So far while reading The Things They Carried, the story that has meant the most to me is "The Man I killed" This is where O'Brian recalls the story of when he killed a man while in Vietnam. This story uses great sensory details when describing the dead body as well as the used of repetition of the description to give the reader a sense of shock that O'Brian was feeling at the time. Deaths in this book are always conveyed in a very matter of fact way and this holds true in this story, however you get a better sense of how a soldier would feel in this instance. What I mean by this is that the description of the killing and the body are told in a very unemotional way as if recalling the event for the author was not a hard thing to do. At the same time, literary style is used to create the sense of shock and trauma caused by the event. O'Brian attempts to describe the life of the solder he has killed though he does not actually know what his life prior to the war was like. He instead describes his own life based on the similarities he sees in the physical traits of the soldier. Seeing these similarities and creating this back story to the person he had just killed makes the reality of the situation all the more challenging to move on from. He feels as though he knew the person personally. In the passage the character Kiowa says "I'm serious. Nothing anybody could do. Come on, stop staring." (pg. 120) This is as O'Brian is continuing to describe the dead body. This gives the reader a sense of the remorse O'Brian felt from the view of his fellow soldiers.
The character that stands out to me the most would be Mary Anne Bell. The way she evolves through the book is really well done by the author Tim O'Brian. She goes into the war from Ohio not knowing what war is like. She doesn't know what to expect and she soon begins to change because of her experiences. She looses her innocence and begins to act like the rest of the men she is in combat with. This evolution is interesting because it is told in a way that makes it relatable. It makes me think that a change in a person's character is inevitable and would happen to any one of us if put in that situation.
I agree with you Alex. I think the growth of Mary Anne Bell is unbelievable. The fact that she went from an innocent girl to becoming just another soldier is unheard of. She proves to have a flawless transition into the military and has a strong sense of patriotism by joining the war effort. She is truly a remarkable character.
ReplyDeleteI thought the story "The Man I Killed" was very interesting. You never really hear about a solider killing someone and hearing about how they feel about it.
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