Nolan Morrison

Mrs. Hunt

English Block F

April 12, 2017

The Things OBrien Used

The book, The Things They Carried, by Tim OBrien is about the Vietnam War and the

different war stories that are told by Tim OBrien. From chapter to chapter there is different

perspectives being told for each story. In The Things They Carried, OBrien uses plot, setting,

and character to effectively tell the story.

The way that OBrien uses plot is important in the way that the story is being told. One of

the major elements of the plot that OBrien talks about is that there is both reality and fiction

within the stories, but he never explains how much is true and how much is made up. This

mysterious part of the story builds to the exposition which is the background information.

OBrien uses a different rising action and climax for each chapter. An example of this in the

chapter In the Field is when they are looking for Kiowas body. The rising action is the search

for the body, the conflict is trying to get the body out, and the climax is finally getting the body

out. There is also falling action and resolution in the plot. These two carry over from person to

person and story to story. The falling action and resolution are the lasting effects that the war had

on the soldiers. In the field where Kiowa died OBrien states, "Like coming over here. Some

dumb thing happens a long time ago and you can't ever forget it (Field Trip.183). This explains

how even twenty years after the war, OBrien is unable to get over what had sucked the life out

of him in those days of war. In Night Life Rat Kiley felt the effects of the war during their
nightly treks though the woods. This ended up driving him crazy to the point where he shot

himself in the foot.

The setting is another device used to tell the story strongly. The elements of setting are

place, time, and environment. A major place in the story was the field where Kiowa died.

OBrien described the field as wet, muddy, and had the feeling of hopelessness. The field had

single handedly drained life and hope out of the soldiers. It even holds the blame for why Kiowa

ended up dying, "Ten billion places we could've set up last night, the man picks a latrine" (In the

Field.28). The bad conditions of the setting we thought to be the reason one of their men died

because there was nothing else to blame. Bad conditions carried over into Night Life where the

soldiers were ordered to march through the woods at night while being swarmed by insects the

whole way. These conditions are what drove Rat Kiley crazy. An example of time is when

OBrien visits the field again 20 years after the war to feel the emotions he felt during the war.

The connection that OBrien makes with the characters makes the story easier to

understand. OBrien is the narrator and protagonist so he narrates what the other characters are

going through as well as himself, so the reader gets all aspects of what is going on. OBrien is

arguably the most important because there are multiple sides to who he is. There is the narrator

and writer Tim, and the soldier Tim. Writer Tim says, "Daddy, tell the truth," Kathleen can say,

"did you ever kill anybody?" And I can say, honestly, "Of course not."Or I can say, honestly,

"Yes" (Good Form.11-2). This means that war stories may or may not be true. The soldier Tim

shares the perspective of himself being in the war even though he actually isnt a real character.

Overall, Tim OBrien is a very dynamic character because the reader learns more than one side

about him and he changes as the story proceeds. From the chapters that were read, Kiowa is a
static character because all we learn is that he was killed and there is no true development or

purpose besides shedding blame and guilt amongst the soldiers.

Understanding the plot, setting, and character in The Things They Carried is important

because they help develop the story. Each literary device plays an important role in how the story

is told.
Nolan Morrison
F Block
Highlights

1. What did you hope to accomplish with this writing?

In this essay, I tried to explain how certain literary devices such as plot, character, and setting made
the story better. To do this I explained each device and related it to the book.

2. What do you think you did well in this writing?

I think I did a good job connecting the literary devices with examples of the story. I also think I did
well with using quotes that helped strengthen my points.

3. What are areas of weakness in this essay?

I think one main weakness of the essay is not having a flow that is smooth and easy to understand.
Even as I wrote the essay all of the information felt choppy. Part of this problem I think is not
completely understanding the book enough.

4. After the peer review and self-revision, what are changes that you made?
My partner gave me good feedback on my introduction and body paragraphs. For the introduction I
made sure to add background information before diving into my explanation. I also lengthened my
conclusion as well as some of my topic sentences.

5. What would you specifically like me to look for in this essay?

I would like you to look at the examples I used from the book and how I connected them to the
literary devices. Also look at how I made sure to include all of each part of the literary devices.

Rubric:

4 = exemplary 3=proficient 2=developing 1=insufficient

Purpose: writing clearly communicates an insightful or original point or purpose 3

Development: writing supports purpose with sound thoughts, ideas, and arguments that reference and explain 3
specific details or facts

Organization: writing is well organized and features logical progression, effective transitions, and coherence 3
within and among paragraphs

Style: writing creates reader's interest through accurate, varied and creative use of words, sentence types, and 3
sentence patterns

Grammar: writing follows conventions of standard written English about literature (includes: spelling, 4
punctuation, capitalization, syntax, MLA format, etc.