Character Analysis Tim OBriens The Things They Carried

One of the main characters in the short story â€Å"The Things They Carried†, written by Tim O’Brien, is a twenty-four year old Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is the assigned leader of his infantry unit in the Vietnam War, but does not assume his role accordingly. Instead, he’s constantly daydreaming, along with obsessing, over his letters and gifts from Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, Jimmy’s home state. He believes that he is in love with Martha, although she shows no signs of loving him. This obsession is a fantasy that he uses to escape from reality, as well as, take his mind off of the war that surrounds him, in Vietnam. The rest of the men in his squad have items that they carry too, as a way†¦show more content†¦The Vietnam War was full of men just like Jimmy, teenagers and young men in their early twenties, and a majority of these â€Å"kids† were just as inexperienced as he was. Jimmy may have not been the greatest leader at first, but he always had good intentions. As the story continues, he begins to understand that â€Å"he is responsible for the lives of his own men†, and he seems to mature significantly towards the end. Although, Up until the end of the story, Jimmy continued to struggle with focusing on leading his platoon, and couldn’t seem to stop himself from fantasizing about Martha. One of the biggest problems that Jimmy struggled with, was focusing, his mind was constantly thinking of Martha, the woman he believed to be in love with. Even when he was marching with his soldiers, he was daydreaming about her. â€Å"Jimmys thoughts are consumed by Martha and he often daydreams about her when he should be paying attention to leading his men through the villages of Vietnam† (Overview: â€Å"The Things They Carried† par.2). Tim O’Brien states this, â€Å"On occasion he would yell at his men to spread out the column, to keep t heir eyes open, but then he would slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore, with Martha, carrying nothing† (599). This lack of focus has a huge impact on Jimmy’s squad, they need a real leader to guide them, provide them with physical and emotional support, and assume theShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Things They Carried Literary Analysis764 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis of The Things They Carried: Metafiction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tim O’Brien brings the characters and stories to life in The Things They Carried. He uses a writing style that brings stories to life by posing questions between the relationship of reality and fiction (Calloway 249). This is called metafiction and it exposes the truth through the literary experience. Tim O’Brien uses metafiction to make the characters and stories in The Things They Carried realistically evocative of the VietnamRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Jonathan Culler1683 Words   |  7 Pagesso with embellishment or the expression of details as they seem. In a similar manner, author Tim O’Brien coins the term â€Å"story truth†, a derivative of â€Å"real truth†, within his novel The Things They Carried, to discuss how retellings of wartime events are often altered to convey the emotional significance they possess. It is through these two works, Culler’s analysis of performative langua ge and O’Brien’s notion of story truth, that the necessity of fictionalization to convey a personal truth to itsRead MoreEssay On The Things They Carried1624 Words   |  7 PagesFor the seventeen Soldiers portrayed in â€Å"The Things We Carried† by Tim O’Brien, the physical pain was very minimal weight to carry compared to the emotional scars that they will carry throughout their entire life. This story does an amazing job portraying full human emotion that anyone put into a situation would feel, such as heavy guilt, sadness, anger, lack of motivation, perseverance, horror, and false security. All of these are notorious feelings that every soldier back in history, and now stillRead MoreFiction Analysis Essay710 Words   |  3 PagesFiction Analysis There are many ways to supplement a story in order to add lucidity. It is done through literary devices and Tim OBriens The Things They Carried is no different. The Things They Carried is a narrative about a soldier at war in Vietnam. However, this story provides multiple layers of meaning through OBriens tone and style that help the reader further understand it. Both of these literary devices are embedded in the story and gradually help define it. To begin with, OBrienRead MoreArgumentative Synthesis The Things They Carried1783 Words   |  8 PagesArgumentative Synthesis â€Å"The Things They Carried† Tim O’ Brien, having the memories of war engraved in his mind, recalls the memories of his youth during battle in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† an intriguing collection of military accounts that symbolize his attempt to resist closure from past experiences. O’ Brien’s story reflects the difficult choices people have to make in their struggle to confront the war waging inside their bodies as well as on the ground they tread. In Steven Kaplan’s criticismRead MoreThe Things They Carried Critical Analysis1538 Words   |  7 Pagesafter the Fall of Saigon, the Vietnam War remains an affliction for Vietnam War Veterans and their families. Millions of our youth were forced to leave their home and carry inconceivable burdens. Thus, as a Veteran, Tim O’Brien can depict thoroughly their burdens in â€Å"The Things They Carried†. His story brings us back to war-torn Vietnam and First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his platoon. Cross is the comman ding officer; however, he does not concentrate on the war but on his unrequited love. As a resultRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien862 Words   |  4 PagesIn the repeated use of ideas of weight throughout his short story â€Å"The Things They Carried†, Tim O’Brien highlights its pivotal symbolism: the intense burden of fear, especially of their own mortality, experienced by the soldiers, and thus weight’s role as the most important word in the text. O’Brien accomplishes this effect through recurring references to weight in relation to Ted Lavender’s death, and his frequent use of weight and weightlessness metaphors in the dreams of Lieutenant Jimmy CrossRead More Myth of Courage Exposed in The Things They Carried Essay2662 Words   |  11 Pagesvalorous warrior praised. Yet, modern novels such as Tim OBriens The Things They Carried (THINGS) challenge those very notions. Like The Iliad, THINGS is about war. It is about battles and soldiers, victory and survival, yet the message OBrien gives us in THINGS runs almost contradictory to the traditional war story. Whereas traditional stories of war take place on battlefields where soldier battles soldier and the mettle of man is tested, OBriens battle occurs in the shadowy, private place of aRead MoreAnalysis Of Tim O Brien s The Things They Carried1097 Words   |  5 Pages The Silent Killer: An Analysis of Imagination Evolving into a Distraction in Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† In Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried†, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the symbolism, imaginationRead MoreImagination As A Killer : Tim O Brien s The Things They Carried1088 Words   |  5 Pagesas a Killer: An Analysis of Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried† In Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried†, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular

Machiavelli and Obama The Benefits of NOT Keeping a...

In chapter eighteen of The Prince, Machiavelli tells the reader how to be successful and when not to keep your word. It is seen through out history that people of power constantly renege on their promises. This philosophy can be connected to our most prominent political figure of this modern day: President Obama. In this chapter, Machiavelli has two major premises: the nature of man, and the nature of fighting. After explaining the natures of both man and fighting, Machiavelli makes the argument that it is better to be a fox (thus successful) and gives a basic outline on how to be one. Machiavelli says, â€Å"A wise lord cannot, nor ought he to, keep faith when such observance may be turned against him, and when the reasons that caused him to†¦show more content†¦He says that force is necessary when the law fails. A prince can use these interchangeable traits to deceive people and break promises. When a prince is in need of force, he must channel his inner beast. Machiavelli believes that it is good to be both a fox and a lion, but it is wiser to be a cunning fox because lions are stupid. Machiavelli says, â€Å"It is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify wolves†¦ Those who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are about†¦ He who has known best how to employ the fox has succeeded best.† What he means is that foxes are cunning and smart enough to get out of traps, but they are not able to defend themselves against wolves. Lions on the other hand are perfectly capable of keeping the wolves at bay, however they are susceptible to traps He says that lions are stupid as where foxes are cunning and thus it is better to be a fox. As a fox, the prince would know when and where to keep his promises as long as it still benefits him. To be a fox and thus successful there are several guidelines. According to Machiavelli, â€Å"A prince ought to take care that he never lets anything slip from his lips that is not replete with the above-named five qualities, that he may appear to him who sees and hears him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. There is nothing more necessary toShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesPrograms and Motivation Theories 252 Using Rewards to Motivate Employees 252 What to Pay: Establishing a Pay Structure 252 †¢ How to Pay: Rewarding Individual Employees Through Variable-Pay Programs 253 †¢ Flexible xii CONTENTS Benefits: Developing a Benefits Package 257 †¢ Intrinsic Rewards: Employee Recognition Programs 259 Summary and Implications for Managers 261 S A L Self-Assessment Library What’s My Job’s Motivating Potential? 240 Myth or Science? â€Å"CEO Pay Can’t Be Measured†

Marginalized Populations Free Essays

April 14,2010 Communication for Marginalized Populations By: Nae Robinson Axia College of University of Phoenix HCA 230 Communication Skills for the Health Car Professional In this assignment we had to pick the best scenario for the four scenario that was given. I chose scenario 1, about an elderly woman who went to see the doctor for a examination her name is Mrs. Elson. We will write a custom essay sample on Marginalized Populations or any similar topic only for you Order Now She had a 24-year old medical assistant name Rosie who has been working in primary care practice for six months. While examining Mrs. Elson she weigh her, and took her blood pressure, at the same time she notice that Mrs. Elson was hard of hearing and show signs of stress and anxiety and seem confused about her results. We had three choices to choose from to see how the assistant would handle it and I chose choice 2 which states: â€Å" Mrs. Elson, your blood pressure is somewhat above normal–but normal can mean different numbers for different people. † â€Å" And what does that mean for me? † Mrs. Elson asks. Rosie says, â€Å" The doctor will have so much more information to share with you as to whether you have a problem and how to resolve it if you do. † I will be sure to document your question in the chart so he can address it with you. Accounting to the feedback for my choice, it is important that the technician keep the elderly patient in a positive mood, and diffuse extra anxiety above that which naturally occurs in a setting such as this. It is okay to share the blood pressure numbers; it is also possible to just say– â€Å"it is a little elevated. It is not the province of the medical technician to make personal commentary as to the reasons for this elevation. Essentially although she is a caregiver, she is not the primary caregiver, and does not have the expertise to make pronouncements or decisions for the patient. In scenario 3, you had a 39-year old woman from Venezuela who name is Ramona. She is an illegal alien with a green card pending and had been in the Un ited States for 17-years. This patient can speak English but do not speak it well so she have her 10-year old daughter interprets for her who’s name is Patricia. Jane, is the medical assistant who come in the examining room to discuss the problem with Ramona. The best choice for this situation is choice 1 which states: Hello, my name is Jane, Dr. Haven assistant, I am here to get you ready to see the doctor. How are you Ramona? And who is this beautiful child with you? Ramona responds, â€Å" This is my daughter, Patricia. † If I do not understand everything that you or the doctor says, Patricia can always help us out and interpret for me. â€Å" Good†, says Jane. â€Å" That what we need. † So what seems to be the problem. The feedback for the choice I pick states: Jane made Ramona and Patricia comfortable through friendly dialogue and by acknowledging Patricia. Now Ramona will be able to converse much more easily with the doctor, and Patricia will likely contribute valuable information. Last but not least scenario 4, we have a situation about the emergency room and how busy they can be. And if a situation is not of life or death people must sign in and wait to be call. We have a patient who walk in the emergency room name Marty, who eyes are red-rimmed and his breathing is rapid and shallow. He appears mussed, and not too clean. He moves erratically to the registration counter, where Maura is waiting to sign in patients. Now let’s see how she handle this situation with Marty. Out of the three choices number 2 is the best choice on how Maura handle the situation and it states: â€Å" Sir, you look in distress. † May I help you? I need help, said Marty. â€Å" What seems to be the problem? † Asks Maura. â€Å" Well, Marty says, I’m a farmer; I know it is allergy season, but I took my Asthma medicine and still can’t breathe! Please help me. According to the feedback for the choice I made; Maura, concern about the patient’s health, rather than his physical appearance, by identifying that Marty was in serious respiratory distress. By recognizing that he deserved as much or more care than other patients in the room, Maura correctly fulfilled her role as administrative staff. Good job Maura!!! I feel that this lesson from the simulatio n activity is to help handle different situations that may come up when you are a caregiver and work in the population. It also show how to handle ourselves and communicate with our patient’s on their level so they can understand us better. How to cite Marginalized Populations, Papers