In the short story, "The Things They Carried," Tim O"Brien writes about the soldiers of Vietnam and the self versus war or nature that all of them had to carry with them. ... When the soldiers are in the jungle, every one of them is able to relate to each other and understand what they are all going through. The fear of death and dying that all of the soldiers have to carry is a piece of baggage that is constantly running through the minds of all of them. ... The soldiers all want to escape the reality of what is going on around them and the protagonist in the story, Lt. Jimmy Cross, is ...

• Word Count: 459
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Regardless, soldiers are trained to battle, and that is what they do. ... Cross also plans to make his men "get their shit together, and keep it together, and maintain it neatly and in good working order. ... The soldiers lose purpose and motivation. ... Although good intentions existed at the beginning, the war is continued because of American pride. American citizens do not want the war and neither do the soldiers. ...

• Word Count: 689
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The fear, death, and dishonor experienced by soldiers in Vietnam. ... Could the gay soldier carry the weight of such precious cargo? ... Heterosexual soldiers will be able to talk about their love life and live it, too. ... They are sad stories, often, of good soldiers who served their country and were badly served by it (Quindlen). ... Whatever a soldier in Vietnam or a person with AIDS (PWA's) had to do to survive. ...

• Word Count: 919
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The emotions they must experience killing someone, and trying to find justice in doing so; reminding themselves it is for the good of their country. ... I did not think the actual murder was as significant as the way the soldiers were reacting to it. ... I realized that in being a soldier you cannot get around the fact that maybe a few innocent people might die. ... Although many parts of this book were gruesome, at the end I felt good. It was a good ending to a real story. ...

• Word Count: 736
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

War is not like Looney Tunes and other cartoons where the good guys cheerfully chase after the bad guys and destroy them, only to meet them again the next episode. ... The war victimized the soldiers. The terror war put in the soldiers" eyes can not be described. ... The good guys do die, and they don't return for the next episode. ... However, those brave soldiers didn't die in vain. ...

• Word Count: 885
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The first types of items that the soldiers carry are those of a physical nature. ... Because he carries his girlfriend's pantyhose to bring good fortune, the reader is clued into his superstitious nature. ... The blunt descriptions by O"Brien of the physical burdens of the soldiers not only give the reader a true feeling of the experience, but also help characterize the main soldiers. ... Death has to lurk in a soldier's brain at all times of the night and day. ... In "The Things They Carried", the soldiers have to endure many difficulties. ...

• Word Count: 1097
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Ted Lavender's death and how the men react to it show its impact on the soldiers. ... The soldiers also carry "the soldier's greatest fear, which [is] the fear of blushing" (258). ... It is almost as if the soldiers fight and even die because they are ashamed not to. ... Unfortunately, Cross's fantasy ends up causing more bad than good.             ... Cross serves as the best example of a soldier burdened by responsibility. ...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In all probability, he saw a good bit of combat while overseas and saw some of his comrades die in battle also. ... He would just make statements about what the soldiers carried and then tell the reader how much each weighed. ... Much like this, the intangible burdens of the other soldiers could not be lifted either. ... The soldiers would try to act tough about the subject of death and would try not to reveal their dread of ending up the same way as Ted. Many times the soldiers would simply avoid such a subject when speaking between each other. ...

• Word Count: 1072
• Approx Pages: 4

Not only did O"Brien describe the carnage of the war physically, but he also did an excellent job of displaying the mental and emotional suffering that the soldiers went through. ... A separation is formed in this film, between the soldiers and society and likewise morality and confusion. ... Although we see definite discrepancies to the degree of this change, it is apparent in all of the soldiers. ... The main theme in Apocalypse Now is the concept that in order to survive and function as a "good" soldier one must disconnect themselves from their rational views and all of their morals must b...

• Word Count: 1176
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

About 58,000 Americans were killed and over 300,000 American soldiers were injured. ... Following these grueling tasks, the soldiers would learn how to shoot their weapons and how to clean them after use. ... Altogether, the U.S spent a little over 16 weeks preparing the American soldier for a different kind of warfare. ... After saying their "good-byes" and "I love yous" it was time for them to start a journey into unknown territory in South East Asia. ... The living conditions in Vietnam for U.S soldiers were very rough. ...

• Word Count: 1231
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In "Fallen Angels" Myers' characterizes the loss of innocence through the young soldiers differs from O'Brien in "The Man I Killed". ... Although as the war persisted and Richie gets a real taste of war, he is faced with the inhumane acts that come along with war, such as the cruelty and senseless lives lost from both opposition of the VCs and the American soldiers. ... Richie does the same but in a different way, instead of going towards comic relief or thinking of himself as a character in the movie he questions why the other soldiers in his company and him are ...

• Word Count: 938
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography

He served in combat and also received a number of awards and medals due to his good service. ... Caputo also describes soldiers showing off the dead bodies of their enemies that they defeated and were almost seen as trophies. ... He admits that he views the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong as fierce and skilled fighters and that they have earned his and other American soldiers' respect.   ... Americans were blinded to the truth of war and had no clue what was going on with the soldiers fighting in battle and representing their country during the Vietnam War until "A Rumor of Wa...

• Word Count: 806
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Just over 60,000 Australia soldiers fought in the war with 521 Australian's killed and approximately 3,000 wounded. ... In 1954 the French was eliminated for good in Vietnam. ... Vietnam also has a jungle terrain which Australian soldiers would have never experienced causing a disadvantage for us. The war slowly progressed and support for Australian soldiers fighting was diminishing. ...

• Word Count: 701
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

By the end of the year, 190,000 American soldiers were in Vietnam to fight the war. My father was also one of these soldiers over in Vietnam. ... Although, some of the news is not good like the potential was with Iraq , its still refreshing to know that we still have maintained many of the traditions all of these years such as the World Series, the Grammy awards, the Oscars and the Miss America Pageant. ...

• Word Count: 687
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

This was Eisenhower's reason for sending soldiers and aid to South Vietnam. ... Even though there was a lot of violence and craziness that came out of the protests there was good that came from it, too. ... When American troops returned home, some of them sued the government for damage caused by the chemicals they used during the war, causing our government to find better ways to protect our soldiers from chemicals. ...

• Word Count: 524
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

I did not think the actual murder was as significant as the way the soldiers were reacting to it. By the end of their service time, I guess all soldiers get used to the killing and blood shed, but I found it hard to read when they were making fun and joking about people they had killed. ... I realized that in being a soldier you cannot get around the fact that maybe a few innocent people might die. ... This type of warfare was extremely difficult for the soldiers because they couldn't trust anyone other than each other. ... The emotions they must experience killing someone, and trying to ...

• Word Count: 984
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He was born in Chicago and seemed to have a good life. ... Caputo's story of Vietnam tells us a lot about the confusion and turmoil our soldiers experienced in the war. ... The American experience in Vietnam was not a good one at all. ... One thing is for sure : the war will never be forgotten especially for the soldiers who were there....

• Word Count: 880
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The Vietnam War was a second phase of fighting in Vietnam.When the Japanese surrendered to the Allies after the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945, the Vietminh was in a good position to take over the control of the country.In September, 1945, Ho Chi Minh announced the formation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. ... The Vietminh now had a safe-base where they could take their wounded and train new soldiers. ...

• Word Count: 656
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Good Morning Afternoon. ... The consequences of reporting the Vietnam War was that people could sit at home watching television, while witnessing bomb attacks, more deaths, more suffering and the horrid conditions in which the soldiers were fighting and living in. ...

• Word Count: 766
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate