Hunter Chasens

Storytelling Essay

The Things They Carried is an American Classic fraught with

the horrors of war. The author, Tim OBrien, a veteran of the

Vietnam war describes his first-hand accounts in the form of

stories. His masterful wordcraft, plot, and story craft have

made it one of the most well-known works of American literature.

Tim OBrien uses numerous literary devices and weave each

together to create a tapestry of words that encompass was;

through the use of personification, imagery, and diction.

First, personification; it makes things come alive; adds a

level of threat and despair that could not be achieved without

it. Tim OBrien successfully captures the environmental dangers

by use of personification and in Vietnam, there are many

environmental dangers. For example, he uses personification

during the story Nightlife to make the story and the night come

alive. Another example would be infection is eating away, a

green demon consuming the soul of your leg. The night is a

dangerous place in Tim OBriens Vietnam and will actively try

to kill you, or worse. Personification is used to describe the

gentle yet harsh mistress that is Vietnam and her weather.

The second most used literary device is imagery. It comes

as shock, the beauty of Vietnam. Often used in junction with a

juxtaposition: the contrast is staggering. The fear of death

then silence, peace, and serenity. The bush of Vietnam does not

care for the wars of men. A good example of this can be seen in

the story Feld Trip where the author uses imagery to describe

his own experience. Imagery is used to give vividness to the

black and white story we are given. This vividness is not always

welcome and sometimes comes in the form of red mist after a

bang and the taste of copper and iron in one's mouth.

Lastly, comes diction or choice of word. Every word changes

meaning subtly as its context changes The image you see might

change by switching two synonyms. This makes word choice, or

diction, of extreme pertinence. It can change the image and

exaggerate or underestimate images when wanted.

Tim OBrien uses literary devices like a master weaver and

tailors a tapestry or war made of the intangible or words and

ideas. He achieves this by the use of Personification, Imagery,

and Diction. His big three. The first to bring life to where

there is none, the second to add color to the bleached tapestry

and the third used to embroider the basis and the folds of the

cloth.

Highlights

Self-Assessment

Task:

1. Attach a typed response to your essay in which you explain

your feelings upon completing the assignment.

This self-assessment should answer each question with a brief

(2-5 sentence) paragraph:

What did you hope to accomplish with this writing?

I accomplished the conveyance of some of the literary

devices used in the book The Things They Carried.

What do you think you did well in this writing?

I think my analysis of the book was on point and my format

of my essay.
What are areas of weakness in this essay?

I think an aria of weakness in my essay is the lack of

examples. I wish I added more especially in the diction section

however finding examples for diction is difficult.

After the peer review and self revision, what are changes that

you made?

I was not in class for the peer review.

Rubric:

4 = exemplary 3=proficient 2=developing

1=insufficient

Purpose: writing clearly communicates an insightful or original

point or purpose

Development: writing supports purpose with sound thoughts,

ideas, and arguments that reference and explain specific details

or facts

Organization: writing is well organized and features logical

progression, effective transitions, and coherence within and

among paragraphs

4
Style: writing creates reader's interest through accurate,

varied and creative use of words, sentence types, and sentence

patterns

Grammar: writing follows conventions of standard written English

about literature (includes: spelling, punctuation,

capitalization, syntax, MLA format, etc.