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This is a 3 page paper that provides an overview of stories by Hannah and O'Brien. Interpretation of symbols emphasizes the link between the sacred and the mundane. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFthings.doc
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expressed instead in a direct and personal way. Such content usually emphasizes the comparatively emotionally immature nature of the characters in such stories, as generally soldiers in wars are quite
young, and turn to this kind of intrinsic formless spirituality in order to make sense of their harrowing experiences and come to terms with the idea of death. In many
cases, spirituality in these stories is symbolized most plainly by physical artifacts that are associated with the war-ravaged characters. Separated from their expected physical realities and the comforts it might
provide, these artifacts become objects of immense spiritual importance. Such symbolic usage helps authors draw thematic ties between the sacred and mundane in their stories. Two stories which provide excellent
examples of this trend are Barry Hannahs "Midnight and Im Not Famous Yet" and Tim OBriens "The Things They Carried". This paragraph helps the student summarize and explore Hannahs text.
In Hannahs story, the main character is a soldier in Vietnam who runs into someone he knew from his hometown in America, who is in the country on assignment as
a photographer. The narrators photographer friend, known as Tubby in the text, shows him a photograph of a golfer named Whitelaw from their hometown, and the narrator imbues this physical
artifact with a great deal of emotional significance. In particular, he is moved by the photograph precisely because of the mundane nature of the sport of golfing and the intense
emotional investment Whitelaw shows for it. For the narrator, there is spiritual value in this capacity to become emotionally invested in something mundane; he views it as a superior alternative
to his own decidedly non-mundane experiences (jumping out of helicopters, killing people, and so on) (Hannah, 1994). Later, when reviewing a photograph taken by Tubby of a captured Viet Cong
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