ENglish Research Paper

2

10th October, 2020

English Research paper on “The Things they Carried”

Introduction and Biographical information Do not label your paragraphs.

Tim O’Brien is a successful author responsible for various books especially in the fictional genre. The author mainly relates his stories to his time and experiences during the Vietnam war and the stories do revolve around the experiences that he had with the other soldiers during the war in a foreign land. O’Brien born in Austin, Minnesota in 1946 then graduated in 1968 from Macalester College. He would later join the military serving for a year enlisting in February 1969 to March 1970. However, he did opt out and chose to pursue government studies at the Harvard University. O’Brien was a reporter for the Washington Post between 1973 to 1974. O’Brien authored “The Things they Carried” in 1990 that focuses on the experiences and stories about the soldiers from 23rd Infantry Division that took part in the ground combat in Vietnam. The book focuses on enlisting the different challenges that soldiers do endure especially in form of the actual physical and emotional weight that they have to carry when they know they have a long journey away from home and just a second away from their deaths. The author is presenting numerous experiences that should be horrific and ugly but he is managing to maintain a happy and interesting conversation throughout the story which manages to keep the audience interested and stuck to the story. None of the research in this paragraph is documented. Without proper documentation, you are plagiarizing.

The story “The Things they Carried” is unique in various ways especially because it is depicting the other people’s experiences on other levels that change the entire narrative. The author is managing to explain different people’s stories and experiences during their time in war but with another calmer side behind the lines. It is important to look at the works at once instance see people that are burdening with actual physical weight that a common person might not be able to endure for a single day but they had to do the same for their survival while coping in a dangerous environment. However, the author is also presenting the calmer side of the story about the fun activities that the soldiers are executing during their experiences that will help improve their interactions which is changing the way that they will relate. The author did take a different approach towards giving a good piece because of the experiences that they do provide through out their reading which is essential for maintaining the audience. The audience will remain potential glued to the work because the author is engaging them in different platforms which is not a normal literature tool. O’Brien is going back and forth and with foreshadows that help keep the story interesting and alive to make sure that they there is an understanding. It is clear from the first chapters of the book that Ted Lavender is the first to die but the author is narrating the story in pieces that will eventually bring the story and conclude at the end (O'Brien, 3). This citation is not in proper form. If this is from the novel, then do not put a comma in the citation. If this is from our book, this should have the abbreviation for paragraph. It is a major unique sense that the author is trying to convene throughout their story because the readers remain glued to the story that helps make sure that the audience will stick to the story. Despite the encounters being sad, the author is managing to bring out romance, people’s superstitions and burdens that they are carrying to a war field which they are more likely to die. None of the information in the paragraph, with the exception of the example, is documented.

The author is using a variety of techniques that range from imagery, flashbacks, pathos as tools to help get the message to the audience while making sure that they stick to the story. This is not a fully developed paragraph.

According to O’Brien, imagery was a big part of the story to help make sure that the audience is also present and will feel the same anticipations as he was experiencing in the war. This is not documented, The book was taking the people to a journey that most do assume or have little information about how soldiers do feel during wars. The author deploys imagery throughout the reading because one can easily envision a soldier with all those goods that can average 30 pounds on them. it is also capable to tell Ted Lavender will the fear, Lieutenant Cross with disappearing in his head and being head over hills about his love for Martha.

It is also evident through the narrative that the author is employing pathos which is a way of seeking empathy from the readers. The author does it so perfectly because they di interact on the basis that the soldiers are in a foreign land, missing their families and without any clue of what awaits them that include mines, being shot or attacked at any instance among other challenges. Employing the pathos in a narrative, helps bring the authors to the mercy of the characters and help improve their interactions which is essential in making sure that there is a deeper emotional connection to the story (Young, 107). Numerous authors tend to fail to achieve the same but O’Brien did bring it out well to help make changes to the way that they do interact.

Flashback is another technique employed in the narrative and there is plenty of it in the work especially each character appears to have a moment of self-checking and they disappear into their thoughts. The Lieutenant is the first because he is deep in love with a girl who he is not sure about her intentions but he is holding the hope that is driving him through the tough time. he is hanging on top of a shred of some memories that they did share for an instant and he keeps drifting away even in the middle of a serious scene. Flashbacks help unite thoughts and improve the way that a story is functioning and flowing through while building up the story.

What arguments(s) are central to this piece?

The central argument in the piece is about the emotional and physical burdens that the soldiers are carrying through their services especially in the middle of nowhere and far away from their families. The emotional and physical burdens are profound through the article especially whereby the author is showing how much little items that soldiers have to carry out during any of their routines just away from the gun and gear. The soldier carries more than 30 pounds and this is minus their gear and they can undergo a day’s journey which is problem to the physical endurance. However, it is also arguable that the soldiers did have much emotional baggage which was a concern because it did lead to the death of so many of them during their patrols which is not appropriate. The soldiers did have a challenging time to cope with leaving their previous lives, their loved ones and the fear of dying thus leading them to try and channel other measures. There is an instance where a soldier did have a woman’s pantyhose while another did have a rabbit’s foot all which help provide some courage and improve their interactions and chances of surviving through the ordeal. The other main argument in the story is the fact that most of the soldiers do lose their humanity and instead start living a procrastinating life. For instance, the incident where the soldiers to interact with a young Vietnamese boy soldier and even cut off the finger. The encounter did change the soldiers and their approach towards humanity especially when in a foreign land that has no morals and proper look towards a proper world such as back at home where is no war. Is this all based on your personal thoughts? It is not documented.

The author is so definitive about the experiences about the soldier’s interactions in the war tone foreign country thus the portrayal of physical and emotional weight is a major argument and direction for the story. O’Brien manages to increase the sensitivity of the story especially through the proper arguments that the soldiers did carry a lot of weight. The weight in itself is a major problem because one with over 30 pounds and has to keep on moving and be alert at the same time. It is a situation that most people will opt out which is a concern thus the author is trying to convene the story and make sure that there is an understanding that the work of a soldier is already dangerous but doing it with an additional weight is even more scary.

The fact that the soldiers are lingering about emotional burdens to try and attach themselves into a realistic world and to keep them courageous it is essential that it appeals to the readers. The author uses the argument to try and make sure that the audience are focusing on a certain direction which is essential for the message that they are trying to portray (O’Brien, 9). The audience is focusing on the understanding that the emotions at the time should be intact not drifting in the case of this soldiers. The concept makes the readers curious on how the story will turn out and how they will survive at the end of the ordeal. The concept of the dead young Vietnamese soldier brings about a somber chapter to the entire story and this is supposed to make sure that the readers also feel some certain remorse towards a situation that some soldiers did try and find solace even it was an enemy soldier.

The author is presenting the arguments in the sense that they have to appeal to the way that the readers have to feel some sadness for the entire experience. The author manages to paint the picture that changes the way that they already are interacting with the understanding that the characters did endure such a tough time. It is painful enough to be away from the family when attending college but in this case, the people have left their loved ones at home and they have to strive for a very challenging experience. The author manages to portray the entire ordeal in a calm and interesting manner because it is a flowing story whereby different people have come together all with different attributes have met and have to work together to make sure that they are maintaining a certain environment. The author does not make the entire intention clear but as the story continues to build up and after the death of the first soldier, then it starts to unfold that the emotional burden is a major issue in the story. The sad aspect of the emotional argument that the author is presenting becomes clear as the story is progressing to the extent that they are making a major stride which is essential in the entire storyline. Most authors will become clear about their intentions, but while reading “The Things they Carried” it is clear that the author had a proper chain of thought from the start and it is progressing in a proper manner which is essential in their productivity and efficiency (Pauker, 31). The author is making the story clear and it comprises of numerous interactions thus the intention is not clear from the start but it is up to the reader to start coping and understanding that the story is taking a particular direction. The story is interesting and the meaning is not lying in the open thus making it a little mystery because the story is building which is essential for the development of the story.

How do the writer’s techniques help define this piece as literature of importance?

The fact that the author is using the proper literature devices such as imagery, pathos, flashbacks makes it easier to look at the piece as a form of literature piece. The author has a personal experience in the war and this provides another concept of significance because he manages to narrate the experiences of the entire ordeal but in a well-crafted manner. It will not be the same if the author is listing the story in a particular manner or a character and their experience. However, O’Brien is managing to make the proper narrative with the information that turned into a good story. It is important to understand that there is a flowing story whereby it starts simple with soldiers going about their normal routines. However, it is starting to turn into quite an experience because the soldiers are taking the initiative that is seeing them embark on a more than just a physical experience but also an emotional concept. The author uses the artistic literal features that help paint a picture to the readers that then make the story interesting. The story is developing and despite having the clue that it is going to talk about the things that soldiers carry, it is not easy to tell the entire experience and where the author plans to take the direction of the story (Douglas, 115). The entire experience shows an outstanding author with a little bit mystery that has a way of taking a story that is a real-life experience and turning into one of the best fictional war tone experiences. The narrative takes advantage of the soldiers’ flashbacks to gain insight into their lives and how the emotional baggage is weighing them down during their experiences. It is important to understand that the author did manage to make sure that the readers that have no war experience get a glimpse of what actually happens there which is similar to painting a picture. A good literature piece should manage to do the same which is essential in making sure that the readers get more insight into an issue and O’Brien did achieve to execute the requirements of a good author.

Works Cited

Your Works Cited listings are not in alphabetical order.

Top of Form

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print. Bottom of Form

Young, John, “The Real The Things They Carried.” How to Revise a True War Story: Tim O'Brien's Process of Textual Production, by John K. Young, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 2017, pp. 106–138.

Douglas, Ellen. “‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien.” Why I Like This Story, edited by Jackson R. Bryer, NED - New edition ed., Boydell & Brewer, Rochester, NY, USA; Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK, 2019, pp. 112–116.

Pauker, Benjamin, And Jonathan Ernst. “The Things They Carried: The War Reporter.” Foreign Policy, no. 193, 2012, pp. 31–31.

You have good ideas in your paper, but there is not much research in your paper. This paper should be based on research and not your personal analysis of the paper. Your paper would be stronger with more development more actual research. There is not a lot of missing documentation in your paper, so it is unclear if this paper is mainly based on research or your own ideas.

Adding research, and further developing the main argument would enhance your paper. You can enhance your ideas by adding research to support the claims you are making regarding the story’s meaning or research about the time period and author.

Remember, this is a research paper; therefore, the majority of the paper must be based on research. All sources used in your paper must be properly documented. All paraphrased and summarized information must be properly documented.

Overall, your paper is well written. You do have some grammar and usage errors in your paper, especially sentence structure and punctuation mark errors.

Remember, your paper must focus on research of the author and the literary work. Keep in mind that the purpose of your paper is to use research to critically analyze your chosen work, focusing on some aspect of the overall work that helps to define and unify a central argument. Possible research questions might include any of the following:

1. What is unique about the work that makes it worthwhile?

1. What technique(s) does the author use?

1. What argument(s) are central to this piece?

1. How effective are these argument(s)?

1. What is unique about the way the writer presents these argument(s)?

1. How do the writer’s techniques help define this piece as literature of importance?

You can enhance your paper by adding research on any of these ideas or points.

Your final grade will be lower than the grade here if no revisions are made.

Draft grade – 79%