Imagination As A Killer Tim O Brien s The Things They...

Imagination as 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 theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional stand point of being young men out at war. Imagination hindered the platoon which clouded their judgment and decision making. Instead of remaining focused their wondering mind lacked what was necessary, assessing the task at hand. â€Å"In some respects, though not many, the waiting was worse than the tunnel itself. Imagination was a killer.† (O’Brien 619) In relation to the quote â€Å"imagination was a killer†, this metaphor represents how the soldiers made situations like being in the tunnel mentally challenging for themselves. Paranoia quickly consumed their thoughts and emotions before partaking in the actual mission. The men envisioned awful scenarios that could occur which aided theirShow MoreRelatedThe 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 choicesRead MoreEmotional Experiences in Tim O ´Brien ´s The Things They Carried 2785 Words   |  12 Pagesamount of time but can an experience from a person’s mind can ever be forgotten, can a person ever be able to resolve his own conflict: his fight with his emotions, changes, and his own mind? Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a powerful combination of fact and fiction; through description and imagination, O’Brien allows the reader to feel a soldiers hardships in the war and emotional state. His purpose of t he book is to tell a war story, which isn’t true, doesn’t have a teaching, cannot beRead MoreHow to Tell a True War Story2535 Words   |  11 PagesThe story by Tim O’Brien shows how the soldiers are themselves and can also be serious. O’Brien also sees how Vietnam changes the soldiers and how they see the world now. There will be people that will ask if it’s true or not true they can asks what happened. There can be different ways to tell a story but they can ask what happen. O’Brien would know which story he really believes. O’Brien will give use by looking at Rat’s point of view, and Sanders point of view of Lemon death and how Rat copes