The Man I Killed By Tim O Brien - 992 Words

War is known to be complex and confusing. It is also known to be completely chaotic and unpredictable. This is made clear in the short story The Man I Killed taken from Tim O Brien s war novel The Things They Carried. Set during the Vietnam war, American Soldier Tim O Brien is strongly affected by an unpredictable event. In The Man I Killed we consider how O Brien was heavily affected and shocked after killing a young Vietnamese soldier and the randomness of killing in war. We also take a look at how the author plays with truth and non-fiction in his story telling. When passing on foot through the village of My Khe, soldier O Brien instinctively threw a grenade and killed a young Vietnamese soldier. Taken back by the event, his character is isolated in still time, entangled in a state of shock. Through his confusion and guilt, O Brien s strong narrative and protagonist presence fades to the background as he fixates on the life of his victim. He vividly describes the dead soldier, focusing on his physical characteristics and the wounds that were inflicted upon him. O Brien s way of describing the young man, â€Å"His clean black hair was swept up into a cowlick, his forehead was lightly freckled, his finger nails clean, his right cheek was smooth and hairless† (139), makes the anonymous soldier more personal. His choice of descriptive words help to view the soldier as a real person not simply a defeated enemy. As another way of coping with his feelings, O Brien imaginesShow MoreRelatedThe Man I Killed, By Tim O Brien1580 Words   |  7 PagesTo kill a man is to take away everything he has, and ever will have; and in War, death is inescapable. Vietnam War veteran Tim O’Brien was drafted to fight in the War in 1969 and states in the book as his â€Å"character/narrator† self that he attempted an escape to Canada out of fear. But the stronger fear of people being ashamed of him took over and had him turning back to home to enlist in the U.S. Army. O’Brien published The Things They Carried in 1990 and explored the physical and mental realms ofRead MoreTim O Brien s The Man I Killed 897 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Vietnam War, Tim O’Brien failed to share any stories from his experiences in Vietnam. Finally he decided to write a book that he titled, The Things They Carried, in 1990 where he details all of the struggles he experienced after being drafted into the Vietnam War. In chapter twelve, â€Å"The Man I Killed,† O’Brien details Tim’s uncertainty after killing his fi rst Viet Cong soldier. As the soldier lay on the ground physically destroyed by a grenade that once resided in Tim’s hand, Tim could not lookRead MoreThe War Is Wrong, By Tim O Brien1075 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"If I truly believe the war is wrong, is it then also wrong to go off and kill people? If I do that, what will happen to my soul?† (pg 60). Tim O Brien is an American man who was drafted into the Vietnam War. O Brien is not a violent man and struggles because he believes that the war is wrong. He debates whether or not he should go to war or move to Canada to avoid the draft. Tim O Brien decides to join the army. O Brien uses his personal experiences as a foot soldier in the Vietnam War to conveyRead MoreAnalysis Of Tim O Brien s Love 768 Words   |  4 Pagesfor Tim O Brien, he had some very interesting things that happened to him. Tim O Brien gained many friendships serving in the Vietnam war. He first became good friends with Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. In Love Tim goes to met Jimmy at his home in Massachusetts. They had talked about the events that took place during the war, and Jimmy s guilt over Ted Lavender s death. Another friendship that is important to Tim was Kiowa, in The Man I Killed Kiowa is constantly trying to get Tim to talkRead MoreAnalysis Of Tim O Brien s Love 768 Words   |  4 Pagesfor Tim O Brien, he had some very interesting things that happened to him. Tim O Brien gained many friendships serving in the Vietnam war. He first became good friends with Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. In Love Tim goes to met Jimmy at his home in Massachusetts. They had talked about the events that took place during the war, and Jimmy s guilt over Ted Lavender s death. Another friendship that is important to Tim was Kiowa, in The Man I Killed Kiowa is constantly trying to get Tim to talkRead More OBrien and Fossie in The Things They Carried Essay862 Words   |  4 Pagesis an exemplary Bildungsroman as it carries the reader through the lives and problems of every soldier within its pages. Each man is witnessed as he goes through his own maturation and personal times of struggle and hardships. Some are focused on more than others, but each man has a story to tell, each a moral to teach. Throughout The Things They Carried, both Tim O?Brien and Mark Fossie experience a significant amount of personal maturation by gaining new knowledge about themselves, the VietnamRead MoreReaction to The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien1706 Words   |  7 Pages In The Things They Carried, Tim O Brien uses a variety of stories to explain the life experiences that he and many of his fellow soldiers endured during a single year in Vietnam. He tells these stories in a way that we can connect to these experiences. We never spent time in Vietnam, but O Brien wants us to feel like we were there. O Brien uses what he calls story-truth to write these stories. The outcome or the people may be different but the feeling is real; that s the truth in the storyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The Things They Carried 1734 Words   |  7 Pageswar stories.( New York Times, Book of the Century). Tim O Brien, the author of the book is both the narrator and the protagonist of the book. As, he himself is present in the war and also tells different stories told by the member of the alpha company. O Brien use of storytelling along with theme is the part of the book which makes it more realistic and effective, which is the ultimate point and purpose of the author. O Brien believes that stories have immense power, they gain theRead MoreAnalyzing The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1539 Words   |  7 PagesProfessor Neary 3/27/2014 Summarizing and Analyzing of â€Å"The Things They Carried† The book â€Å"The Things They Carried† is written by Tim O’Brien, the author of â€Å"In The Lake Of The Woods† and â€Å"Tomcat In Love.† In this book, O’Brien tells the details of the Vietnam war as a form of storytelling. He includes several characters in it such as Tim O’Brien, Jimmy Cross, Mitchell Sanders, Henry Dobbins, Ted Lavender and so on. He starts with the primary character, Lieutenant Jimmy CrossRead MoreThe Things They Carried : Writing Task1107 Words   |  5 PagesThe Things They Carried - Writing Task By Charlie Evans – Word Count: 1099 Storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the reader’s imagination. Tim O’Brien the author of the novel The Things They Carried demonstrates storytelling to maximise the significance of story truth versus happening truth and the focus on emotion and feeling, not the events. These main ideas O’Brien displays is reinforced through the choices