The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - Term Paper Example

Vietnam War Various countries were involved in Vietnam War. Apart from the United s, another country that was involved in the war is Australia. The country got involved in the war in order to support South Vietnam in the year 1962. In addition, the Australians were involved in the war because South Vietnam had requested the country for security help. Australia responded by sending military advisers to the country. Said indicates that the instrumental connection between the Vietnam and military acts led to research and gave countries the authorities to purse aggressive roles (Said 11). Despite their active involvement, people from Australia were anxious about the country’s involvement in the war. It is noteworthy that various novels and other cultural texts focus on Australia’s involvement in the war and its consequences. An example of a book that talks about Australia’s participation in the war is “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Bien. This book contains short stories that talks about the country’s involvement while criticizing the complex political web that led to both America’s and Australia’s participation while featuring O’Brien and his fellow soldiers (O’Brien 18). The author has explained the roles of politics in the war while focusing on the soldiers who participated in the war. The initial chapter in the book talks about soldiers from Australia and American carrying weapons in literary way. The book contains well-researched information with the main source being the experiences of the author during the Vietnam War. Based on the author’s arguments in the book, the book is against the soldier’s participation in the war. The author describes the emotional pains and burdens carried by the soldiers in form of weapons throughout the war. It makes the audience identify with the soldiers’ suffering instead of focusing on their positions in the war. According to the author, the country got involved in the war because it lacked enough information and was misled by other countries such as the US and Vietnam. Through the book, the audience realizes how the soldiers were caught up in a complicated political game during the war. The author explains how the Australian soldiers were alienated during the war (O’Brien 18). In the later chapters, the book seems to accuse the country’s governments and the public for betraying the soldiers. The book pictures the real event in the country during the war. For instance, through the book, the audience realized how soldier were being manipulated in order to satisfy the country’s political interests. For instance, the book explains how soldier’s who are represented by O’Brien were reluctant to war. However, because of societal pressure from their country they had no choice but to participate in the war. According to the book, many Australian teenage soldiers were killed when fighting for communist through guerilla techniques. The book criticizes the authorities for driving the young soldiers to participate in the fight. The book criticizes the communist attacks against the people in the west. The soldier’s reluctance to fight is proved when O’Brien wanted to escape after being given the opportunity by the elderly at border. However, due to societal pressure, he decided to go to war. This reflects how many soldiers participated in the war because of their inability face the society’s criticism. The book explores many aspects of the war in details. Its aim is to honor the soldiers who participated in the war. The book also focuses on the kind of weapons used by soldiers during the war. The Some countries such as Australia soldiers used different strategies to attack their enemies compared to the American soldiers. This book explores the techniques by the Australian soldiers in an interesting way. According to the book, more Americans prepared since they fought using massive firepower. Other texts such as the “Apocalyptic Now” by Frances Ford Coppola reflect the situation (Coppola 127) As a result, they had more casualties compared to the Australian soldiers. On the contrary, Australians used different warfare tactics such as the Guerrilla to attack their enemies. Since some of their enemies had more powerful weapons, most of them were killed in the process. The book also reflects the consequences of the countries’ participation in the war. The consequences include the tainted image of Australian soldiers and American. According to the author, the Australian soldiers were combined with the Americans. As a result, they were unfairly labeled after the American Massacre at My Lai. The authors’ argument is supported in other texts such as Martin Luther’s speech. According to his speech, Australia and America participated in destroying Vietnam during the war. He was against the countries’ participants in the war. He even claimed that the countries should live to its responsibilities by rebuilding Vietnam (Luther 1). O’Bien explores various issues such as the reasons for the country’s involvement and the political factors that affected the deployment management. The book’s events inform the audience that some countries such as Australia were fighting other people’s wars. The country should not have participated on the war because its participation benefited other countries instead of Australia itself. The country was on the losing end despite its active participation in the war. The book is against the war because it paints the negative consequences of the war. The audience learns this through the books characters such as O’Brien and his friends who are among the Vietnam Veterans. The main characters struggle with the long term negative effects of the war. They had left their families order to join other soldiers who were fighting in Vietnam. O’Brien’s life in the novel is a reflection of the lives of soldiers after participation in the war. The tone and the events in the story make the audience to sympathize and identify with the characters in the story. The negative impacts of the war on the soldiers prove that participation in the war negatively affected the financial system of the country. The country was fighting other people’s war yet it used many resources in the war. This contributed the financial constraints after the war. This problem not only affected Australia, but countries that participated in the war (Tidy 228). One of the Australian memorials featured is the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial (AVFM). It is near the Reid suburb and Anzac Parade (Inglis & Jan 29). A low wall labeled the VIETNAM surrounds the area. It is surrounded with an attractive natural environment that consists of blue gum trees. The purpose of this memorial is to honor those who participated in the war. It consists of dedication plaques on a bronze sheet in paragraphs. The site also has MIA memorials that contain the names of the country’s six MIAs. An example of a film that discusses the country’s involvement in the war is “The odd Angry Shot” by Tom Jeffrey. The film mirrors the real events during the Vietnam War with the focus being Australia’s involvement in the war. The film is set in the 1960s when the country had started participating in the war. The film is about the experiences of Australians in Vietnam from the perspectives of soldiers. It features a young man who joins other soldiers in Vietnam. While in Vietnam, his friend died after the attacks. Among the factors that strengthened the soldiers, include the bond they had formed among them. The hazardous mission they engaged in reduced the number of the Australian Soldiers during the war. Through the soldiers in the film, the audience realizes how the war led to the alienation of the Australians just like in the US. The film reflects Australia’s commitment to the Vietnam War for about 10 years. The process only started by sending a few military advisers (Jeffery). The country continued to send more soldiers to Vietnam just like in the film. By end of the country’s participation in the war, many personnel from the country had been involved (Jeffery). Australia’s commitment to war grew because the audience can see more soldiers being sent to the fight. The film makes the audience aware that Australia never opposed the war at the beginning of its participation. The positive attitudes of the soldiers at the beginning of their participation show that the public supported the war at the beginning. The soldiers believed they would win the war because of the training they had undergone. In addition, they considered themselves a tough army unit. Due to their confidence, none of the soldiers is seen worrying about defeat. They even spend their time getting drunk and cracking jokes (Jeffery). However, as more soldiers lost lives in the film, people in Australia started having a negative attitude towards the country’s participation. This film reflects the experiences of Australians during the war. Families of the soldier and other people in the country started campaigning against the country’s involvement in war. For instance, individuals in the country matched in the countries cities in order to protest. By this time, other countries such as the US were withdrawing its army from Vietnam. The film also features memorials that remind Australian people about the country’s participation in the Vietnam War. An example of the memorials includes the date set in year in order to celebrate the soldier who participated in the war. An example of this day is “Vietnam Veterans Day” which is usually held on 18th August every year (Inglis & Jan 472). The date is set in order to remember the war involving the country’s soldiers in Vietnam that was referred to as ‘Battle of The Long Tan” (Inglis & Jan 472). This was the largest battle fought by the soldiers in Vietnam. The battle began on August 18 and ended the next day. The enemies were aware of the presence of the Australian soldiers in the region. They decided to attack them secretly. The battle did not only cause the killing of the country’s soldiers but also other people such as those in the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) (Inglis & Jan 579). The soldiers were attacked at a rubber plantation causing death. This date is not only set to honor the soldiers but also individuals who volunteered in the battle. It marks the longest period the country has ever participated in war (Jeffery). Conclusion Australia was one of the countries that actively participated in the Vietnam War in the year 1962. At the beginning, the country participated passively by only sending it military advisers in Vietnam. However, the country became fully commitment to war by sending m military troops in Vietnam due to the influence of other countries. Various novels, films and memorials in Australia explain the causes and the consequences of the county’s involvement in the war. In most of the books, the authors seem to be against the country’s participation in the war. For instance, authors paint the negative pictures of the effects of war in their books. Through the characters of the books, the audience can realize how the soldiers and their families suffered both during and after the war. The films and memorials also make the audience to sympathize with those involved in the war. Works Cited Coppola, Francis. Apocalypse Now. New York: Talk Miramax Books/Hyperion, 2000. Print. Inglis, Kenneth S, and Jan Brazier. Sacred Places: War Memorials in the Australian Landscape. Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Publishing, 2008. Print. Jeffrey, Tom. The odd angry shot: Screenplay, 2008. Film OBrien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print. Luther, Martin. Beyond Vietnam. 2011. Web. 18 September 2014. Top of Form Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1995. Print. Bottom of Form Read More