Thursday, February 13, 2014
The Things They Carried
The story that I really liked is "The Things They Carried." I liked how O'Brien narrated this story as if he was telling it to you face to face. You know when telling a story we tend to focus on the stuff that sticks out to us most and we play on it. I liked how he would state the things they carried and it kind of gave you a sense for the type of person each character was. Like how Lieutenant Cross carried his good luck pebble, and how Dave Jensen carried a rabbit's foot...etc. I also like how he let us know as soldiers who was in charge of what like how Rat Kiley was the "medic". But what really stuck out to me was how he would list the things they carried and then introduce the death of one of the soldiers. His narration is applaudable because I feel as though I can visualize everything he speaks of even the way the soldiers die! I really think this might be my favorite book that we've read so far!
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You’re right. O’Brien has such a poetic approach to storytelling. I agree with what you said that O’Brien is blunt and cuts through the heart of the matter. He can discuss a light-hearted subject and then present death in almost the same tone. I really like the imagery as well because, as you stated, readers can visualize what is actually happening and it sets forth a sense of realness, for a lack of a better word, to his story. His storytelling is intimate and authentic as if he emerged from the pages and is sitting right next to you. It’s hard to recreate that feeling of intimacy between writer and reader. And yet, O’Brien achieved just that.
ReplyDeleteI can completely agree with you on how O'Brien's story telling draws an image for you, you can almost see picture the men by the "thing they carried". He is also very descriptive in they way he describes the way someone dies wether it is quick like boom and he hits the ground like a bag of bricks or almost poetically when he is describing lemons fate, you can can almost see it yourself. I also agree with you that I think this is my favorite book we have read so far in class, and I’ll take it a step further, this story may be one of my favorite books I have ever read. Just so well written and has a genuine feel to it.
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