brien

I wanted to do a blog on the main character. Throughout the story, we learned alot about Tim's character and personality. Also, we learned of how he even got started in the war. In the chapter titled, On the Rainy River, it gives us a suspenseful begining to his background story. He states, "this is one story I've never told before. Not to anyone. Not to my parents, not to my brother or sister, not even to my wife." These opening sentences spark suspition in the readers mind. We wonder what he could be talking about and why he never told anyone, yet he is telling his readers. As we progress through the chapter, we come to know it is the story of not only his feelings but the actions he took towards war. Tim wanted to run away and disregard his call to duty. I would too if I had been drafted and had no interest. For me, this showed Tim as normal. He wanted to find a way out of something he did not want to do. We all do that today. Also, he didn't understand why he was chosen. He had honors and a reputation that he thought was "to good for war". Many people in our society think along those same lines today. In time Tim began to be open to the idea. Once he arrived at camp, he was nervous and new to the whole idea. When a guy died, he did not want to go talk to him. Also, when he killed a man, he felt the greatest guilt. His actions and feelings are not that of a villian but of a human being. Tim is a good character because everyday people can truly relate to his character.

#10 Oxymoron

Throughout the story, the writer talks about Ted Lavender and his feelings on the war. Almost everytime a person would ask him how the war was that day, he would simply reply and say, "Mellow-a nice smooth war"(page 218). [or something of that context in other chapters] This is an oxymoron in a sense that war is not mellow or nice and especially war is not smooth. War is an act of fighting and killing. People die daily and from all sorts of causes. When Ted says war is mellow, they all know he is not being serious. However, by hearing those soothing words, it gives the men a feeling of relaxatioin. They would often make jokes about his false sayings but would go along with them. Ted talked this way because of all the tranquilizers he took. War is a scary place to go and the men found little ways that would help them focus and calm down. There is no just thing as a nice war-we all know that. But in a way, Ted almost made it seem possible.

#9 Personification

On page 71, the figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human actions is used.

"The rock-it's talking. And the fog,too, and the grass and the goddamn mongooses. Everything talks. The trees talk politics, the monkeys talk religion. The whole country. Vietnam. The place talks. It talks. Undertand? Nam-it truly talks."

The rocks, grass, and trees were not actually speaking words. They are lifeless. However, it is funny that the author gave them the quality of talking, especially those of religion and politics seeings how those are big in our society today. To me, portraying the inanimate objects talking, shows how minds start to wander. I often get confused as to why authors use personification. Can't they just show people? However, I came to realize in this story that it adds depth to the existing story. In war, things can be very quiet. By having the trees talk, they had a sense of eerie comfort to the men. Sometimes its better to hear strange things, then absolutely nothing at all. I don't belive he added it to show they were going crazy, rather the author added to show how communication is the only way to get points across.

#8 Couplet

This may be kind of a stretch in a way but I'm going to go for it. On page 32, the author writes "Step out of line, hit a mine; follow the dink, you're in the pink." A couplet is two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry. In the story, the soldiers all walked through the mine fields following the leader (dink). They were following him into the pink zone which I'm guessing (and think I'm right) is the safe zone. As they were walking, they all chanted this rhyme to make sure everyone was in tune. Rat Kiley made up the chant, and they all caught on an sang it together. This is one of the good things about war. People work together as a whole to get the job done. If one of those men did not chant with the rest of the group, the outcome may have turned out differently. In a way, they were reassuring eachother that they were in this together and that if they did as the poppa-san instructed, they would come out alive and continue to move forward toward victory. Also, by chanting this rhyme, it took their minds of the blantantly obvious fact that bombs and artillery were being blasted everywhere. But, by putting their focus on the words, it allowed them to progress and not restrict themselves.

#7 Dialect

On page 19 the author introduces to us the us of the harsh vocabulary that the soldiers used while fighting. "Greased", "offed", "lit up", "zapped while zipping", and "Nam" are only a few mentioned in the book. O'Brien describes them as actors and used this dialect when ready to fight. However, I think that in war new ways of speaking come about. Each side has to have their own dialect to reassure that they are for the same victory. Dialect is a way of speaking that is a characteristic of a certain social group. In war, their social group is all the soldiers and commanders who fight for a specific reason. The author stated that, "they talked grunt lingo" and told stories in the same dialect. Most of this hard dialect came from death. They hide their sorrow and saddness by means of speaking. Eventhough they were the only ones to fully understand what was being said, it gave them comfort by the words being spoken.

#6 Anaphora

"You could blame the war. You could blame the idiots who made the war. You could blame Kiowa for going to it. You could blame the rain. You could blame the river. You could blame the field, the mud, the climate. You could blame the enemy....." On pages 169 and 170 the writer adds in an anaphora. An anaphora is the repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. The purpose of using this device is to help the reader understand the enforcement of the words being proclaimed. Tim O'Brien wanted the reader to fully comprehend there was no true blame. Blame is something that gets people nowhere. There are a million things in the world that people can push blame on, but it gets them nowhere. In war, soldiers and different sides blame eachother for just about everything. It was only necessary for the author to add this in to show blame can be shed anywhere.

#5 Cliche

Throughout the novel, I came across a few cliches that Ithought contributed to understanding of the story. They all tie in to the facts about war: "war is hell" (page 74), "you're never more alive than when you're almost dead" (page 78), and "win some and lose some" (page 212). A cliche is a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse. Writers are often encouraged not to put them in their pieces unless if they serve a purpose. I feel these serve a tremendous purpose. We all know war is hell. People are killed daily and the pain inflicted on families is unbearable. Also, the statement, "you're never more alive than when you're almost dead" shows how in war you make every move and every decision as if it is your last. War is unpredictable. Weapons are going off and soldiers hearts are racing. At any moment, it could be their last. Finally, the one that is most common, "win some and lose some". This cliche can be used for many reasons such as: games, wars, or just simply life. O'Brien puts these in his novel for the readers to understand the timelessness of his novel.

#4 Point of View

In the chapter titled Love, the point of view switches to first person. By telling a story in first person, it is more capable of getting the true meaning across. I don't know what it is, but when I read stories in first person, I find them more interesting and I can relate to what the narrator is feeling. It is easier to put yourself in their shoes from first person point of view. In The Things They Carried,Ifeel that the author told it in first person so we would get a better understanding of what truly happend. He wanted his audience to read deep into the novel and appreciate his writing. Tim O'Brien is the author;coincidedly, Tim O'Brien is also the character telling the story. This only adds to deeper understanding and relation to the audience. Some of the stories told are difficult to communicate, but by telling them in first person it is hard for the reader to misinterpet the true meaning of what happend to the character.

#3 Symbol

The Things They Carried is full of symbols. We come to find out all that they carried: lives, knives, can openers, candy, cigarettes, diseases, infections, land, sky and much more. But, the one item that stands out in my mind the most was Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters. When the author began talking of the "love letters", I began to wonder what he could be meaning. In the first chapter, we come to know that Jimmy Cross has a hard time missing Martha, the girl he is in love with. We learn that "she signed the letters Love, but it wasn't love." He kept all the letters she wrote. He also held tight to a picture she gave him and a pebble. These items were very dear to him. To me, these items were symbols that reminded him of the life he lead when he was home. They were symbols of the things he missed and treasured. War is a scary thing; people change when they are away from home. By keeping items that symbolize their life before war, a person can maintain positivity and understanding. They continue to hope that when it is all over those items will not only be symbols of what they used to have, but become reality again.

#2 Simile

In the chapter entitled Spin, there is a simile brought into the novel. On page 31, the author states, "the war was like a Ping-Pong ball. You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance." The war is like a game of Ping-Pong. There is two sides (just like in war) and each side tries to beat the other. You go back and forth until finally one wins. War is just the same. Enemies fight eachother until one side is the winner. The steps to winning can be easy or can recquire strategy and "games". When O'Brien stated, "fancy spin", in war soldiers can put spin in their day to day routine. This only impacts the way the war would pan out. Also, in the same chapter, the author compares war to a game of checkers. It entails the same qualities as Ping-Pong. There is two sides and each person does tricks to make the other lose. O'Brien does a good job in explaining the similarites, "the enemy is visible, you could watch the tactics unfolding into larger strategies. There was a winner and a loser." War, in a sense, is a game. There can only be one true winner and to become a winner you have to out-win your opponent.

#1 Motif

Throughout the whole entire book there are a few words that are repeated over and over to highlight the true theme. "The things they carried", or "they carried" are phrases that reoccur throughout the novel. By the title itself, the reader can infer that the author will embelish in the weapons, necessities, dangers, and other things that people carry throughout their life, and in this novel, the things carried in war. A motif is a reccuring image, word, or phrase throughout a work. To me, this motif stood out like a sore thumb. Almost in every chapter, you learn of things they carried or just stories and happenings that they carried with them in their day to day life. In the beginning chapters these phrases are used in almost every sentence to ensure the reader of the things that will be carried. However, as the story continues, the phrases appear only when necessary to show the true effects of what they carried. Tim O'Brien does a good job in making sure the story follows this motif throughout book.