Things They Carried Women

In Our Mother’s War, Emily Yellin provides a compelling and eye-opening account of the many roles of women during World War II. Our Mother’s War was inspired by Yellin’s mother, Carol Lynn, who had lived through World War II and had been a Red Cross volunteer in the Pacific. After Yellin’s mother had died, Yellin had came upon an old manila envelope which contained many of her mother’s letters and dairy. Through these writings, Yellin realized for the first time the sacrifices women made for the war, and after being inspired to know more about the roles of women during World War II, she set out on a mission to unearth stories which have never been displayed before. Being a journalist and daughter of a World War II woman uniquely qualified Yellin to paint a vivid picture of the accounts of women during the war. through the use of letters and writings.

In the novel The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien often brings up Jimmy cross’s love for Martha and how he struggles expressing they way feel feels about her. “Right then he thought he should’ve done something brave”(O’Brian 5) Cross felt much regret because he did not act on his feelings. He did not have the courage to express his love they way he wanted to towards Martha. Jimmy Cross, who had been in love with Martha for quite sometime even though she didn't feel the same way tried to play it off as if he had gotten over her.

In the years after the Second World War, people created uncountable numbers of historiographical research on various topics related to the war, such as military tactics in battles, individual groups of men during their time in service, and other such subjects. Not much surprise exists then, that women’s actions in World War II eventually would also gain interest and publication for the public, though it did not gain an undivided focus until the advent of women’s and social history grew momentum. Women, despite being half of the world’s population, doubtlessly had acted during the war years, although limited by social gender expectations of the period. As time passes from 1945, more interest in the lives of women and their effect on the war

"Twice/ she came in late at night. Very late. And then finally she did not come in at all." (99). Mark became worried that she might be sleeping with someone else. He woke up Rat and him go check out the barracks to see if Mary Anne was with any of the guys. "All accounted for. No extras." (101). Then they got the idea that she was with the "Greenies" and she was, in a way. Mary Anne was out on Ambush with the Green Beret's. Poor Mark Fossie tried to talk some sense into her, but it was to no avail. Before long Mary Anne was gone again, this time there would be no reckoning with her. She had made her decision to be where she felt she belonged. When Mark finally realized this, he was hit with an emotional artillery shell that could have taken

Mary Anne is portrayed as the best woman in the book. She is only seventeen and her high school sweetheart, Mark Fossie, arranges it so

They raised the economic potential of the country and increased the people’s resistance power. Women in Vietnam accepted their responsibility of “ taking charge of family affairs in the absence of a husband or son; giving assistance to the fighters at the front and undertaking, if necessary, combat duties. Turner is constantly juxtapositioning the resilience of these women and the emotional internal battle that brings sorrow and pain. For example, the author brings some women stories in which these fighters express the joy they experienced, while in the midst of war when they dreamt returning home after defeating the enemy. In fact, they returned home stronger and capable of dealing without fear to authoritative men, nevertheless, their core values regarding the importance of family didn’t change for them or the Vietnamese society.

In Tim O'Brien's narrative, The Things They Carried, characters are shown going through excruciatingly difficult war struggles. There are many intriguing themes that O’Brien is sharing in the text, but the most striking is the differences between the way each person handles war. People in the story cope by imagining things for motivation and pleasure. Imagination can help soldiers, but also does not help in war when the coping distracts one from important situations. The most common coping mechanism in the war stories has to do with women because they were used as security blankets during war. Soldiers use women, imagined and real, to offer an escape from war, but due to their inability to understand the war, the women cannot help them cope.

Especially because she is nine, it makes the question seem like so much more. Then Tim explains, “When she was nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone.” (O’Brien 811). This was a big surprise because most nine year old girls don’t think that far into a question like that. She is young, but able to make the connection that her dad fights in wars and must have at least killed someone. He didn’t know how to respond because he wanted to keep his daughter's mind pure and wanted to wait until she was older and could understand the stories a lot

Mary Anne is portrayed as the best woman in the book. She is only seventeen and her high school sweetheart, Mark Fossie, arranges it so

Mary-Anne was a completely different story all together. "The way Rat told it, she came in by helicopter along with the daily resupply shipment out of Chi Lai. A tall big-boned blonde." She came from the sky like it was no big deal, to see her boyfriend Fossie. A girl coming into a war among the rations and medicine. She was barely a woman, only 17, and when she came to join them at the medical camp she was described as, "had long white legs and blue eyes and a complexion like strawberry ice cream. Very friendly too." It was the "very friendly" part that should have been the problem. It was a

Women served an important role in WWII. They not only took the challenge and stepped up to take the places of the men off fighting in the war to work in factories, but they also fought side by side with those risking their lives and fighting for their country. They were needed everywhere during the war. There were an unbelievable amount of job opportunities for women during the war and many supported the brave acts of voluntary enlistment. “‘A woman’s place is in the home’ was an old adage, but it still held true at the start of World War II. Even though millions of women worked, home and family we considered the focus of their lives” says Brenda Ralf Lewis. Without the help of those women who were brave enough to

The text, ‘The Things They Carried', is an excellent example which reveals how individuals are changed for the worse through their first hand experience of war. Following the lives of the men both during and after the war in a series of short stories, the impact of the war is accurately portrayed, and provides a rare insight into the guilt stricken minds of soldiers. ‘The Things They Carried' shows the impact of the war in its many forms: the suicide of an ex-soldier upon his return home; the lessening sanity of a medic as the constant death surrounds him; the trauma and guilt of all the soldiers after seeing their friends die, and feeling as if they could have saved them; and the deaths of the soldiers, the most negative impact a war

“War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead.” (80)

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien the author tells about his experiences in the Vietnam war by telling various war stories. The quote, "It has been said of war that it is a world where the past has a strong grip on the present, where machines seemed sometimes to have more will power than me, where nice boys (girls) were attracted to them, where bodies ruptured and burned and stand, where the evil thing trying to kill you could look disconnecting human and where except in your imagination it was impossible to be heroic." relates to each of his stories.

In “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien the theme of “carrying” both physical and emotional objects by the main characters can be found in the novel. While these men carry the same standard physical army gear, they differentiate with personal tangible and intangible items. From Lieutenant Cross’s responsibility of his men, to Henry Dobbin’s girlfriend’s pantyhose for its magic, each man faced the war with these things attached.