The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - Book Report/Review Example

work] "The Man I killed" and "Ambush" in Contrast “The Man I killed" and "Ambush" are both short stories from the book calledThe Things They Carried by Tim OBrien which show that war can make people do what otherwise they would not do and would live to regret it. This is reflected in the characters of the story. For example, Jimmy Cross, a lieutenant, must lead his men through the rice paddies of Vietnam, but being love-struck with Martha, he would rather be back in New Jersey. When a man dies, Lt. Cross thinks he could have prevented it if he hadnt been thinking about Martha. He then abruptly decides that he has to learn to think only of his job in the field. He never forgives himself for forgetting his responsibility to his men. Cross is just one of the characters but in the two stories of war, most of them behave just like Cross as is the main character – narrator. The book is about Vietnam and the war in it where Tim O’Brien says that he relives killing the Vietnamese soldier almost every day. In both these stories, O’Brien, the author, Vietnam veteran, and father, is both a character in the book and the narrator, utilizing meta-fiction to make the events and stories as real as possible for the reader. The narrator explains that all these stories are made up, but they are true anyway, because they explain what Vietnam was like – again, where man acts in the limitations provided by war. The subject matter of both stories is death and killing people where the killed one has not directly done anything to the killer but that the killer must kill as that is what he is trained to do as a warrior. “The Man I killed” and “Ambush” are stories of an American soldier killing a man, but split into two for some differences like timing, purpose, point of view, tone or language, and description of the man. Synopsis. In “The Man I killed,” Tim saw a Vietnamese soldier who didnt see him, and he threw a grenade. It was an automatic act, and he was most likely in no danger. He suspects that if he had just let the man walk by, nothing would have happened. In this war story, there is no moral, and no goodness behind the murder to make up for it. In “Ambush,” Tim’s nine year old daughter Kathleen asked if he had ever killed anyone. He lied and said “no.” He had killed a young man on the trail with a hand grenade. Tim thinks back on that night, when his entire platoon sat in ambush along the trail. Kiowa, his friend, woke him during the night and got him ready for his turn at the watch. Tim sat there and watched as a young man came out of the fog and walked slowly along the trail. Although he did not hate the young man and his politics, Tim’s training took over and he had thrown the grenade before he even told himself to throw it. As the grenade rolled along the trail, Tim felt like warning him to run away. The man saw it and tried to run, but it exploded and killed him. Kiowa told him it was inevitable, the guy would have died anyway, but Tim felt sure the man could have just kept walking as there was no danger to the platoon. “Ambush,” then is more of conscience being disturbed for previous acts. Tim writes these stories to sort everything out. Sometimes he feels guilty; usually he just puts it out of his mind. But occasionally, when he’s reading a book, his mind will lose focus and he’ll see the young man coming out of the mist towards him. Ghosts of the past never let him rest. Timing. “The Man I killed” is timed after the incident, describing what it was like afterwards. It is therefore likened to a reproduction of an event. On the other hand, “Ambush” takes place right before it, showing how things got to be where they are. It is therefore reflective. There are three distinct points of time referred to in Ambush: the time when his daughter, as a child, asked him the question about killing a man; the time that the author is telling his story; and the time of the story itself, some twenty years earlier in Vietnam. As the persona [Tim] reflects on the past in Ambush, he is intimately entangled with regret and embarrassment. He is as unsure now as then, and even though he acted more out of instinct when he threw the grenade and insists that he did not ponder “morality or politics or military duty,” his reevaluation now forces Tim to judge his action against those measures. Purpose: As the chapter begins in “The Man I Killed,” the reader is greeted with a description of the dead man, which purpose may have been built around this theme - the senseless killing in war. That he doesn’t make it appear that he, himself, killed the man although he was responsible for it in some way for having been part of the platoon, is because war is not to be seen as individual acts of bravery but made up of general acts of brutality or cowardice. In effect, he is saying, “War can make a man kill – directly or indirectly; he is limited in his choices.” In the “Ambush” story, Tim seems much focused on the fact that he is a part of the war and killing other soldiers. It appears that he had foreknowledge about war, and knew there would be killing involved, but it hit him hard when he actually was responsible for killing another man like himself. To Tim, seeing the man lying dead on the ground and knowing he would never return home to his family was a very sad thought. He was amazed in disbelief – although he was at war - that he just killed a man He was terrified that he had killed without intending to. This is now the story that projects the curse of war – the images being able to live long in the minds of those involved in it. The purpose clearly is to show that the memories of war cannot be forgotten – because despite limited choice, there is involvement – direct or indirect. Point of view. The Man I killed” doesnt really feature Tim that much. It is more focused on Kiowa comforting Tim. As both real-life author and his fictional double, Tim is allowed to explore the bottom reserves of guilt he feels about his participation in war, especially about his feelings of responsibility for the deaths of members of his own company, as well as the Vietcong he was brought in to kill. Killing surprises him like one unprepared to come to war. In “Ambush,” however, he appears ready to accept that killing and death are a given in war. Tone/Language. Although titled, “The Man I Killed,” it is unclear whether Tim actually killed anyone in Vietnam. The victim has very limited weaponry, and says so: "He wouldnt fight the Americans, with their tanks, and helicopters." There is denial in killing – even if it were a war. "The Man I Killed" describes fairly intimate aspects of the dead mans life. The details obviously come from first hand experience – presumably from Tim’s war experience. [From] his earliest boyhood, the man I killed had listened to stories about the heroic Trung sisters and Tran Hung Daos famous rout of the Mongols and Le Lois final victory against the Chinese at Tot Dong. He had been taught that to defend the land was a mans highest duty and highest privilege. He accepted this…." The more reflective, “Ambush,” is all about Tim describing his feelings in the moments before and during the death of the man. Tim here is presented as having a totally different grasp of reality. He knows that once he pulls the trigger, or pull the pin of the grenade, the person he will kill will actually be dead, gone, never to be heard or seen again. He is conscious he didnt sign up for this, he was only drafted, he might not even believe in what the whole war is fighting for. Anyone could have his whole life turned upside down in a moment, by the force of a draft. Tim’s life has been turned inside out and upside down, never having planned what he will do the moment he gets into the army. When one gets killed, he is not ready for it – and in fact a shock to him. Tim is mad at himself. He cant believe what he has done. If he could do it again, he would never start the war. Description of the man. In “The Man I Killed,” Tim introduces the subject as follows – "His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye was shut, his other eye was a star-shaped hole, his eyebrows were thin and arched like a womans, his nose was undamaged, there was a slight tear at the lobe of one ear, his clean black hair was swept upward into a cowlick at the rear of the skull…." Tim stares at the mangled body. He imagines what kind of life he had had and how he would have wished the situation was not as it was so he wouldn’t have to fight. Later Kiowa comes around and says, Im serious. Nothing anybody could do. Come on, Tim, stop staring." In Ambush, Tim again relates the story of the man he killed in the war. This time the emphasis is on the memories he has of the event that "really happened" and not the event as a story. Conclusion The line between the author and the narrator - a thoughtful, guilt-ridden man - is blurred. He knew that Vietnam was an unethical war, but he fought anyway, because he couldnt tell his family he wasnt going. Twenty years later, he is still writing about this mistake, and all the horrible things he saw and did. The reflections of this man shows that war as a senseless thing can change the lives of others – always for the bad. But they have to fight it anyway. Because of the limited choices that war gives in their involvement, there is confusion and guilt. The memories then come back to haunt them – a message strong enough to say that man must now ask the more important question, “Why”? Why do men have to kill each other? Read More

The man saw it and tried to run, but it exploded and killed him. Kiowa told him it was inevitable, the guy would have died anyway, but Tim felt sure the man could have just kept walking as there was no danger to the platoon. “Ambush,” then is more of conscience being disturbed for previous acts. Tim writes these stories to sort everything out. Sometimes he feels guilty; usually he just puts it out of his mind. But occasionally, when he’s reading a book, his mind will lose focus and he’ll see the young man coming out of the mist towards him.

Ghosts of the past never let him rest. Timing. “The Man I killed” is timed after the incident, describing what it was like afterwards. It is therefore likened to a reproduction of an event. On the other hand, “Ambush” takes place right before it, showing how things got to be where they are. It is therefore reflective. There are three distinct points of time referred to in Ambush: the time when his daughter, as a child, asked him the question about killing a man; the time that the author is telling his story; and the time of the story itself, some twenty years earlier in Vietnam.

As the persona [Tim] reflects on the past in Ambush, he is intimately entangled with regret and embarrassment. He is as unsure now as then, and even though he acted more out of instinct when he threw the grenade and insists that he did not ponder “morality or politics or military duty,” his reevaluation now forces Tim to judge his action against those measures. Purpose: As the chapter begins in “The Man I Killed,” the reader is greeted with a description of the dead man, which purpose may have been built around this theme - the senseless killing in war.

That he doesn’t make it appear that he, himself, killed the man although he was responsible for it in some way for having been part of the platoon, is because war is not to be seen as individual acts of bravery but made up of general acts of brutality or cowardice. In effect, he is saying, “War can make a man kill – directly or indirectly; he is limited in his choices.” In the “Ambush” story, Tim seems much focused on the fact that he is a part of the war and killing other soldiers.

It appears that he had foreknowledge about war, and knew there would be killing involved, but it hit him hard when he actually was responsible for killing another man like himself. To Tim, seeing the man lying dead on the ground and knowing he would never return home to his family was a very sad thought. He was amazed in disbelief – although he was at war - that he just killed a man He was terrified that he had killed without intending to. This is now the story that projects the curse of war – the images being able to live long in the minds of those involved in it.

The purpose clearly is to show that the memories of war cannot be forgotten – because despite limited choice, there is involvement – direct or indirect. Point of view. The Man I killed” doesnt really feature Tim that much. It is more focused on Kiowa comforting Tim. As both real-life author and his fictional double, Tim is allowed to explore the bottom reserves of guilt he feels about his participation in war, especially about his feelings of responsibility for the deaths of members of his own company, as well as the Vietcong he was brought in to kill.

Killing surprises him like one unprepared to come to war. In “Ambush,” however, he appears ready to accept that killing and death are a given in war. Tone/Language. Although titled, “The Man I Killed,” it is unclear whether Tim actually killed anyone in Vietnam. The victim has very limited weaponry, and says so: "He wouldnt fight the Americans, with their tanks, and helicopters." There is denial in killing – even if it were a war. "The Man I Killed" describes fairly intimate aspects of the dead mans life.

The details obviously come from first hand experience – presumably from Tim’s war experience. [From] his earliest boyhood, the man I killed had listened to stories about the heroic Trung sisters and Tran Hung Daos famous rout of the Mongols and Le Lois final victory against the Chinese at Tot Dong.

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