The Things They Carried Essay

The theme of war is always surrounded by some kind of romance. Many writers seek to convey the image of war more heroic. They embellish reality, smooth out the black spots with which each of the participants in the war is covered. In war novels, murder is not considered as a real murder, it is presented as something proper and necessary. We most often perceive hostilities as necessary. It is like that holding the machine gun in the hands and kill the same person as you are normal and the only true option. After all, this is war, and here murder is normal. However, what if it is not really so? After all, death is not something to which we have to aspire.

Of course, one cannot underestimate the merits of the war heroes, who with their own blood protect civilians from invaders. However, what if these warriors themselves are invaders? Just because they have no other choice. Just because it is presented as a debt to the motherland, which must be “protected”.

Of course, the theme of war can be viewed from completely different angles. And, most sadly, we, those people who live here and now, and who did not take part in hostilities, cannot know the truth itself and the reasons for this or that combat action. We can only choose which source to rely on and which source do not trust. Vietnam War can be presented righteous or artificial as well. Does it matter when we know that people died on it? It was a bloody time in which it is incredibly difficult to find something beautiful.

Highlights of The Things They Carried Theme Essay

“The Things They Carried” is a work that can tell about those very realities. Imagine for a moment that you had a chance to look at the war from the inside, but without risking your own life. Perhaps every person living on our planet should take this opportunity. And if you ask for what, the answer will be very simple.

This is necessary so that not a single person has even the thought of starting a war. Many people may think that there are situations when it is imАpossible to do without blood-shedding, but this is not so. We are adults who are able to think and speak, must understand that every action can be solved in words. Weapons entail death, the death of innocents. And even if you do not believe in sins, then think that we do not have the right to decide someone else’s fate. Our lives are only in our hands, and only we have the right to manage it!

Tim O’Brien describes the first-person war, so we can feel for ourselves what almost every participant in the hostilities sensed. If The Things They Carried essay is your homework, then we recommend that you first of all thoroughly and carefully familiarize yourself with this work, as well as with additional literature, for example, the biography of Tim O’Brien.

How to Start Writing The Things They Carried Essay?

The first thing in order to come up with the The Things They Carried theme essay is find out all the key characters and to establish priorities. Because in the essay you have to express your own thoughts. Choose a character that took the important place into your memory and left the strongest impression of his actions.

For example, this may be platoon commander Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, the soldier Mitchell Sanders from the transport forces, medical assistant Rat Kiely or Henry Dobbins, that with his physical strength was appointed as a machine gunner.

Each of the characters had their own role in the story. Who did not leave you indifferent?

By focusing on the selected character, you have the opportunity to reveal your thoughts the way you perceive his actions. Describe your feelings and impressions of their actions. Perhaps you were intrigued by the daily activities of Commander Cross, who every evening, before going to bed, looked through the letters sent to him from his beloved girl. Perhaps you understand the feelings with which he treated to her, despite the fact that she did not give the man any romantic hopes.

Perhaps you drew attention to the way each of the characters treated to talismans. For example, Dave Jensen always kept a rabbit’s foot with him. This is perhaps the most versatile and common amulet. However, the choice of Norman Bowker may surprise even a skeptic. The man chose a human finger as a symbol of protection. It was the finger of a young Vietnamese. The author says that in appearance the boy was about 15 years old. The soldiers stumbled upon the corpse of a boy by accident.

It will be a good choice to add variety to your essay if you tell about your own perception of that situation. After all, it is quite difficult to accept the fact that the human finger can, in principle, be perceived as a talisman.

The next step is to come up with a good “The Things They Carried” essay thesis. It is important to remember that writing an essay required adhering to a determined structure.

Let’s Look at Two Examples of Building an Essay

The First Example Is a Literary Analysis Essay

This type of essay involves a kind of analysis of the work or topic. In our case, this is “The Things They Carried” literary analysis essay.

The student is faced with the task of analyzing the read information, all the characters involved, as well as the author’s writing style. In own essay, the student will have to answer such questions as:

• How did the author create this work? This question includes the study of the historical part of the creation of the work. You can refer to the biography of the author to understand the history and the reasons that played a major role in the creation of the work.

• Why was this style chosen? In response to this question, the student needs to state his point of view and tell about what in his opinion prompted the author to write in this style.

Essay on The Things They Carried should be based on your thoughts. There is no clear structure of the location of paragraphs and the sequence of thoughts. It is only important to adhere to logic in writing an essay. Despite the sequence in writing a literary analysis essay, the student will have to consider and express his own thoughts on the following points:

• Parsing of the idea of the work. It is necessary to highlight the main idea, as well as the main storylines in the work.

• Research of existing characters. Highlight a couple of key characters and focus on their actions.

• Definition of the genre of the work.

• Parsing of the style of the work. It is necessary to pay attention to how the author presented his idea, what stylistic techniques he used to make the story more saturated.

• Definition of symbolism in the work. It is necessary to draw conclusions about what the author wanted to show, using a particular subject in the work.

Write The Things They Carried Literary Analysis Essay Easy

In order for you to have the opportunity to write The Things They Carried literary analysis essay, you must first read the work by Tim O’Brien. After completing the first task, it is important to make a plan according to which you will write your essay.

We offer to your attention a basic plan, according to which it will be easy for you to write “The Things They Carried” essay.

1. Determine the theme of the work.

Tim O’Brien uses in his work the most different course of events. His scripts are different from each other, but they are related to one theme of the Vietnam War. Each of the little stories contains the experiences of soldiers who went to war in completely different ways. The reader of the work has the opportunity to look at the story of each character as if he was nearby. The theme of The Things They Carried is not a completely fictional story. According to sources, the author was forced to refer to the fact that all the events in his work are fiction. However, is this true? Is all that the author wrote just a figment of his imagination? This position of the story makes you think that this situation could be quite real. After all, the motto of the war is by no means Peace and Glory. In reality, it is Blood and Pain.

Do you agree with this interpretation?

1. Making arguments.

Throughout the story, the author has attracted the attention of the reader to the smallest actions. He uses vivid descriptions of human parts of the body, which suffered as a result of injuries from shots or explosions. The author repeatedly points out and leads the reader to the idea that there is nothing truthful in war. Especially in how this war is covered in the media.

“… It can be said with confidence that there is nothing absolutely true in the real story about the war …”.

1. Making a thesis

The Things They Carried essay thesis is an explanation of why your arguments can be considered reliable, as well as what connection they have with the thoughts of the author.

The very story of the author makes the reader thoughts confusing. The style of storytelling is confusing, which helps to conceive all the mixed feelings of the soldiers in the war. After all, there is very little logic in the war.

1. The completion of the essay and its monitoring.

Having collected all the points, it will be easier for you to add your own opinion about the work. Complete each point with your own thoughts and vision. Express your own attitude to what is happening. After completing the work, it is important to check the text for the presence of grammatical and punctuation mistakes. Then put your essay aside and let your brain get a little distracted. This is necessary so that during the next text check you can objectively look at your work and trace the logic of the entire essay.

The Second Example is Critical Essay

The main idea of this type of essay is more detailed decoding of a separate fragment of the work. Critical essay on The Things They Carried can be built on the basis of a fragment where soldiers only enter the war. The way in which each of the characters was in one place, in a neighboring trench, and in the same situation. You can also choose a moment with a description of what the soldiers always carried with them, and consider the main idea of the work. After all, those little things that every soldier carried have an important but hidden message. In those photographs and letters from loved ones, in that care and thrill with which each of the characters treated their things, even despite the general situation the main essence is hidden.

How to Write Critical Essay On The Things They Carried

• Identify “The Things They Carried” theme essay. This may be an important topic for you, which is covered in the work. Choose exactly what caused you the most emotions.

• Reinforce your thoughts with information found from various sources. This may be the biography of the author, or reviews of the work of well-known critics.

• Give arguments that can confirm your point of view. As arguments can be both quotes from the work and reliable information from sources you found.

• Compose The Things They Carried essay thesis. The thesis will have to contain the thought on which your essay will be built. For example, does dying physically means a total death? Based on this thesis, you can consider in your essay a topic such as life in the hearts of other people. Thousands of people remain in the memory of the soldiers who died in the war. Their actions will be remembered. And here the idea of war is no longer important. The main role here is humaneness.

• Make an introduction that will interest and draw attention to the main problem of the work.

• Make a brief summary. Repeat your thesis and add to it the answers to which you came in the main part of your essay.

• Work on bugs. After you put the final point in your work, you have to review the essay again. This is necessary to determine spelling mistakes in the essay. It is also important to check the paragraphs for a logical connection with each other.

Why Is Working On an Essay So Important?

First of all, it is important to understand that an essay is not just one more homework task. The essay is a creative work that helps students develop their own way of thinking. Writing an essay is also help to enhance literacy. This is due to the verification of work that must be carried out after the completion of writing the essay.

Through writing an essay, students also become familiar with a wide range of information that they need to read in order to compile their essay in an interesting way. Also, writing an essay helps a student to learn how to defend their point of view in words. Indeed, in life, we often have to prove something. And if in reality, we can convince an opponent or a teacher not only with our own words but also with the help of gesticulation, with confidence in our eyes, and a general assurance position. Then, when writing an essay, it remains for us to be guided only by the power of our own word and the arguments that we must find in reliable sources.

Summing Up

It is important to remember that your work is the flow of your own thoughts, which are formed on the basis of a certain plan. Be confident in your abilities. Look for sources and prove your point! Because if you don’t do this, no one will do it for you.