RESPONSE FOR 9/24

RESPONSE FOR 9/24

     I have previously read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien in high school, but I did not appreciate the technique he uses to paint his characters until now. He seems to have a structured strategy of introducing his characters, which is showing their personalities, cares and worries through literally, the things they carry with them through Vietnam. These things can be objects, feelings or worries, etc. First O'Brien begins each new "scene" with a description of physical items the men do actually carry, like which kinds of weapons (O'Brien 472) or different sets of equipment (O'Brien 471)' and then segways into the items the men carry for "fun", like the Bible or marijuana (O'Brien 470). I also think its really interesting how the narrator does not use a lot of imagery or figurative language to paint the picture for the reader. For me, the narrator seemed to have almost a monotone voice, whose purpose was only to narrate, not enhance the experience for the reader. Another thing I thought was interesting was the fact that the narrator showed Lieutenant Cross's sorrow and preoccupation with the death of Lavender through the thoughts Cross had, not through his words or actions. Cross kept returning to the death of Lavender. For example, he would reference a specific event and say "On the morning after Ted Lavender died..." (O'Brien 481) and so on.
     I really enjoyed reading this excerpt from The Things They Carried and think I can learn a lot about subtly describing my characters through their actions and thoughts, not physical descriptions, or through their reactions to certain events, over a span of a few pages, instead of in one instance.