Final Draft

Running head: The things they carried

The things they carried 2

Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Good job on proper title page format. Note that the page number is also needed.

The things they carried

Lissette Valcarcel

South University

ENG 1300

Introduction Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Use an apostrophe to show possession

O’Brien, “The Things They Carried” is called a novel and at the same time, some literature experts have viewed it as a collection of interrelated short stories. The work is a fictional historical account of the events of the Vietnam War. The writer Tim O’Brien is a Vietnam War veteran. The work is aimed at creating a memory of his service in Vietnam. He tries to illuminate the characters of those men they served with during the war and uses those characters to get the meaning of the war through their relationship (O'Brien, 2017). This work tries to indicate some of the difficulties the veterans faced in trying to come back to a civilian life after the war. He used one of his team members, Norman Bowker, to illustrate that. One of the concepts identified to have posed a challenge to the veterans is the guilt of survivor and the things that happen and those they did during the way (O'Brien, 2017). Tim O’Brien uses a lot of symbolism in the novel. Most of it is a representation of the modern America and the America during the war. This document is a discussion of some of the symbolized vivid in the novel and what they could represent reality and current world. Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Is this from a source? If so, include an in-text citation. Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Guilt of the survivor or survivor’s guilt Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Unclear wording Your introduction provides a good overview of the story and leads into your thesis. It would strengthen your thesis to provide specifics of the symbols used.

The concept of sewage field around which Norman Bowker can’t stop driving around symbolizes the filthiness of war. The reality of what a sewage contains has been used to stand for how filthy war is. Ranging from deaths to all the negative things that come about as a result of the war. Sewage contains everything toxic to human healthy same as the war which contains every threat to human life (O'Brien, 2017). The pollution caused to the environment by war is symbolized by pollution into the environment by sewage. Norman is thinking of those things that happened to Kiowa one of the most moral character in the story. Kiowa symbolizes the decency of America that has been dragged into the sewage of war. Norman continually drives around the lake. This symbolizes the lack of courage in him. Norman feels the war had destroyed the American decency, but he lacks the courage to speak about it directly. Norman was folded into the war-making him part of the filth hence not being able to speak about it. (p.123-124) Norman cannot talk about the war thus decides to walk into the lake (Cranston, 2013). Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Missing word- a or the Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: This word is not needed Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Health Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Quotes from the story would be helpful to support this body paragraph. What are the images of sewage in the story?

Kiowa stands for American goodness and decency. The fact that he is being drawn into the sewage symbolizes how the goodness was drawn into the filth. The gilt of the soldiers for the things that happened during the war symbolizes the guilt of all the Americans for dragging their descent nature into the filth. This means that there is always an aspect of personal responsibility in every individual life (O'Brien, 2017). The soldiers were following orders because that is what they do. However, that does not eliminate their responsibility in protecting the good of their nation. Everyone is to be blamed for what happens that is why Norman and Jimmy reflect that the blame is universal. The visit to Vietnam by O’Brien is symbolic of taking back the modern decency of America to Vietnam. Kathleen, the daughter of O'Brien, stands for the modern American that he is taken back to Vietnam. Kathleen does not remember anything to do with the war. The modern America knows nothing about the Vietnam War. The journey is aimed at honoring the dead show respect for the sacrifice they made (Wiener, 2011). There is the young man who acknowledges many bodies with real faces, but he feared to look at them. Twenty years later, he is left with faceless responsibility and grief. The facelessness is a representation of the much faceless Vietnamese who died during the war. Hus trial is like providing some dignity to the Vietnamese. That is what his trial symbolized, trying to restore dignity to the Vietnamese. Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Since this is a new topic, a new body paragraph is needed.

Looking at Maryann character in the song Sweetheart (p.173), she treats the whole conflict as a holiday. She symbolizes American arrogance. She swims in a river in a war zone that was possibly surrounded by snipers. She symbolizes the American idea of the war ending so fast and life getting back to normal (O'Brien, 2017). Her failure to understand the impact of the war and the weight of the war like the American non-soldiers who stayed and enjoyed as the soldiers fought and died in the battle. She is also a symbol of betrayal. She is an American who slips during the war and stops supporting their soldiers. Like any other war community or defense force, Maryann symbolizes such betrayers (Wiener, 2011). The concept of O’Brien working in a meat packing plant symbolizes the slaughter that he can seem to get out of his head. He was the only witness and cannot seem to get out the experience out of his head. The concept of manslaughter during the war. Then there is the dancing girl symbolizing the different perspectives of war. She symbolizes a tool for war tragedy. The soldiers ignore the tragedy of this war and the conflicts of the murders they commit. She can also symbolize carelessness of a soldier towards war. Some bystanders can be innocent, yet they die in the course of the war, and it does not bother the soldiers at all. The possibility of the innocent deaths being considered a collateral damage during the war (Wiener, 2011).

The dead young Vietnam solder described on page 124. He symbolizes the sources of guilt the soldiers carried as they proceeded with the war. Killing anyone who appeared to be an enemy in the picture was the order, and it must have been a difficult task to conduct. Then there is the description of darkness on page 211. This stood for some soldiers going to war without the experience of war (Cranston, 2013). They are dark when it comes matters of war. The description of shadow slipping out of one’s skin symbolizes the values a soldier believes in before war or marching to war. Everything about it disappears into thin air when they go to war. The sense of value in human life seems to get lost, and the idea of shooting a person to death becomes part and parcel of their daily life. Aspects of killing are affiliated with darkness. Killing humans and innocent deaths involve makes it darker. Again, getting to war for the first time is like moving into the darkness (O'Brien, 2017). No directions at first and no knowledge of what to do. The soldier undergoes a transformation from the life he believes in a life he has to live. A life of killing or being killed in the name of war. At the end of it all, the life becomes part of the soldier, and they feel satisfied by the things they do. Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: It seems that your essay focuses on Tim O’Brien’s work as a whole rather than the short story in our text. Review the short story in our text to make sure that you are providing an analysis of this as well as providing quotes from the text.

Conclusion

The symbolism seems to take center stage in this novel. The sewage used to represent the filth caused by wars. Kiowa used to stand for the decency of America before the war. Her being dragged into the sewage representing that decency being destroyed. O’Brien daughter representing modern America which does not know the Vietnam War. The novel is also describing darkness and shadow to symbolize the transformation soldiers undergo when they go to war for the first time. In general, symbolism has been used to bring out accounts of the war about the modern America and lives of soldiers after the war.

Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: This should begin on a new page. Center the title.

References Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Example APA Reference from the eBook Welty, E. (2013). A worn path. In X.J Kennedy and D Gioia (Eds.) The Literature Collection: An E-Text [VitalSource digital version] (p. 22). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Comment by Bethany Sreedharan: Example APA Reference from the eBook Welty, E. (2013). A worn path. In X.J Kennedy and D Gioia (Eds.) The Literature Collection: An E-Text [VitalSource digital version] (p. 22). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Cranston, T. O. (2013). The things they carried. Grand Haven, MI: Brilliance Audio.

O'Brien, T. (2017). The things they carried. Waterville, Maine: Thorndike Press.

Wiener, G. (2011). The war in Tim O'Brien's The things they carried. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.