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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page essay that describes the unusual structure of Tim O'Brien war novel The Things They Carried. The writer than contrasts and compares two of the stories, "The Man I Killed" and "Ambush," relating this to O'Brien's overall intention in this work. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khmikamb.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
novel that follows a chronological narrative, relating events as if they were pearls on a linear string, OBrien is primarily concerned with memory and the psychological impact of the reality
and brutality of war. Therefore, OBriens novel works like memory. It is disjointed and fragmented, mirroring the fragmented nature of the minds of the soldiers whose stories it relates. As
this suggests, the unusual structure gives the reader insight not only into what it was like to fight in Vietnam, but how it impacted these soldiers psychologically and emotionally.
From the beginning of the novel, OBrien makes it clear that the lines between fact and reality are blurred. For one thing, his protagonist is named "Tim OBrien," but the
work is not autobiographical; it is a work of fiction. OBriens narrative alter-ego protagonist makes it clear that he is not concerned about relating precisely what happened, as a "true"
war story is not dependent on literal truth. It is clear that OBrien (the character) does not wish to remember certain events, events so graphically violent that simply to think
of them is traumatic. These memories are obviously painful and when they crop up, OBrien (the character) pushes them aside. The reader can tell that he truly does not want
to think about such things, yet memories continue to crop up in bits and pieces, in a haphazard fashion. He will start stories and then abandon them before reaching
a conclusion, only to take up the same story several pages or chapters later. Sometimes the protagonist will start a story and another character will interrupt and finish it. Some
narratives are presented as absolute truth and then immediately refuted by someone else. OBrien offers six different versions of Kurt Lemmons death. By telling the story, the protagonist is able
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