Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay Introduction There is a thin line between fact and fiction.   This is particularly true in Tim O’Brien’s THE THINGS THEY CARRIED.   Tim O’Brien expertly dealt with words as he described the atrocities of war in this book. Tim OBriens The Things They Carried goes beyond the usual fare of war fiction. As a matter of fact it goes beyond fiction despite the fact that the author labeled it as a work of fiction on the title page.    The book is an amalgamation of several genres – a memoir, a novel, and a collection of short stories. O’Brien’s genius lies in the fact that he turns fiction into something real so much so that the demarcation of fiction and fact in this story is hardly noticeable. You can never tell when the fact ended and the imagination begins.   There is a subtle intertwining of fact and fiction that hooks the reader into reading further.    The story may be fiction but the emotions, tragedies and lives behind the story are real. So real in fact, anybody can relate to them. I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth. Chapter 18, pg. 179. This is a telling part of the story as Tim O’Brien relates how he wants the truth to come out not as the way other people seen it but the way he does.   His own version of the truth is what matters to him. Truly, facts could sometimes be stranger than fiction. Analysis The first-person narrator of this book is named after the author, Tim OBrien.   Tim is both a writer and combat veteran of the Vietnam War. The war fiction is not about the usual war story where gory tales of hatcheted bodies and non-stop killings abound. Instead, one finds a certain attachment to the characters as O’Brien skillfully narrates the emotional and psychological impact of war on them.   OBrien shows the true nature of the soldiers of the Vietnam War not as fearless soldiers but as young men and boys who are inexperienced and frightened in a strange land.   Even O’Brien is not spared from fear of going to war. My conscience told me to run, but some irrational and powerful force was resisting, like a weight pushing me toward the war. What it came down to, stupidly, was a sense of shame. Chapter 4, pg. 52. In this part of the story, Tim contemplated on how he was indecisive about being drafted for the war.   The character Tim OBrien reacts to his draft notice by going to the Canadian border and spends six days in a isolated lodge in the company of an old man named Elroy while he debates on whether he should evade the draft or accept it and go to war. In the end, he decided to go to war not so much he believes in it but more so because he does not want to put his family to shame. It is largely compelling, emotional and even humorous.   It gives a human face to the war as opposed to a mere narrative. OBrien explores the things they carried both figuratively and literally through the intermittent narration of the lives, even death, of the soldiers comprising the Alpha Company. OBrien masterfully recounts the emotions going through a soldier during unforgettable moments of his life: his feelings when drafted, his guilt when forced to kill an enemy, his shock at seeing friends or fellow soldiers killed in action and the gnawing feeling of homesickness. The plot is simple but told several times through different characters point of view, making it appear more complex than it seems. The book has its light and humorous moments though as depicted in the story the Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.   O’Brien, the author, knows exactly the perfect order of stories to attain the best effect, whether as a stand-alone story or to augment other stories.   Tim has a way of relating stories that catches the reader by surprise like this one: Speaking of Courage was written in 1975 at the suggestion of Norman Bowker, who three years later hanged himself in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown in central Iowa. (Page 155) Love is one of the motivating factor for Tim’s need to tell the story. It had all the shadings and complexities of mature adult love, and maybe more, because there were not yet words for it, and because it was not yet fixed to comparisons or chronologies or the ways by which adults measure such things. I just loved her. Chapter 22, pg. 228. Tim O’Brien, the character professes his love for a girl when they were little. In the end, Tim admitted that his penchant for telling stories and why he needs to do it as he relates his life to the soldiers.   Im skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmys life with a story. Chapter 22, pg. 246. In this quote, Tim tells of his need to tell stories. He knows it can bring the dead loved ones back to life, as if they are still with us. The soldiers do this to shield them from painful memories of losing a friend or killing a person. Tim, the character, tells stories since he was a child, when he lost the first girl he ever loved to brain tumor. The stories may change –characters, places, and events but the storyteller keeps the memories alive. These multiple narratives seem complex even at times confusing but OBrien once again manages to pull this off perfectly. â€Å"The Things They Carried† is a moving, heart-rending tale of the men in Vietnam War and the emotional and psychological baggage they carried, which leave them scarred for life, because of it. Work Cited: O’Brien, Tim. 29 Dec. 1998. The Things They Carried. Amazon. Accessed on 10, January 2007 http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/dp/0767902890.

The Future Geopolitical Role of Canada :: Economy

The Future Geopolitical Role of Canada Canada is currently sitting in an economic catastrophe, our unemployment is high, production low, and our deficit is increasing at a rapid pace. We are one of the few first world countries, and we need to strengthen our economy. Once we fortify our economy, our geopolitical role will increase. Geopolitics is defined as the study of a two-way relationship between political beliefs and actions on one side and any of the usual concerns of geography on the other. As we move into the future, our geopolitical role may be broken down into many groups. As we can tackle the burden alone, we must join forces, and increase our geopolitical role. As we administer towards the future, the concept of acting locally has slowly dissipated, and acting globally has emerged distinctly. "One word constantly encountered in any decision about the 1990s is 'global'". (Toronto Star, 09/11/89) We must all work together by shattering the trade boundaries, and acting as one. Currently, we are seeing concrete steps forward, as Mexico, United States and Canada are almost finished the signing of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). With this trade agreement, all three countries (Mexico, United States, and Canada) will virtually become one of the best trading partners in the world. With the vast differences that exist in the demographics, all three countries will find that trading with each other will bring prominent economic reform. Canadian and American capital, technology, and management expertise, will create many jobs for everyone, hence raising the standard of living. The Canadians speciality in financial services, software, and infrastructure will have wondrous impact on Mexico. With the Americans and Canadians help in vitalizing Mexico, l strongly believe we will all become one single country in the future. Since the United States is the strongest of all three, the new country will be named the United States of North America. Becasue the United States is currently the biggest and only superpower of the world, the addition of Canada (vast resources and open land), and Mexico (substantial labour power), the United States of North America will be one of the largest dominating forces in the world. However, this will not be used against the other countries unjustly, but harmoniously. Moreover, we will not be the only countries of present day to join together, as many countries around the globe will do the same. This will help us erupt out of our boundaries and help all nations of the world.

American Health Care Essay

Mckenzie ClutterClutter 1 2/27/13 Mr. Allen(pd. 7) American Healthcare: A Transformation from Crap to Gold America is without a question the leading country of medical and scientific advances. There always seem to be a new medical breakthrough every time you watch the news or read the paper, especially in the cure of certain diseases. However, the medical research requires an enormous amount of money. The U. S. spends the most money on health care yet many people, mainly the working class Americans are still without any type of health insurance and thus are more susceptible to health risks and problems.The concept of health insurance for Americans was formulated over a century ago. Most Americans obtain health insurance from employers or government programs, but some Americans are without health insurance. Most of them not being able to pay for it. In 2010, 49. 9 million were without insurance. That's 16. 3% of the total population. 18. 4% were the percentage of uninsured Americans y ounger than 65 in 2010. When it comes to the United States, American health care is described as the Capitalist System. In England they have what is called as the Socialist system. In America, health care is going to change all because of Obama.Obama trying to do what he thinks is best and will be worth it in the long run called the Affordable Care Act or the called Obama Care. Capitalism is a free market that balances demand with supply, it works by using money to connect consumer wants and needs (demand) with the production and distribution of goods and services (supply). Capitalism implies equal â€Å"opportunity† and there will also be winners and losers (example high class, middle class ; low class). For capitalism to function, the consumer must have control of spending and enough information to be a wise shopper in his or her ownClutter 2 self-interest. In U. S. healthcare, the consumer/patient has virtually no control over who will provide service or what service will be provided. One has to buy insurance which is a certain amount of money a month to receive health care. You also have to get approved to get something done say like a surgery. You have to fill out forms, send them in and wait to hear back within the company or the person doing your surgery. If you get approved which is rare then you can go on with your surgery if not you have to find someone who will and who takes your insurance.In most cases you are denied due to doctors wanting money because the more doctors deny surgery’s the more they make are many positive things when it comes to the capitalist system, one being the number of jobs increase but this is not as great as it sounds. There are also negatives to this. One being capitalism makes the rich richer. Insurance outside of the United States (for example England) is run by the socialist system, which is paid by the government. One of the goals of socialized medicine systems is ensuring universal access to health care. Only thing in return is to pay higher taxes. You receive free health care.You can’t get denied for any surgery. You don’t have to have insurance to receive health care. Also prescriptions you receive from a pharmacy are only a flat rate no more or less unless you are under a certain age or a senior citizen in that case it is free. In the United States, neither of the main parties favors a socialized system that puts the government in charge of hospitals or doctors, but they do have different approaches to financing and access. Democrats tend to be favorably inclined towards reform that involves more government control over health care financing and citizens' right of access to health care.Republicans are broadly in favor of the status quo, or a reform of the financing system that gives more power to the citizen, often through tax credits. Both sides have also looked to more philosophical arguments, debating Clutter 3 whether people have a fundamental right to have heal th care provided to them by their government. In this system, doctors receive more money when they help out patients unlike the United States. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called Obama care, is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, it represents the most significant government expansion and regulatory overhaul of the U. S. healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Guaranteed issue will require policies to be issued regardless of any medical condition, and partial community rating will require insurers to offer the same premium to all applicants of the same age and geographical location without regard to gender or most pre-existing conditions.It requires that all individuals not covered by an employer sponsored health plan, Medicaid, Medicare or other public insurance programs, secure an approved private- insurance policy or pay a penalty. According to this system, a child would stay under their parents insurance until they turn twenty-six. The non-participating employers/ citizens, health insurances and hospitals will be taxed. Doctors would receive more money when helping patients more. Also, each year one hundred and twenty-five million dollars will go towards funding school-based health centers and programs to reduce teen pregnancy.Also the number of bankruptcies will be reduced due to this system. This system is planned to take effect in 2014. All these systems all have good and bad ideas when it comes to healthcare. They all point out past, present and future plans and ideas that could be good or bad. In my opinion the best Clutter 4 health care system would be the Affordable Care Act or the Obama Care Act. This uses both the capitalist and socialist system and combines them. It affects every citizen in the United States. I feel like this would be affective and help the people of America out to the better.

Julia Alvarez Essay - 1187 Words

Hall 1 Makalia Hall English 2 Mrs. McAlister 2/16/15 Julia Alvarez Essay Julia Alvarez was born on March 27, 1950. She was born in New York City. When she was three her family moved back to her families’ native land, Trujillo. Julia moved back to New York, where she graduated from high school in 1967. Then she then attended Connecticut College for two years, where she won the Benjamin T. Marshall Poetry Prize. After attending Bread Loaf School of English, at Middlebury College. She received a bachelor of arts in English, Summa Cum Laude, in 1971. In 1973, in pursuit of her goal to become a writer, she enrolled in Syracuse University. Two years later Julia had her master’s degree in creative writing. Her poems began to appear in print as†¦show more content†¦Alvarez used her form of literary work as a reflection of the dictator of Trujillo in many of her novels. Latino Literature represents one of the most interesting constituents of American Letters. Latino and Latina writers are producing remarkable works in eve ry conceivable genre. Latinos, though, are far from being an easily definable ethnic group. The majority of Latinos are mestizos, or people of mixed indigenous and Spanish ancestry. With regard to language, some Latinos are fully bilingual; others are monolingual. Therefore what unites Latinos is their race or language, but also their culture shaped by the heritage they share with Spanish-speaking nations to the south of the United States. Latinos share a core heritage, their ethnic panorama is quite complex, and many distractions exist. In the story â€Å"My English† that Julia Alvarez wrote is about a little’s girls family that moved from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. The girl’s family mainly become a bilingual family. Her mother would scold her when the little girl didn’t speak English, because the little girl would get picked on for speaking Spanish. Her teacher would tell her that there was no such words. There is another story entitled â€Å"L iberty.† This story is about a girl’s dad bringing home a dog that was a gift from another family. The dog was a gift from their family letting them use their visa to get across the border. SoShow MoreRelatedEssay on Insight on the Life and Works of Julia Alvarez1239 Words   |  5 Pages A novelist and a poet, Julia Alvarez is considered to be one of the greats when talking about American literature. At her current age of 64, she has a numerous amount of writings and has won many awards. Personal life experiences from her youth to the Civil War to now have highly influenced her works (Heredia). Descriptive and influential, it is clear why Alvarez’s publications have influenced society the way they have today. 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