"The Things They Carreid"- Tim and the man he killed

In this post I will be discussing a possible reason that Tim O'Brien portrayed the young man that he killed as almost identical to himself (other than the fact that it might be true in this fictional collection of memories).

As far as I have read in the book (through "Speaking of Courage"), Tim has only killed one Vietnamese soldier. The young man that he killed, and his injuries, are described with some of the most graphic imagery in the novel thus far. I think that they way Tim O'Brien described the man, first in terms of his injuries, then in terms of his life, and then finally in terms of his motives for being in the war. Obviously, Tim (the character) never knew this man before, so all of his analysis is based upon his body and speculation. I think that Tim O'Brien (the author) used his vivid memories and Kiowa's comments designed to make him feel better, to get him out of his state of shock and horror to heart when writing this story. Tim O'Brien portrays the man that he killed as an almost-exact copy of himself in the Vietcong army. He pictures this young man to be someone who thought that the war was wrong too, who wished the Americans could go away just as Tim wishes he could go home, who had an intellectual brain and lots of promise and plans for continuing his education, who had fallen in love and had a happy life that was spoiled by his obedience to tradition and honor and Tim's instinctive throw. The similarities between Tim and his victim are uncanny, even down to the reasons for joining a war they did not support -- fear of disappointing their families because they didn't have the courage to desire to go to war with a dangerous foe. Tim O'Brien uses his image of the man that he killed and the person he had been before the grenade to demonstrate why Tim was in such a state after he saw the carnage of what he had done, and why even his friend Kiowa's comments could not break him out of his trance. Tim knew that the man was human, but until he saw the man's body I don't think it had fully registered what he had done and how possibly similar that man could have been to himself. It is empathy in the most extreme sense. Kiowa tries to console Tim by telling him that it could have been him (Tim) lying on the ground rather than that man had their places been reversed. But Tim also realizes that this man's death was avoidable, if his instinct had not controlled his body as if he were only a computer programmed to kill, this man could have lived, or at least not died at Tim's hand, the man who is arguably so similar to him. Tim O'Brien uses his imaginations about the man that he killed almost as a symbol of his death because he killed another man. He makes the man so similar to himself, or his characterized self, that it is as if he has killed who he was and he is staring at what he was and could have been if he had not thrown that grenade and become like so many others in Alpha Company.

"The Things They Carried" - question 2

In "How to Tell a True War Story", Tim O'Brien tells what he says to be true story about how to tell a true war story using his own for examples. The longest war story that he tells is about his friend Rat who wrote a letter to his best friend's sister after he (Curt Lemon) died.  What is the purpose of conveying the idea that Curt Lemon probably thought he was killed by sunshine and not by a booby trap?

A possible answer to this question would be that this idea is a metaphor. Sunlight represents happiness and/or youthful bliss/innocence as a contrast to the darkness and gloom of the war. Rat and Lemon are the only ones who exhibit a youthful demeanor, a carefree outlook on the world that fades for most people with time and exposure to harsh reality. They play chicken with smoke grenades when they break during marches, a reckless but mostly harmless game of displays of masculinity, while everyone else relaxes. They are playing in the gloomy woods where there isn't any sunlight, but as soon as Lemon steps out of the shade of the trees into the sunlight so that he could face the camp, his life violently ends. The patch of sunlight, the only seemingly comfortable place in the area where they are, is in reality the most lethal. The sunlight almost counters its qualities of symbolism by acting as a spotlight to death, a false sense of security or comfort that leads to death.
Tim O'Brien probably speculates that Lemon thought that the sunshine killed him because it is probably true in a metaphorical sense; Lemon and Rat thought of the war as  "a nature walk", and seemed to think that they were untouchable (66). By emphasizing that Lemon thought he was killed by sunshine could also mean that he thought that he was killed by his own confidence or appearance of confidence and carefree attitude. He was killed by his "sunshine", the thing that kept him sane as a nineteen year old fighting in a war millions of miles away. The war was almost a booby trap in itself, with the draft entrapping any able-bodied young man over 18 into the deadly and hated war.  By keeping their carefree and youthful perspectives alive – their “sunshine”, Rat and Lemon kept the darkness and the nightmares of war and death at bay, just as the older men had letters and other articles of home to keep them sane. Just as Jimmy Cross was blinded by his "sunshine" (Martha) and Ted Lavender died; Lemon was blinded by his and it cost him his life.

"The Things They Carried"- question 1

In the fourth story in Tim O'Brien's collection of short stories, "On the Rainy River", readers learn of O'Brien's deepest, darkest, secret: he attempted to go to Canada to escape the draft, but didn't do it out of cowardice.

After reading the first four stories in this fictional auto-biography, I have some lingering questions. One of which is why does Tim O'Brien feel that Elroy Berdahl saved his life when he seemingly did nothing at all?

A possible answer is one that Tim O'Brien suggests quite often throughout this story; that Elroy saves him by doing ordinary tasks/activities with him that make him think about what he is doing and if he can really live with his choice. To me, Elroy is a representation of God, some other divine being ( I know how that sounds with Jimmy Cross representing a Christ motif), or Tim's conscience, because of how he seems to know all of the conflicts Tim is facing without actually asking any questions of him. He saves him with this knowledge and how he treats him accordingly. Perhaps Tim isn't the first almost draft-cutter that Elroy has encountered, thus he knows what people like Tim need -- time to be alone with themselves, away from the pressures, and a little indirect guidance to help him decide which path to take. The very end of the story (the fishing trip and Tim's departure) helps solidify the idea that Elroy represents God or some other divine being, almost more than just being a very empathetic, observant, conscious-like old man. In this scene Tim realizes that Elroy purposely takes him into Canadian waters to test him -- to allow him the time and space to make his final decision, with the prospect of escape only twenty yards away. However, Elroy only speaks when he realizes that Tim has chosen (probably because he is crying). "'Ain't biting'" are the only words he says in this scene, as if to say that the fish (drafted young men) are resisting the bait of Canada and exile, and more are continuing to swim along and live life as they had before (to some extent); just as Tim just had just done. (57) The next morning, Elroy is gone before Tim departs -- as if he never existed; as if his task was complete so he could move on to the next young man in trouble, like a guardian angel. That is how I think that Elroy saves Tim by seeming to really do nothing at all -- the distant relationship, the silence, the uncanny understanding of his plight, and the gentle tests all help Tim to realize that he is making a mistake by trying to do the courageous thing, and so does the ironically cowardly thing and joins the war.

Unnacustomed Earth- Short Story 1

Rereading the story, "Unaccustomed Earth", really helped me understand the conflicts between the characters that I only understood in terms of plot, and not as much in terms of literary meaning the first time. 

One lingering question that I still have about this story is why Ruma and her mother were considered "allies" when they argued so much, where as Ruma and her father had never had a conflict until the end of this story, but were as distant as if they had an irreconcilable difference? 

It is possible that, although they argued frequently and were so different, Ruma felt much more "open" and "allied" with her mother rather than her father because she felt that her father was judging her because he was trying to be the traditional father/husband of their culture, as well as assimilate into American culture, and provide for his family. Ruma's mother was home all the time, and so that is who Ruma talked to, and as a result, argued with. 

Combined 2: "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" and "Unaccustomed Earth

In this final post, I will be discussing how Jhumpa Lahiri uses the symbolism of meals in her short stories in Unaccustomed Earth, particularly in the story entitled "Year's End". 

In the second chapter of his book, Proffessor Foster writes that "whenever people eat or drink together, it's communion....breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace....writing a meal scene is so difficult, and so inherently uninteresting, that there really needs to be some compelling reason to include one in the story. And that reason has to do with how characters are getting along. Or not getting along." (Foster 8) This concept of meals reflecting the status of relationships is used frequently in Jhumpa Lahiri's short story, "Year's End",  to gauge the relationships between Kashik and his new step-family. 

The first meal that Kashik has "with" his new family is when he comes home from college for Winter Break. I put with in quotations because his new step-mother and sisters don't eat with him or his father. From Kashik's meal alone where Chitara, his step-mother, tries to wait on him hand and foot, and his father has hidden the alcohol that he once drank with Kashik's mother, Kashik seems to be at complete odds with Chitara and her traditional customs. He is used to helping around the kitchen with the dishes, etc., having meals toghether as a family, having a drink after dinner, and having an independent woman in his family. She objects to all of this, and their language barrier further drives a wedge in their already distant, but short relationship so far (they had met for the first time at dinner) -- she doesn't really speak English and he doesn't really speak Bengali. She has no desire to drive a car (even when he offers to teach her), or even let her daughters go outside alone. Kashik can't help but compare her to his independent, outgoing, untraditional mother. This meal also reveals how Kashik's relationship with his father has changed and is now beginning to deteriorate rapidly. This is clearly shown when Kashik asks where the scotch that his father and his mother always used to drink was, and his father reveals how he had given up his old ways to avoid "alarming" his new wife. Kashik is astonished by how much his father has changed and makes him feel like his father is almost be trying his mother by completely changing who he was. This meal wasn't quite fitting of Professor Foster's definition of communion, but at least it did prevent the open argument that was waiting to happen but never did. 

The second meal, and last that demonstrates the symbolism of the meal. that Kashik has with people in his new family is breakfast the next morning with Rupa and Piu, his step-sisters, at Dunkin Donuts. Even if he is at odds with Chitara, Kashik can't help but like her daughters. They both are much younger than Kashik, and are portrayed by Lahiri as very naive and cute in a little kid-sort of way. Their excitement at getting donuts, and paying for them themselves (with Kashik's money, but they got to give it to the chashier) was contagious. But even this very happy meal and relationship were not without conflict. Rupa and Piu, unversed in how to treat store clerks in America, come off as rude (pointing at what they want instead of asking and not thanking the cashier). Kashik tells them this, perhaps a little harsher than necessary and the girls become slightly sullen, embarrassed that they have angered their step-brother and also still worrying about the upcoming start of school. Kashik reassures them about school and the relationship, and the meal, are back on happier notes. The girls bring back donuts for their mother and tell her all about their fun breakfast with KD (what they call Kashit, short for Kashit Dada - the Bengali term of respect for a brother combined with his preffered name) also helps to slightly strengthen the very fragile relationship between Kashit and Chitara. This meal was much closer to Professor Foster's idea of the purpose of meals in novels -- reflecting the status of relationships and helping to create peace between characters. 

Combined 1: "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany"

In these final two posts, I will be exploring how the authors of the two novels I have read this summer use elements that Professor Foster discusses in his book. This specific post will discuss how John Irving uses the importance of location and geography in his book; a topic which Professor Foster devotes the entirety of Chapter 19 to.

Most of A Prayer for Owen Meany is set in a small town in New Hampshire called Gravesend. It is a small town where the same families have lived there since before the nation was founded. The Meany family seems to be the only outlier in town - descendants of much more recent immigrants; a family who has not lived in Gravesend for generations. A more "working class" family, the Meanys always seemed to live much further outside of town than Johnny's "aristocratic" family, the Wheelwrights, did. The location of the Meanys' house also reflects their social status as well. Mr. and Mrs. Meany never seem to interact that much with the rest of the Gravesend community. The Meanys, especially Owen, are also excluded from another location for most of the book: Sawyer Depot. Sawyer Depot was the home of Johnny's rowdy cousins and his traditional aunt and uncle. It was also where the Wheelwrights would all gather together for Christmas and other vacations. Irving portrays it as a very luxurious, aristocratic place compared to Gravesend. Owen was never invited to Sawyer Depot, although he longed to go. Johnny always told him it was because of his concern for Owen's safety, that his cousins would demolish him in their violent games. Owen suspected that Johnny simply didn't want Owen to go at all, that Owen would embarrass him in some way. Even though he never went to the exclusive land of Sawyer Depot during his childhood, Owen and Johnny did go once they were older. Owen had expected it to look like Johnny had always described it when they were kids, but he was surprisingly disenchanted. It was a house by a lake with a boat house and boats. It was not the world that he had dreamed of visiting for so long; it was beautiful but it wasn't nearly as wonderful now that the cousins had grown up (he and Hester were actually in a relationship)- the sense of action and excitement that was there when they were kids was gone. It wasn't just that it was a different kind of place without the images of childhood mayhem, but it was also that the sense of exclusion or being forbidden to come to Sawyer Depot was gone; Johnny had taken him there and Hester's parents had been very civil, if not outright kind, towards him (they were not on the best terms with Hester, their daughter).

Another incredibly important place in A Prayer for Owen Meany is where Owen dies. Owen has two visions concerning his death: one when playing the role of the Ghost of Christmas Future, he sees his gravestone with the date of his death on it, the other is a dream that he has frequently describing how he dies- in a sunny, hot land with palm trees where he is surrounded by nuns after having saved a group of Asian children. Owen is not told expressly where, but with the context of the 1960s in America and all of the global events associated with that era (the Vietnam War), Owen logically assumes that he will die in Vietnam and so does everything in his power to get there and make sure that Johnny, who is a part of his dream, does not (particularly as the death toll rises in Vietnam). Owen feels he must go to Vietnam and not avoid his death because he claims that it is what God wants him to do. It turns out that Owen was wrong; he doesn't die in Vietnam and he doesn't spare Johnny the sight of his death. It happens in a place that today is one of the more observed places for violence such as this in the world: an airport. Owen thought he would die in battle, a war hero. He did die a war hero by saving those children and preventing the grenade explosion from causing more deaths than just one, but it wasn't where he thought it was going to be. It wasn't across the globe in a wild and terrifying place, it was across the United States. He wasn't killed by a foreign enemy, a classic "bad guy"; he was killed by a very sick teenager whose brother's body Owen had just escorted home. The location of his death doesn't allow Owen the almost stereotypical war hero's death, but it allows him a hero's death that has a profound effect on audiences today because of all of the security measures taken to prevent such a terrible attack from happening.


Professor Foster writes that geography allows for the character's words, actions, and thoughts to gain contextual relevance and meaning that is unique to the location where the novel or even the scene is set. John Irving uses this a lot in his novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, particularly in reference to Gravesend, Sawyer Depot, and the place of Owen's death.

"A Prayer for Owen Meany"

In this post I will answer the following prompt: Is the appearance of characters in any way a factor in your novel? How?

Owen Meany was a very special person in John Irving's novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany. He not only is one of the two main characters of the novel, the other being his best friend, Johnny Wheelwright, but he is the most unique character in the novel and perhaps one of the most unique I have ever experienced in a novel. Owen's appearances are a major part of what makes him so unique and influential in the novel. He was tiny, barely reaching five feet tall, but it was his voice that would turn people's heads the most. Owen's voice was, as Johnny's mother's voice teacher, Graham McSwiney said, "in a permanent scream". This was not intentional on Owen's part, his Adam's Apple was stuck in this position, perhaps because of the amount of granite dust he was exposed to as a baby. The way Owen's voice is conveyed by Irving in the novel is through only capitol letters (also how Owen wrote his column for Gravesend Academy's student newspaper and how he tried to write in college). This contrast in the physical novel also contributes to the power of the appearance and sound of Owen Meany. Owen's unique physical characteristics set him apart from every other character in the novel, which, along with his intellectual and humorously serious personality, allowed him to be heard almost more than any other character, even Johnny, whose memories are the tool with which we can see Owen and the story of his short life and his relationship with Johnny. Owen's tiny physical features somehow drew people to him, making him very popular with people, particularly women. Johnny, on the other hand, was so "normal" that he seems to almost fade in Owen's enormous shadow of "extra-ordinariness". Owen's voice could repulse people, but it also had a hypnotic-like quality because it was so strange; allowing his extremely wise and occasionally religious thoughts to be heard by his audience (often Johnny, but sometimes a myriad of others, including priests and other adults). Stereotypically, Owen's abnormal appearance would render him a social outcast and the victim of many bullies. Although he was teased by his Sunday School class (including Johnny) and often slightly prejudiced against in Little League, Owen Meany was incredibly popular and influential in his small town of  Gravesend, New Hampshire and once he was a little older, never teased again. His unique physical appearance helped make him so special and helped him to make such a difference in Gravesend and be so influential on people, particularly Johnny.