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Aphorisms
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"You never more alive when you're almost dead."
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"A thing may happen, and be a total lie, another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth."
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"Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons."
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"A lot like yesterday, a lot like never."
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"When your afraid, really afraid, you see things you never saw before, you pay attention to the world."
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"Imagination is a killer."
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"The presence of danger has a way of making you feel fully awake."
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"And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever."
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"You win some, you lose some."
Summary of the novel
The narrator of the novel, Tim O'Brien, begins the novel by describing the significance of all the items carried by the soldiers. These items included bibles, comics, weapons, candy, medicine, ect... Although at surface level the objects don't seem significant, they represent the experiences and emotions of the soldiers (Fear, love, guilt, ect...) O'Brien then goes on to tell stories about the individual soldiers and give insight as to what they are going though. These stories include themes of guilt, trauma, and provides insight to the harsh war. Near the end of the novel, Tim O'Brien, reminisces on the dead and honors them through storytelling.
Author's bio
Tim O'Brien is a talented author that is widely known for his novel, "The Things They Carried". Tim O'Brien was born in 1946, in Austin, MN. Tim O'Brien grew up in Minnesota and graduated in 1968 from Macalester. Shortly afterwards, O'Brien served with the U.S army in Vietnam where he found large inspiration for many of his well-known novels today. After his service, O'Brien attended Harvard University, where he studied government. Tim O'Brien's literary work has received many awards including the National Book Award in fiction for his book, Going After Cacciat; and the France’s prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, for his novel, The Things They Carried.
The Lives of the Dead
-Jessica Roque
For me this chapter was enlightening. It had a lot of beautiful stories and others are sad. It was enlightening because in the chapter O'Brien explains what they do with the bodies when they are dead. They would make them seem as they are a live and tell stories about them. These is a pretty way to remember someone and more happy than sad. It shows you a new way to see the dead and the ways you can celebrate it instead of feeling sad or crying. I like what he did in this last chapter. He mention most of the men who died or were killed when he was in the war. It felt like he was honoring them. For me it felt like it was my goodbye to them and to the story. The last part has got me feeling in different kind of ways. It feels like he still wants to hold on his innocence from when he was a kid. The whole chapter for me was beautiful it gave me mixed emotions from sad to happy and a little bit of confusion. It give a sense of closure for the book and all of the characters and their stories.
Speaking of Courage
- Amber Ramey
This chapter was interesting and gave insight as to how Norman Bowker views himself and the war. Tim Obrien begins the chapter with Norman Bowker driving through hid old town and reminiscing on his high-school life and past, and then shifts to Norman Bowker remembering a particular instance in war that forever stuck with him. The instance was when he failed to save Kiowa, because of the stench of a nearby water source, and he blamed his lack of courage for it. I felt emotionally connected to Kiowa in this chapter, because I've felt a similar lack of courage before. Often people associate fear with lack of courage, but in several situations that fear can save you. Norman Bowker's fear could've saved his life by preventing him from drowning in the mud as well.
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The Man I Killed
-Nasya Sosa
The man I killed was a very heavy chapter involving Tim O' Brien's hand in killing a man. This chapter provides insight into the guilt the author felt in killing this man/boy. He creates a whole fantasy of the dead man's life in order to cope with the pain of murdering a man that was just as afraid as him. He stares at the man and describes his every wound inflicted by the grenade O' Brien threw. Kiowa tries to pry him away and tells him to stop staring but o' Brien cannot. Kiowa tries to make him understand that they were fighting a war implying that death was to be expected. I personally am shocked at how he was able to continue in life without going insane due to everything he saw; but even though he was able to continue with his mind intact, the guilt still haunted him till present day.
Notes
-Ruth Velez
Chapter 16, Notes; was a chapter that brought the authors true thoughts and emotions before the reader. In the previous chapter, the author discussed Norman Bowkers daily routine, his inner turmoil. Within the chapter the author discusses why he decided to write the chapter Speaking of Courage. The events that took place that persuaded him to write it. After Norman Bowker returned from the war, he felt like a part of him died in Vietnam. Civilan life felt distant and foreign. Norman felt that he couldn’t discuss his time during the war or the emotions he felt. Which caused him to end his anguish, by hanging himself in the YMCA locker room.