O'Briens Purpose in Writing The Things They Carried

Through discussing the workings of stories, O'Brien admits to the reader his purpose behind writing "The Things They Carried". O'Brien states that "the thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head" (O'Brien 218). Through writing "The Things They Carried," he is creating a story which will make the spirits of those who are no longer in his life (such as Kiowa, Lavender, Linda) come alive in his head. O'Brien writes so that the readers of the novel will experience the people he knew through his eyes, the way he has permanently recorded them and intends them to be remembered and seen. For example, the beautiful innocence of Linda which he paints in "The Lives of the Dead" is the memory O'Brien intends to keep of her and immortalize through a story, "hoping that others might then dream [about her] along with [him]" (O'Brien 218).

What is O'Brien's purpose in writing this novel?

Be definitive as possible; justify your answer with specific references to the novel.

DUE: November 3rd

TTTC Seminar (thursday)

#1. Discuss the various things the men carried. (material, emotional, symbolic)

#2. O'Brian says "sometimes [the war] could almost get sweet." What does he mean by this? Give examples.

#3. Discuss the role of adolescence in war portrayed in the novel.

#4. What are O'Brian's rules for writing a true war story? Is he consistent with following them?

#5. TTTC is classified as fiction. If O'Brian's stories are said to be true, and from memory, how can this be?

#6. How do the men cope with war? how do they change?.

#7. In "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong", discuss Mary Ann's transition.

#8. What does Tim say is the purpose of stories? Why is he obsessed with writing war stories?

#9. Discuss Tim's obsession with the man he killed. How is this event psychologically significant?

#10. Discuss the role of animal cruelty in the novel. What is O'Brain's intention?

Questions for Socratic Seminar C Period (10/6/10)

How are theme, motif, diction, imagery and other literary techniques used in "Spin" "Enemies" "Friends" "Church" "Ambush" "The Man I Killed" "Style" "Sweetheart ... Bog".

How is Irony expressed in the titles of “Enemies” and in “Friends”?

Why did O’Brien write these stories as two separate stories?

In” Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” what does Mary Anne represent? What does her change show about her? What does the change in her represent?

Why is “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bon” important to the collection of short stories? Why did O’Brien choose to put it in the book?

How are women portrayed throughout the different short stories? What attitude do you think O’Brien has towards women?

How does Henry Dobbins feel about people? What does Henry Dobbins show about his character in church and in style?

What is significant about Henry Dobbins?

Why was the girl dancing in Style, even though there was so much destruction around her?

How are the Vietnamese people portrayed by O’Brien?

How does O’Briens perspective change between “Ambush” and “The Man I killed”?

How does O’Brien know the details of the life of the man he killed? What key phrases indicate this?

Which story is most like a true war story?

SOCRATIC SEMINAR QUESTIONS FOR MON-TUES

Below are the questions we will take up during your graded Socratic Seminar Monday and Tuesday:

- Write your answers in notes.
- Have books marked in order to reference pages/passages that support your viewpoint.
- Review Socratic Seminar evaluation sheet to see how you're being assessed.

1. How does Rhys's narrative fit into the post-colonial mode? Think of specific examples.
2. Is there a purpose to Rhys's narrative or is it merely character assassination and fan-fiction? What is her intention in the writing of her novel?
3. How does each author's portrayal of the feminine condition differ? In which particular way?
4. In how many different ways can Antoinette be considered a tragic protagonist?
5. How are gender and empire paralleled in Wide Sargasso Sea?
6. In how many different ways does Rhys shift perspective? Whose perspective?
7. Does Religion play into the narratives of both novels? What about the respective authors' view of religion or morality?
8. What is 'Englishness'? How is it represented in each narrative? Is there a contrast?
9. What are the tensions present in Wide Sargasso Sea if read as a post-colonial text?
10. Is Antoinette actually insane? How could you argue either side?
11. What role does victimization play in both novels?
12. How do conceptions of class and status affect the fate of characters in both novels?

Summer Reading Thesis

Because both novels are based on history, setting is crucial to understanding the character's struggles against society.

Thesis Statement-Estrella

Charlotte Bronte uses imagery, motif,diction, and setting throughout the novel Jane Eyre to reflect her life in Jane's.

thesis

jane's life is autobiography of Charlotte Bronte with a more ideal ending.

Jane's Strength

Desert Academy 2010 Jane's Survival

''Most true is it that 'beauty is in the eye of the gazer'.'' (pg.203, Bronte)

        Jane goes through many hard ships throughout the novel.  From her aunt and her cousins miss treating her to the betrayal at the alter from Mr.Rochester.  Jane does not always find happiness but finds a way to put the humiliation in the past.  In the quote above it refers that "beauty is in the eye of the gazer', as happiness as well.  Jane survives throughout the novel because she is the gazer of beauty, happiness, and love.  By being her own "gazer", Jane controls what and how she feels.  Even though certain characters and events spark her, she ultimately controls the way she feels.  In the novel as well in real life, the only person you can control is yourself.   Jane also controls her feeling by simply moving on, leaving her regrets in the past. Everyone makes mistakes but it's not the mistakes that are recognized, it's what you do in response to them.    Jane is a strong and happy woman when she wants to be and controls how she feels.

Thesis- Toby

Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys utilize secondary male characters to establish fear in the lives of the female protagonists of their novels Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea.

Onima's Thesis

There are many similarities between Jane Eyre,and the author Charlotte Bronte's life; supporting the idea that Jane Eyre is in part autobiographical.

Stuart's Thesis

Wide Sargasso Sea shows Rochester as a more careless man, where as Jane Eyre represents Rochester as a victim.

Emily's Thesis Statement

In the novels Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea , Charlotte Bropnte and Jean Rhys express the downfall of femininity through character development.

Thesis statement

By: Maddy-E

Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhyes use differing perceptions of Mr. Rochester in order to reveal the complexity of his character.

Thesis Statement

It is evident from the many parallels between the lives of Charlotte Bronte and Jane that Bronte drew heavily from her experiences as a girl and a young woman when writing her now infamous novel, Jane Eyre.

Annie's Thesis Statement

Early secondary characters create adversity which helps character development and to form Jane's sense of self worth and disconnect from conventional ideals.