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=By Tim O'Brien= Jake Hr 3 6/6/10 IRP
 * The Things They Carried**


 * Tim O'Brien (1946- )**

William Timothy O'Brien was born to a middle class Minnesotan family in 1956. He was born in raised in Austin, Minnesota. He describes his home town in //The Things They Carried// as a lake side community devoid of any real excitement. Shortly after completing high school, O'Brien was drafted into the Vietnam War. O'Brien contamplated avoiding the draft. This personal struggle is the focus point of the chapter "On the Rainy River". O'Brien decided to fulfill the draft and served in Vietnam from 1968-1970. After the war, O'Brien pursued an education at Harvard and then a career as a Journalist. He went on to write several books including //Going After Cacciato// and //The Things They Carried.// His books often centralized around the Vietnam War. Read more of O'Brien's biography at: [|O'Brien Biography]


 * Plot**

//The Things They Carried// is a collection of war stories both directly encountered or heard by Tim O'Brien. The book centralizes around the time spent in Vietnam but also explores the effects of the war on the characters before and after deployment. The majority of the stories are told from the point of view of the author who is also the main character. O'Brien often provides explanations and tangents to his stories that add interesting perspective and understanding. The remainder of the stories are quick tales or full blown stories from the men O'Brien served with. The book stays fairly chronological with a few flash-forwards and flashbacks. O'Brien's story begins with his temptation to escape the draft by running to Canada. He tells of his time on the Rainy River with the old man who convinced him not to run away. He then tells a story that occurred many years later, of visiting Vietnam with his daughter long after the war. O'Brien provides many stories before and after these in varying orders throughout the book. The young men who are no more than boys at the time of the war, soon learn that war is not fun and games. They quickly discover that war does not make sense and is not always logical and it especially is not pretty.


 * Criticism**

//The Things They Carried// Is a phenomenal book overall. It manages to keep the reader interested throughout the book as there is never a dull moment. It causes the reader to care deeply about the characters due to the author's superb characterization. O'Brien manages to keep all of his stories tied together without causing confusion. This book does a wonderful job of placing the reading directly into Vietnam where they feel what the characters are feeling. The main element missing from this book was a central story line. A central story would provide the readers with something to fall back upon after completing a short story as well as a launching point for beginning stories. The book also lacks good setting description in some parts. Certain sections of the book would benefit from extensive setting description as it would give readers a location to envision the characters in. The sections of the book that did provide sufficient setting description where the stronger stories such as the chapter "Speaking of Courage" "The lake lay flat and silvery against the sun. Along the road the houses were all low-slung and split-level and modern, with big porches and picture windows facing the water. The lawns were spacious. On the lake side of the road, where real estate was most valuable, the house were handsome and set deep in, well kept and brightly painted, with docks jutting out into the lake, and boats moored and covered with canvas, and neat gardens, and sometimes even gardeners, and stone patios with barbecue spits and grills, and wooden shingles saying who lived where" (O'Brien 131) This quote sets up the setting for one of the most beautiful chapters of the book. The chapter benefits greatly from this description and having these descriptions more often throughout the book would increase the over all quality.
 * Literary Elements**

O'Brien's bluntness and his literal story telling provides straightforward elements to the book. O'Brien explains the theme directly in the book as war stories not having morals. "A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done." (O'Brien 65) This passage from the book explains how O'Brien is not trying to portray a moral but that war being war, is immoral. He includes various forms of symbolism, most notably the possessions of their girlfriends' that the men carry. These objects range from pictures to pantyhose to letters and act as a connection to home for the men. They are symbols of home and remind the men of their lives back home.

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 * Outstanding Book**

This book is outstanding for many reasons. Not only does it provide intimate insight into the atrocities of the Vietnam war, but it actually makes you feel like you are in the combat zone with lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his men. The book provides tales beyond those that you would expect to hear from a veteran. Tim O'Brien spills his heart into the pages and lets you read his story. Throughout the book, the writing portrays intense emotion through its straight forward and simple writing. The book avoids the politics of the war and puts you in the boots of an American soldier. O'Brien's extensive characterization of his real life squad mates causes the reader to feel their pains, their triumphs, and their guilt. For these reasons and many more, this book is outstanding.


 * Recommendation**

I would recommend this book to any person interested in reading exquisite books, as //The Things They Carried// is just that. Readers even mildly interested in war stories and specifically Vietnam will enjoy this book greatly. This book is great to read for pleasure, but also provides ample material to complete nearly any form of project or assignment. This book is perfect for someone who wants to gain a perspective of war from the common foot soldier's point of view. I would not recommend this book to someone who is only interested in the politics of war as this book touches very little on politics. Readers who dislike gruesome descriptions should also avoid this book as it gets gory at times. Overall, any person looking for an engaging and interesting read, I would highly recommend //The Things They Carried// By Tim O'Brien.

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Works Cited

AIV EnenmyForces. 2000-2010. 8 Jun. 2010. []

Jim 416. Images From Vietnam. 2 Oct. 2007. Armchair General and History Net. 8 Jun. 2010. []

O'Brien, Tim. __The Things They Carried,__ Oregon: Powell and apos. 1990

QuionMonkey. Love of Maps (December in Vietnam). 6 Dec. 2008. Red Ravine. 8 Jun. 2010. [|Vietnam]

Snapshot of Tim O'BrienRansom Cener Aquires Tim O'Brien Archive. 11 Dec. 2007. The Univesity of Texas at Austin. 8 Jun. 2010. [|Tim]

Tim O'Brien. Author Biography. Holt Elements of Literatue. 8 Jun. 2010. [|O'Brien Biography]

Tim O'Brien '68. 2007 Award Recipients. Alumni Awards 8 Jun. 2010. [|Tim Today]

Vietnam War through O'Brien's The Things They Carried. 5 Jan. 2007. YouTube. 8 Jun. 2010. [|Youtube]