The Things They Carried Passage Analysis Essay

Words: 544
Pages: 3
Open Document
This passage from ‘The Things They Carried’ has a central theme; Ted Lavender. O’Brien shows his feelings about the event, even after so many years have passed by, he is still becoming distracted from the explanation of what the men carried and going into detail of Lavender’s death. With many literary techniques, he shows the horrific truth behind the war and what all of the men must carry, both physically and emotionally.

The prevalent feature within this text is the event of Lavender’s death and how abrupt it is. There is no emotion during this part of the text, however, both the sentence length after the mentioning of Lavender and the repetition of ‘and’ throughout it shows how O’Brien, as the narrator, has been traumatized by the event and attempts to make the reader feel the same emotions that they felt in that moment. The characters within this passage are introduced as they become relevant to this particular part of the story being told, which in unlike earlier in the chapter when everyone is introduced by their names …show more content…
These are used to show the reader that the soldiers have their own ways of coping, for some it is to destroy a village, and for other it is to find some sort of humor within the situation, the worst part of this is that it is their normal. The repetition of the weights of what they carried is symbolic of the burdens that they all had to carry through life after the war. This includes Lavender’s death, both during and after as ‘he was dead weight’ and as ‘they carried Lavender’ onto the aircraft, but once he was taken away they were left with the weight. The repetition of ‘Boom-Down’ as well as ‘and’ slows down the pace of the sentences and draws them out, gaining an overwhelming feeling to the reader and shows the shock that they all felt during that
Show More

Related Documents: The Things They Carried Passage Analysis Essay

Writing From Sources Essay

Suzanne Paulose February 12, 2015 English 1 ­ Pd 5 Ms. Gulitti Writing from Sources Essay What does it mean to be a brother/sister’s keeper? A good brother/sister’s keeper is one who takes on the responsibility to care for the safety of others. This thematic topic of being a brother/sister’s keeper has been well developed through many texts. Text #1, “First Responders” by Dennis Smith examines this idea through the discussion of how Pete was a brothers keeper when shared his knowledge about his…

Words 877 - Pages 4

Essay on California Peace Officer Study Guide 1

ability is measured through the use of two sub-tests. The first is a 20-item reading comprehension sub-test. This sub-test presents the test-taker with passages which vary in length from a single paragraph to one page. After reading the passage, test-takers answer multiple-choice questions about the information contained in the passage. All passages cover common concepts and…

Words 9206 - Pages 37

Syllabus: University of Cambridge and Cambridge Pre-u Syllabus Essay

Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Cambridge International Level 3 Pre-U Certificate in LITERATURE IN ENGLISH For examination in 2013, 2014 and 2015 Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Literature in English (9765) Cambridge International Level 3 Pre-U Certificate in Literature in English (Principal) For examination in 2013, 2014 and 2015 QN 500/3685/3 www.cie.org.uk/cambridgepreu 1 Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Support CIE provides comprehensive support for all its qualifications, including the Cambridge Pre-U. There…

Words 5225 - Pages 21

Goblin Market and Rossetti Essay

role were expressed in her poems. Rossetti was very much devoted into her religion. In fact she was proposed marriage twice, but rejected both due to her incompatible religion beliefs. Despite the debate of identifying Rossetti’s interpretation one thing is certain “Goblin Market” is viewed as a master piece empowering women. Poem “Goblin Market by Christina Georgina Rossetti was written in 1859 but later published in 1862. Goblin Market is one of Christina Rossetti early work. Rossetti described…

Words 1933 - Pages 8

Silent Spring - Rachel Carson Essay

BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ©1998-2002;…

Words 30115 - Pages 121

Review of Angels on a Pin, Letter From Birmingham Jail, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays

Carlos Aviles English 1301 Mr. Kederli San Antonio College 5/12/15 Journal “Kill em’! Crush em”! Eat em’ raw! In this essay the author John McMurtry talks about his personal experience with football and the negative aspects that it brings involving our bodies, injuries and coaches. McMurtry goes into detail on explain the many different injuries that he suffered while playing football at a high school, college and professional level. McMurtry also explains how football fans and coaches…

Words 3933 - Pages 16

Essay about Reproductive System and Major Understandings

Unit 2: Organization and Patterns of Life 2 How are living Organization and things Patterns in Life: different from ● Cell non­living structure(pa things? rts) ● Cell How do living Physiology things differ ● Cell from one Chemistry another? ● Diffusion and How do Osmosis molecules Skills move across a ● Classifying membrane? of living things ● Comparing and contrasting ● Analyzing relationship s ● Making predictions ● Understandi ng Cause…

Words 6742 - Pages 27

Rethinking Mercantalism Essay

Rethinking Mercantilism: Political Economy, the British Empire, and the Atlantic World in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Author(s): Steve Pincus Reviewed work(s): Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 1 (January 2012), pp. 3-34 Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.69.1.0003 . Accessed: 06/09/2012 12:18 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms…

Words 15041 - Pages 61

Middle Ages and Europe Essay

The Emperor Diocletian had divided the Empire during his reign (284-305) to increase administrative efficiency. The Emperor Constantine (reigned, 324-337) had erected a new capital on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium, which controlled the passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, calling it Constantinople. Theodosius I (r. 378-395) was the last emperor to actually rule both portions of the Empire simultaneously. The Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire contained more diverse nationalities…

Words 6558 - Pages 27

Jazz: Jazz and Music Essay

Essays on Music THEODOR W. ADORNO with Introduction, Commentary, and Notes BY RICHARD LEPPERT Selected, New translations by Susan H. Gillespie Uniaersity ot' CøIifornia press BERKELEY LOS ANGELES LONDON On Jazz On lazz The question of what is meant by "jazz" seems to mock the clear-cut . -\i) \-è "x! \ \N definitive answer. Just as the historical origins of the form are disappearing into the fog of the recent past, so its range is disappearing within its ambivalent…

Words 8741 - Pages 35