Reply to one (1) peer during this discussion.
Why is the first story, "The Things They Carried," written in third person? How does this serve to introduce the rest of the novel? What effect did it have on your experience of the novel when O'Brien switched to first person, and you realized the narrator was one of the soldiers?
Reply to one (1) peer during this discussion.
Steven
12/17/2013 04:40:27 am
I believe that the reason why the first story, "The Things They Carried," was written in third person because it gives the reader an understanding of what is going to be going on in the rest of the play. Having little bias and an understanding of what each character is like and the role that they will be playing in the story. Having the story in third person also allowed the author to get the emotions of different characters. We see characters being annoyed, to scared, to regretful and everything in between. I believe that if this part was written in first person than the reader wouldn't understand a lot of what was going on. When the novel changed from third to first person I didn't see too much of a difference. I feel like the way that Tim O'Brien gives the characters the ability to explain explicitly is a huge plus in the way that the readers are going to view the rest of the novel. What the first person will do for the rest of the novel is give a heavier feeling through one soldiers eyes rather than knowing only some about each and every soldier. Plus, after doing some research on Tim O'Brien (which is also the name of the main character), one can assume that the novel is going to be based on a true story through his eyes. Viewing the war through his eyes is going to give a much deeper meaning.
Mrs. Erdman
12/17/2013 10:46:59 am
Steven,
Steven
12/19/2013 03:56:35 am
Personally, I feel a story being told from the third person omniscient point of view is better based on the fact that the reader can choose the character that they feel most connected to, especially in a story where there are multiple protagonists or very important characters. Once a story is told from first person, the reader can only feel what the narrator's eyes and thoughts are giving us, nothing more. This may be a harder way for an author to write a book, but I feel as though third person omniscient gives the reader more control over their personal opinions on the story.
Cristina
12/19/2013 07:58:45 am
I agree with you that the reader has more options to connect to whoever they want when the book is in third person but I feel more connected to a book when it is written in first. I like how the characters got explanations as well.
Tori
12/17/2013 08:40:20 am
I believe that Tim O'Brien wrote this book in third person point of view because as Steven said it gives readers the chance to understand each and every one of the soldiers feelings. That is important to readers because it can really get them into the story and it makes it easier to understand what those people were going through at the time. This serves for the rest of the novel because I feel as if it was written in first person point of view the readers wouldn't fully understand what was going on in the novel. When the novel is switched into first person it is taken by surprise. I believe that it is so that readers can see what is going on through his eyes. It was interesting to see his looks on everything and understand how he was feeling.
Tori
12/17/2013 08:41:01 am
Tim O'Brien wrote this book in third person point of view because as Steven said it gives readers the chance to understand each and every one of the soldiers feelings. That is important to readers because it can really get them into the story and it makes it easier to understand what those people were going through at the time. This serves for the rest of the novel because I feel as if it was written in first person point of view the readers wouldn't fully understand what was going on in the novel. When the novel is switched into first person it is taken by surprise. I believe that it is so that readers can see what is going on through his eyes. It was interesting to see his looks on everything and understand how he was feeling.
Samantha
12/20/2013 03:15:41 pm
I also agree that this vignette was written in third person in order to convey each character's thoughts and emotions. I do not think third person allows the reader to become involved in the book and feel connected; I believe first person point of view achieves this. Although, I do understand that it allows the reader to know what certain characters were experiencing.
Logan
12/17/2013 09:26:03 am
I think that the first story is told in third person to give readers an omniscient perspective. It allows readers to get insight on the exact reasons that each person carried these items, even what they didn't share with others. If it was told in first person like the rest of the novel, I don't think I would be able to establish the emotional connection with the characters like I did when I was able to fully understand their thoughts. When it switched to first person, I think the experience seemed closer to the reader. O'Brien's use of descriptive words and imagery transports readers to the battlefield alongside him, and it allows great perspective on what war was like during this time.
Mrs. Erdman
12/17/2013 10:49:11 am
Logan,
Jess
12/20/2013 01:00:46 am
I completely agree with you about the omniscient perspective thing. It is good to get an understanding coming from third person along with first person. I believe I develop more of an emotional understanding when it is told in first person over third person. Third person is good to me though because it gives another persons perspective on the soldiers. The first story does give a great perspective on what war was like during the time and it definitely brought me emotionally closer to the characters.
Christine
12/17/2013 10:03:48 am
The first story in the novel “The Things They Carried” was written in third person in order to give the reader a general and more wide range understanding of what is going on in the story. Rather than focusing the attention onto one or two characters O’Brien allows the reader to have perspective on all the characters. As Steven says, it is not bias towards some characters unlike how it would be if the story was written in first person. This point of view serves to introduce the rest of the novel as it gives a basic understanding of each character’s personality and what is going on all around each of them. Personally, I enjoyed it when O’Brien switched to first person because I enjoy building up emotion through a singular person’s eyes and gain knowledge from a certain experience. I find it easier to follow and it allows me to focus more on the deeper meaning of the story rather than figure out what is going on. (for example: Macbeth)
Jess
12/17/2013 10:05:47 am
The first story of "The Things They Carried", is written in third person so it is more of a general point of view rather than if it were first person which is more of an opinionated view. It just gives readers more of a clearer understanding to introduce everything. It really shows readers the exact emotions and feelings the soldiers were going through at the time. When the narrator switches to first person and you realize he is a soldier to it comes to a surprise for the readers. After feeling bad about all of the soldiers he has talked about then realizing he is going through the exact same emotions, readers can develop a love and sympathy for the narrator. If it had been in first person the entire time readers might have just thought he was purposely trying to be dramatic to make people feel bad for him. This way we not only feel bad for him as a soldier but every soldier there.
Sam
12/17/2013 10:33:19 am
I think the reason the narrator used third person was to show the reader the unbiased views of the soldiers. For example, if it was said from the view from a soldier, it would be hard for the readers to understand such a vastly different group of men while the soldier narrating is dealing with his own issues. When the author switches to first person, it surprises the reader. It really makes the reader think inside the head of a soldier. At first, the third person view seems omniscient, but then you realize that he knows so much about the soldiers because he is a soldier.
Steven
12/19/2013 04:01:13 am
I really like how you mention that the story being in third person gives an unbiased view. Most of the time when a story is written in first person that character's opinion intervenes too much and that can take away from the real meaning that the author is trying to convey. I also really love how you mention that the third person view was still coming from the soldier who becomes the character in first person. I never really thought of it that way, and I always saw it as something that was just written in third person to be in third person.
Samantha
12/17/2013 10:56:06 am
When a story is written in third person, the reader feels like the all knowing eye. This is because third person allows the reader to know all of the character's thoughts. First person allows the reader to only know the narrator's thoughts. If the first vignette was written in first person, the reader would not have a good sense of what will go on throughout the rest of the book. When the story changed from third to first person, I was definitely able to connect more with the story because I was focused on one person's thoughts and emotions, rather than that of multiple characters. I did not anticipate the novel all of a sudden switching from third to first person. It allowed me to take a different look on the situation O'Brien was in.
Tori
12/18/2013 04:38:31 am
I like how you said the reader feels like the all knowing eye. This is definitely true because when something is written in third person point of view it does give the readers a chance to understand all the peoples thoughts. I think sometimes reading a story in third person can get confusing at times because there is so many thoughts from different characters involved. So therefore I agree with you also when it switched from third to first person I was able to connect with the book more. I was able to focus on one point and one character instead of a few. I think it was a good idea to switch from third to first and I sort of saw it coming in the story.
Logan
12/20/2013 02:43:51 pm
I completely agree with what you said about the third person view. It is exactly like an "all knowing eye" because the reader gets insight on not only one character but several. Looking back, I realize that in my past readings I felt more connected to a character with a first person view rather than third.
Cristina
12/19/2013 07:37:49 am
It came a a shock to me when the story switched points of view. Personally I found it very interesting that the first story was in 3rd person because it was coming from the narrator and the reader is sort of curious as to who the narrator is and how he is involved emotionally, mentally and physically. When the book was switched it gave me such a shock because the soldier was the narrator! So all along he had been referring to people he knew! I feel I connect more when something is in first person versus third because the author is trying to connect with the reader. I like books more when I can relate to them more, an this is such a successful writing tactic.
Samantha
12/20/2013 03:10:58 pm
I'm glad the change of point of view did not come as a surprise to only me. I did like that it changed though. I also was curious to find out who the narrator was and how he was involved in the story. When following one character throughout a story, it sometimes makes the reader feel as if they are within the story. Comments are closed.
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Mrs. ErdmanThis class blog is designed for students enrolled in the English 12 online course at Freedom High School. Archives
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