Writing Prompt 7 Truth/ True War Stories

After reading this novel, my feelings about truth have not changed. Despite this, my understanding of storytelling has been widened. I understand that O'Brien uses extra details in his stories to bring characters and accounts to life. He does this to make things "true" for the reader, and he does this as a therapy for himself. For O'Brien, it is a way to bring his lost loved ones to life and relive the precious pieces of his life that meant so much to him. The Things They Carried is a true war story according to the standards that O'Brien has created. He mentions that true war stories don't have a moral. The characters in this novel are constantly searching for reason or purpose behind the war, and they are unable to find one. He points out that true war stories are not about war. This novel does not discuss military strategies or body counts. It is devoted to the relationships of the people involved. The war is just a medium through which O'Brien talks about people and their emotions. For these reasons, The Things They Carried is a true war story. I would reccommend this book. This novel highlights unusual qualities in people and explains the way people think and deal with their emotions in an interesting way.

*6 Inferences about the narrator

"On the Rainy River"
-Young Tim O'Brien seems uncorrupted. He is innocent, and does not imagine himself as a part of anything as worldly as war. For example, he says, "I was too good for this war" (39). This Tim O'Brien takes pride in his intellect and feels that his quiet lifestyle does not have a place in Vietnam.
-Tim O'Brien is a very flaky character. He is unsure of himself and how he feels. He displays a full variety of emotions and is unable to choose how he feels. He says, "The emotions went from outrage to terror to bewilderment to guilt to sorrow and then again to outrage" (43).
-O'Brien is very prideful. His reason for going to the war lies in one thing: fear of embarrassment. He comments, "I would go to the war- I would kill and maybe die- because I was embarrassed not to" (57).
"The Ghost Soldiers"
-O'Brien has spent time in Vietnam. He has fallen into somewhat of a routine life in the war. He has come to terms with the lifestyle Vietnam requires of its soldiers. He no longer feels like he has no place at the war front. Once he is taken away from his platoon, he expresses the desire to be with them again. He says, "There were times when I missed the adventure, even the danger, of the real war out in the boonies" (183). He even starts to envy his ex-platoon members when they come in for a stand-down.
-O'Brien is no longer able to find pride in himself. He doesn't even experience pride after being shot. He comments, "Getting show should be an experience from which you can draw some small pride...All I know is, you shouldn't feel embarrassed" (182). He is unable to see anything worth being proud of in himself.
-O'Brien's emotions are more stable. He is able to find his main feelings towards someone or something, rather than rambling to find how he feels about a situation. He is a more decided person. More sure of who he is and how he feels. He can point out his own characteristics. He mentions, "I now felt a deep coldness inside me" (191). When speaking of Bobby Jorgenson, he says, "I hated him for making me stop hating him" (190). O'Brien is aware of his feelings.

Writing Prompt 4 My favorite/least favorite story etc.

My favorite story in the book is Style. This story seems abstract at first glance, and I am not normally the kind of person who enjoys thinking outside the box. I like organization. I find comfort in the routine parts of life, so on the surface, Style would be my last choice for my favorite story in The Things They Carried. Still, Style is my favorite because the girl is dancing. She just lost her family and everything around her is in desolation, but she is dancing. She is doing it because she enjoys it. Dancing is her way of forgetting the world around her. She is blocking her troubles out of her mind by falling into the routine motions of dance. In this way, this story is the simplest of all of the stories in the book. Because this story can be stripped to the smallest truth, it is my favorite. My least favorite story is How to Tell a True War Story. This story, although it contains some interesting accounts, is used as a way for Tim O'Brien to discuss the paradoxes of writing war stories. I do not enjoy looking at the unusual things in life. I appreciate simplified, black and white situations. This is why How to Tell a True War Story is my least favorite story in the book. The character I most sympathize with is Mitchell Sanders. He is constantly looking for a moral. He wants a reason for the war and a reason for the death around him. He tries to analyze the war and the world he is in. He wants to understand. He believes that there should be a reason, a truth, that the war can be summed up by. I try to break my life down and understand the purpose behind the things that happen. This is why I sympathize with Mitchell Sanders. Azar is my least favorite character for several reasons. First of all, I love animals, and he kills an innocent puppy. What's worse is that his only reason is childishness, which is no excuse. He mocks the death of Kiowa. He actually enjoys war and finds satisfaction in scaring Bobby Jorgenson. He kicks Tim O'Brien in the head ruthlessly. It is no surprise that he is my least favorite character.

Writing Prompt 3 Paradoxes

Paradoxes are everywhere. For example, both spending and saving money can be a waste of money. If people use all of their time working to save up large sums of money in their bank accounts and die before they have the chance to use it, then their money is wasted. Also, if people spend their money as soon as they earn it, they are wasting it as well. Age produces a paradox. When people are young, they can't wait to grow up. They want the freedoms that come with being adults: the ability to drive, the capability of working, and being able to make their own choices. Adults miss the simplicity of being children: being able to spend time at home relaxing, not having to work, and not having to be responsible for anything. Another paradox lies in what humans hear. Music, the television, the air conditioner, etc., provide comforting background noises that put people at ease. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to escape man-made noise nowadays. Restaurants, shopping centers, salons and nearly every other public place are full of noises. It's next to impossible to enjoy complete silence, away from the hum of a motor or the ring of cell phone. Understanding paradoxes is important to grasping the full meaning behind Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. He uses several paradoxes about truth, life and death, and storytelling.

Writing Prompt *1

The Pursuit of Happiness is a movie based on a true story about Chris Gardner, an entrepreneur who deals with severe poverty as he makes his way in the stock broking business. I enjoyed the movie very much. It demonstrates the sadness of a tough situation while offering a hope for anyone with aspirations in life. The fact that the movie is based a true story gives the movie a deeper impact. It produces faith in the audience that is really is possible for people to succeed despite challenging circumstances.

Story vs. Essay

The Pursuit of Happiness is a movie that definitely reveals a truth about life. It shows the audience that the search for satisfaction in life is actually what life is all about, not necessarily the destination, or final goal that is reached. The main character, Chris Gardner, goes through many traumatic and emotional experiences in his pursuit of success in life. What he eventually comes to realize is that this pursuit is what made his life, not necessarily the career he made for himself in the end. The director shows this by focusing the storyline on the events leading up to the resolution, not the ending itself. The director does not pretend to fool the audience into thinking that Chris Gardner won't reach his goal. The audience is aware of this from the beginning. This again puts emphasis on the theme: the journey to the end of a person's life is what is important, not the destination itself. Rather than telling the audience this, he shows it through Mr. Gardner's life journey.

The Heart in Conflict

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a prime example of novel whose protagonist's heart is in conflict. Elizabeth Bennet, the main character, is brought up in a society where marriage is used to improve one's status in life. She meets Mr. Darcy, a very rich man, at a ball. She is immediately repulsed by what she assumes to be arrogance. She feels his manners are terrible. Her ill view towards him is increased when she discovers his involvement with breaking up Elizabeth's sister's relationship with a man she really loved. Surprisingly, Mr. Darcy asks her to marry him. She immediately refuses. Soon she finds herself in a whirlpool of emotions, trying to decipher not only how she feels but what his true character is. She knows she has no reason to love him, but she finds herself looking for reasons to believe in his good qualities. She reasons with herself that her reasons for declining the offer are just, but she still fights to shut out how she feels about him. Mr. Darcy also has a heart in conflict. Asking to marry Elizabeth is reaching far below his status as a wealthy man. Her family's sense of propriety is terrible. His aunt disapproves of the marriage. Despite these obstacles to their relationship, he still finds himself falling for her. These two characters are examples of hearts in conflict.