The Things They Carried

1. I watched the Blind Side a while back when it first came out. The movie was based on a true story about an African American boy who was homeless. A white woman accepted him into her family and took care of him like her own. He later became a very successful young man and also became very well known in football. I honestly loved everything about the movie. The story was so touching, and I became to know each character's personality and fall in love with them. Yes, I think the words "based on a true story" enhanced the movie. Those five words have a rather large impact on me (not that movies that are made up are bad). It's just that that those words indicate that the plot of the story line happened. It makes the movie that much more real to me. Just like the book The Kite Runner, I thought the story was true and it made the story so real to me. When I found out that it was fiction, I was a little disappointed,

4. My favorite story was "On the Rainy River." In this short story, we get to see a side of Tim O'Brien that we haven't seen. Throughout the first couple of stories, he's not a very active character. I didn't really get to know his character very well, but in "On the Rainy River," I can really relate to him. He's afraid and vulnerable and he doesn't want to seem like a coward. I think almost everyone can relate to that. He's so honest about not wanting to enter the war, and this is the point where Tim O'Brien's character seemed real.

My least favorite is probably "Spin" or "How to Tell a True War Story." I think it's because I like stories that are very organized. In "Spin," the character Tim O'Brien randomly talks about the little stories that he remembers at war. There really was no plot... just O'Brien dwelling on the past, reminiscing. I think I particulary dislike "How to Tell a True War Story" because I had to re-read it so many times (I practically have it memorized). I didn't really understand this short story. It was hard for me to relate and understand it because I never experienced war. It was a little confusing because of all the paradoxes.

I love two characters in particular: Henry Dobbins and Mitchell Sanders.
Henry Dobbins- He's such an amazing person as a whole. His intentions are always good, and he wants what's best for everyone. He was such a great friend and a great soldier. Whenever I hear his name, I always imagine a big huge guy that's as friendly as a teddy bear.
Mitchell Sanders- He's the guy that I would trust with my life. Sanders is a very loyal friend. This side of him was shown to him when he got angry at Cross for setting up at the "poop" site.

I didn't really like Azar. I think he was really immature and judgemental. I wouldn't want to me around him when I made a mistake because he'd probably be the kind of person that remember it for the rest of his life and make constant fun of me. I don't think I could talk to him freely, and he's just plain mean.

6. In "On the Rainy River," O'Brien is a very scared young man. He doesn't want to go to war, but

he doesn't want to be a coward in not going. "At some point in mid-July I began thinking seriously about Canada."(pg. 44) Here, O'Brien is considering the fact of abandoning his lifestyle and country instead of going to war. "I was wired and jittery. My skin felt too tight. One supper one evening I vomited and went back to the cabin and lay down for a few moments and then vomited again; I began sweating and couldn't shut it off."(pg. 50) Here, the author O'Brien gives us a clear discription of the character O'Brien's anxiety. He doesn't know what he should do. Either way, there are going to be pros and cons. "... and late in the night I'd lie there watching weird pictures spin through my head. Getting chased by the border patrol--helicopters and searchlights and barking dogs..."(pg. 50) Once again, running away has taken a toll on O'Brien and he is not facing his own imagination and paranoia.

In the short story "The Ghost Soldiers," O'Brien was shot twice. The first time he got shot, Rat Kiley was still the medic. Kiley was a very skilled medic and healed O'Brien in no time. However, the second time O'Brien was shot, Kiley was no longer there. A new medic named Bobby Jorgenson arrived, and he wasn't very experienced as a medic in war. He was afraid to approach O'Brien when he got shot and didn't really know what to do. O'Brien later found out that he almost died from shock and it was even borderline gangrene. O'Brien was furious. He vowed that he would get revenge on Jorgenson.

"I hate him for making me stop hating him."(pg. 200) While O'Brien was talking to his fellow soldiers, one man told him that Jorgenson kept him for dying, and the other soldiers ensured O'Brien that Jorgenson was much more experienced now. Though O'Brien was still angry, he felt a little guilty for hating him. Jorgenson also apologized later on.

"Something had gone wrong. I'd come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person, a college grad, ...... but after seven months in the bush.... civilized trappings had somehow been crushed under the weight of the simple daily realities." (pg. 50) Here, even O'Brien realizes that he has changed. Seven months ago, he was scared, unexperienced, and innocent. After war, he now sees a side of hatred.

"Still smiling, Azar flicked an eyebrow and started snapping his fingers. It wa sa tic of his." (pg 201) So O'Brien asked everyone if anyone would help him to get revenge on Jorgenson. Everyone thought it would be a bad idea, except Azar (surprise, surprise). Though everyone told O'Brien that it would be a bad idea, he still went for it. His inner feeling of revenge and hatred was obviously stronger than his feeling of guilt and forgiveness.

I can see the distinct differences of O'Brien's character in "On the Rainy River" and "the Ghost Soldiers." The war has changed him and his near death experienced has scarred him.