Motivation

-The reason for a character's behavior.
O'Brien's reason for choosing to go to war and not run away to Canada surprised me. He says on page 57,"I couldn't make myself be brave. It had nothing to do with morality. Embarrassment, that's all it was...I would for to the war-I would kill and maybe die- because I was embarrassed not to." I thought this was interesting. Even though O'Brien thinks this is a wrong war and maybe his family agrees we don't know he still feels they would be disappointed in him if he avoided the draft. I personally think my family would be relieved if I would have been drafted and ran away. He wouldn't have been killed in Canada however, he would have been running away from his problems. Its a difficult decision either way but i found his motivation for deciding to go to war interesting.

Internal Conflict

- a Conflict invloving opposing forces with in a person's mind.
In the chapter "ON The Rainy River" O'Brien presents us with a visual aspect of internal conflict. On page 55, O'Brien is on a fishing boating debating weather or not to run away to canada while a huge group of people stand on the shore and encourage him to choose one way or the other. These people are the ones that mean something to him. They represent both lives he could have lead and the life he chose to lead. This is his internal conflict; Will he run away and leave his family and dreams behind and disapoint the ones he loves or will he go to war and put his plans on hold but he might be killed? Its a tough decision and the internal conflict is very obviouse.

On the rainy river

I personally found this chapter easy to relate to. O'Brien is at a point in his life where he has just graduated from high school and has made plans for college and a successful career. I am also making plans for college and major decisions about what i will do with the rest of my life. It would be so difficult to put those plans on hold, leave everyone you knew behind, and travel across the world where you may die at any moment. We also learn that while they are away at war the people at home continue on with their lives. Jimmy Cross tells us in the chapter "Love" that when he meets up with Martha again she is no longer interested and has moved on with different plans. Also Norman Bowker tells us In "Speaking of Courage" that Sally Kramer, a girl he used to date, has moved on as well and married. It would be so difficult at the age of eighteen to put your life on hold while everyone around you progressed.

mood

-The atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected.
This is an important aspect of O'Brien's book because the mood he sets for the reader allows them to get involved with the characters. O'Brien mentions more than once how these soldiers were little more than children because they were so Young. He describes the land and climate they endured and their everyday struggles. When this is done the reader can more fully emphasize with the characters. For example in the chapter On the rainy River, O'Brien tells how he had had so many plans for his future and how being drafted would change his entire life. This is something most Americans can relate to in one way or another. The atmosphere and mood O'Brien creates in this book allows the reader to emphasize and become more involved with the characters.

The things they carried

In the first chapter O'Brien tells us the material things the men carried during the war as well as the emotional bagage they had. among the material things were weapons, food, bug spray, and other essentials to war life. Yet the men also carry things that have significance to themselves such as pictures, pantie-hoes, a pebble, letters, ect. each of these items have a story behind them and connect the soldiers to the lives they once led at home and the men they actually are. They also carry the responsibility of protecting each other. They carry the constant fear of death and the fear of cowardice. They carry dreams and hope for their lives when the war is over. I thought the first chapter was a good introduction of all of the things these men had to deal with. This chapter allows the author to flow into the meaning of the things they carried and the story behind it all.

First person Point of view and Omniscient View

First Person- One of the characters tells the story
Omniscient- An omniscient or all knowing narrator tells the sotory, also using the third person pronouns. This narrator instead of focusing on one chacater only, often tells us everything about many characters.
The Things they Carried" is a recolection of stories told by tim O'brian about his time spent fighting in the Vietnam War. He makes himself one of the characters and he tells most of the stories from him own view point. However, in chapters such as Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, Speaking of courage and some of the other chapters, different characters tell a story that they expereinced or an all knowing narrator will tell their stoy. these characters include, Jimmy cross, Norman Bowker, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Henry Dobbins, and Kiowa.

Begining " The Things They Carried"

I have to say I enjoyed reading this book much more than The Sun Also Rises. I think this is because it was more easily understood and more modern. The themes in this book were universal and these events took place less than fifty years ago. I found two things challenging about this book. One, trying to figure out which stories were true and which one's were symbolic or exaggerated. The author tells us how true war stories are never really true and this is demonstrated through out the book. Two, figuring out what the symbols and metaphors actually meant. This was a challenge since so much of the book was symbolic. never the less I enjoyed this book and learned alot about the Vietnam War.

forshadowing

ok I thought i had twenty posts but i jsut looked and i only have 19 isn't athat great. -the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in the story- in the chapter before brett rns off with Romero, she talks about how much she likes his clothing and how handsome he is. Also at the begining of one chapter jake says he ends up with the bull's ear in his handkercheif and then it tells the story up to that point. this provides a variety in the story telling and keeps the audience intersted. and now i think i'm done fo rizel!!

My reaction to the book

If i look at this story as it is making fun of the mundane lives that people lead and the fact that we create problems for ourselves and make the same mistakes over and over again; then i kind of like it. the author demonstrated this perspective very clearly and he also presents social problems of this era and how people simply ignore these issues. This is the time less and universal theme. o the other hand the story itself in which jake and brett are in love and the crazy story behind that i think is amusing at first but then it was just frustrating. why couldn't brett stop being a tramp and hurting people!? But the truth is brett and jake may not have even seen that they were making these mistakes repeatedly. it seems obvious to the spectator but not when one is really living it. this is how the real world is we are stupid and we keep doing the same things and to the spectator it must be extremely frustrating.

thend

the end of the book i found to be slightly disapointing. I was hoping that some how either jake would end up with brett or find a new girls who would except him. unfortunately nothing seemed to really change. brett remained sleeping around with other men and all of the characters seem to still be confused and unhappy even more so then they were at the begining of the book. The characters have tried to work problems out but everything failed and turned out even worse than original. this is different from most stories because a problem is presented and in the end it is resolved but in this case the problem is on-going and can not really be resolved easily so the people keep making the same mistakes.

Flat character

-has only one or twso personality traits. They are one dimensional like a piece of cardboard. they can be summed up in one phrase- There are a plethora of characters in this strory. many of these characters were background characters tht we only hear of once and were never brought up again. However, the man in spain who likes bull fighting seems to come up again and again. he only has one personality trait and that is that he is obsessed with bull fighting. on the other hand i think he symbolizes something. he feels that jake is a true bull fighter spirtit and he is disapointed of jakes friend choice even though he never says it. i think he represents jake's subconscience that tells him he is better than this and can do better.

Static character

-Is one who does not change much in the course of a story- In many stories the main character under goes a dramatic life lesson where their entire outlook is turned around. However this is often not how real life works. people may under go a life changing experience but they may not learn from it and it is nearly impossible to change your life right of the bat. I think this book was more realistic in that aspect. It shows how the characters have nothing really interesting going on for the majority of their time and important things happen with long periods of time in between. So even though Jake our main character has some dramatic experiences he changes very little. In my opinion Jake is a static character. At the beginning of the book he is madly in love with Brett and will do anything for her and at the end of the book he is the exact same way even after all she has put him through.

Silly Billy

Ok of every character in the book Bill is my favorite. WE know he has some problems because he drinks so much in Vienna that he can't remember what he did for four days but he still has a good sense of humor and doesn't react badly to some things that the other characters do. Bill is different from Jake because he does not avoid problems but has a humorous way to deal with them. on page 116 Bill says my favorite line of the whole book; "Listen. You're a hell of a good guy and I'm fonder of you than anybody on earth. I couldn't tell you that in New York. It'd mean I was a faggot. That was what the civil war was about. Abraham Lincoln was a faggot. He was in love with General Gant. So was Jefferson Davis. Lincoln just freed the slaves on a bet. The Dred Scott case was framed by the Anti-Saloon League. Sex explains it all. The Colonel's Lady and Judy O'Grady are lesbians under their skin." Not only is this quote funny but it really is what this book is about. The first part is Bills indirect way of making it known he is not gay because many veterans had masculinity issues after the war. then he goes on to discuss who loves who as the book does with Brett, and ends with saying sex explains everything. And yeah sex explains this whole book about why Brett can't be with Jake.

Allusion

-reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something- Through out the story it is made known that Bill, Jake, and mike fought in WWI. They struggle with the common struggles of veterans of WWI. for example they find their lives to be mundane and have little purpose. they have become alcholics and drink away their problems and memories of the war. All of these characters make brief references to the war and it is because of the war that Jake was injured and Brett will not be with him. The war is a huge under-lying factor on the characteristics of these people and how the story unfold.

Drinking

Drinking is a common aspect of the characters every day lives. They are almost always drunk. they may be sitting at a bar and they discuss where they are going to go to drink next. The type of drink and the level of drunkenness of each character is often described. Furthermore, each characters drinking level influences the things that they can get away with. For instance, at one point mike is insulting Robert for following Brett around like a puppy and the others make ex cusses for him saying he is "tight" or drunk and can not control what he says. Later we find out that Mike says he really wasn't as drunk as it seemed. Mike is not the only one who makes excuses because he is drunk all the other characters do also. each character has issues and tries to drink away the pain. This is amajor theme through out the book.

Oxymoron

In the last few chapters of the book Hemingway uses oxymorons. I think this may be done to demon straight how after all that has happened the characters are still confused. This confusion is present in speech mind and action. Brett is still tormenting Jake and all of Jake's friends have gone away. These Oxymorons are on pages 226 When bill says the fiesta has been a wonderful nightmare and on page 221 when it is said that Romero has "only Perfect" bull fighting skills. This last oxymoron could also be used as an understatement because it is obvious that Romero has excellent bull fighting skills.

Situational Irony

-Takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen when what really does happen.- Through out the book it is made clear that Jake loves Brett and she "supposedly" loves him in return. However Jake and Brett are not together as a couple. Brett has intentions to marry some one else and she has flings with many other men. Something that I also find to be extremely Ironic is that Brett has Jake set her up with other men. For example Brett asks Jake to set her up with the Bull Fighter Romero. This shows the extent of how Jake is being used.

I HATE BRETT

You know a book is pretty good if you can be angry at the characters. But I don't see how some one couldn't be angry at Brett. Not only does she know that Jake loves her and she sleeps with his friends but she also asks him to set her up with the bull-fighter boy. She is emotionally dependant on Jake telling him how upset she is and turning to him for help, yet she knows that he is also emotionally troubled because he loves her and she says she loves him. Brett can't give up sex to be with the man she loves and she teases him constantly making his life miserable. there is just something wrong with that.

The Healing of Nature

The author makes a point of making the characters have mundane and ordinary lives. However, when Bill arrives he and Jake decide to go to Spain for a fishing trip. In these chapters the scenery is described in detail as being peace full and beautiful. This literary device allows the reader to see the healing power nature has on the character. While doing some research I discovered that Hemingway was an avid hunter and outdoors-man. HE truly believed that nature was the way to peace and healing. For example both bill and Jake are stressed with their mundane lives and in the their search for a purpose. they are also dealing with the after-effects of WWI yet when they are fishing in Spain they feel at ease and can discuss life with each other more easily.