Introduction
The Things They Carried is a classical work of art written by Tim O’Brien. The piece of work is classified as a novel and an anthology of interconnected short stories (Scott 1). Although the critics have challenged the book several times for its vulgarity and confusing structure, it should be noted that the characters, account and emotional connection depicted by the author makes it an appealing work of fiction.
Summary of subject and audience
In the book, O’Brien illustrates to his audience both a combat chronicle and an author’s autobiography. He obscures his illustrations by coming up with a fictional character bearing his name. In the novel, the lead character has endured conflict in Vietnam to be a father and an author at the age of 43 (O’Brien 6).
Based on the language and syntax utilized in the novel, I believe that the novel’s intended audience comprises of teenagers, adults, and retired soldiers. Through the novel, teenagers would learn about the challenges experienced in the war field. The novel illustrates to the adults about the secrets of the war field, which are often censored by the media. Similarly, the novel will be interesting to retired soldiers especially those who served in Vietnam during the Cold War. The novel relates to their horrific and challenging experiences in the conflict.
Characters
The Things They Carried has well-developed characters. As such, the main characters depicted in the novella are Tim O’Brien, Jimmy Cross, and Mitchell Sanders. As illustrated above, O’Brien is both the speaker and the central character in the novel. The book illustrates his occurrence in the Vietnam War and enables him to contribute his remark about the conflict. He joints the conflict as a terrified young adult. He tells the war stories in order to manage his agonizing memoirs. Cross’s personality symbolizes the intense effects of war on individuals who are not mature enough to handle its challenges. Being a college student, he joins the military school just because his friends were doing so. At the time, he did not care about the effects of war on his life. Similarly, the author illustrates that he had no curiosity about being a team leader in the service. When he was on the battlefield with other combatants, he was uncertain in all he did. On the other hand, Sanders is a nice combatant and a loyal friend to the lead character.
Description
The Things They Carried has vivid descriptions that attract the attention of the audience. In the first chapter, The Things They Carried, the author describes the things they have taken to Vietnam from America. In the chapter, the author asserts that Cross had taken letters from her girlfriend (O’Brien 10). The author vividly describes how Cross used to fold the letters before placing them on the back of his rucksack. Equally, the author provides vivid descriptions throughout the book. In Spin, describes vividly how a boy with a plastic leg begged him for a chocolate bar (O’Brien 29).
Emotional connection
O’Brien’s novel has an emotional connection. Despite the fact that most stories in the novel are fictional, it should be noted that soldiers who participated in the Vietnam War would emotionally connect with the events in the piece of work. Throughout the book, the author illustrates how war stories should be narrated. By doing so, he emphasizes that in a novel factual accuracy is not significant compared with emotional connection. The author’s piece of work affects the audience in a personal and important way implying that emotional connection is essential in any literature. The author tests these concepts by linking the accounts that other combatants informed him about Vietnam. For instance, he illustrates an account of a combatant that took his girlfriend to Vietnam (Scott 1). Combatants who have read the novel have doubted the accuracy of the story. However, it should be noted that the novel is popular among soldiers illustrating that facts are less significant than emotional connection in literature works.
Objections
Critics might object to some of my evaluation of the novel. For instance, critics might argue that the book audience does not comprise of teenagers because it uses vulgar language. Similarly, critics might argue that the novel is not appealing to average individuals because of its complex structure.
Response to objections
I would acknowledge my critics’ opinions. However, I would like them to note that a number of high school students in America have used the novel in their literature studies. The above implies that the novel is less vulgar as critics may allege. Similarly, the critics should note that most of those who have read the book are average individuals implying that an individual does not have to be a literature specialist or a soldier to comprehend the book.
Conclusion
Based on the above evaluation, it is apparent that the novel is exclusive and interesting literature resulting from a multifaceted array of literary traditions. To fully understand and be pleased about the novel, I urge the readers to note that that the literature is imaginary rather than usual non-fiction and chronological story. Through this, they will have an emotional connection with the stories illustrated in the novel.
Works Cited
O’Brien, Tim. The things they carried. London: Flamingo, 1991. Print.
Scott, Anthony. Voicing Vietnam. 2013. Web.