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. |
Alyssa Saggio
5/6/2014 01:42:09 am
In all honesty, I am not really sure why the first vignette is written in third person. The only answer I could come up with for hi writing in third person point of view is that he is writing for himself and for the other men he fought along side with. Just look at the title; it is not called, "The Things I Carried." The title in itself shows that he will be speaking for other men. Also, I think that this story is a great start for his book as a whole because it gives insight to each of the characters in the book. This may be why he then switches to first person point of view. Maybe Tim O'Brien wrote in third person to give an overall background for the men in his company throughout the first story and then felt he could now translate to to first person point of view because his readers are now knowledgeable. Personally, I did feel some effect when transitioning from the first vignette to the second because I love reading in first person. However, the pre-reading activities and videos we watched had already stated that Tim O'Brien was actually writing about himself as one of the soldiers. So, I guess it kind of gave away the overall transition.
Mrs. Erdman
5/6/2014 07:09:46 am
Third person seems to distance the author from the events. Might there be a reason why he chose to start the book in third person? Think about possible reasons why he might have done this.
Devin Blattner
5/8/2014 03:17:18 pm
You came up with a creative inference as to why O'Brien started writing the first vignette in third person. I agree that third person is a great start to the book because it gives insight to each of the characters in the book. Also, I like reading in first person too. I believe that it provides the reader with a whole different point of view and a completely different aspect to the overall story.
Brian Burke
5/6/2014 05:15:12 am
I personally loved the use of third person in the beginning of the story. It provided background information about the different characters and gave insight to the war from a different view. The first 1 vignette explains to the reader aspects of the war that you would not see form first person. O'Brien is able to create imagery and scenes from the war and explain them in great detail. The third person shows each individual person and what they had personally carried and did. I enjoyed the third person, but the first person supported by the third person proved to be very interesting. The transition between the two vignettes intrigued me the most. It made me excited to learn about the war from the authors first person perspective. I'm excited to learn more from the story from the first person perspective.
Mrs. Erdman
5/6/2014 07:11:50 am
As you continue reading, see how the first person point of view plays out. If first person is "I," look to see who the "I" in the vignette is. The novel is written in a way that appeals to a lot of different people. Does the point of view play a part in that?
Cole
5/6/2014 07:31:22 am
I think that the first story is written in the 3rd person point of view because the author wanted you to know more about all the characters than you would have if it was written in the 1st person point of view. This first story sets up the rest of the book because now you have a pretty good understanding of the personality and feelings of the characters. When the point of view changed from 3rd person to 1st person, I was really shocked. I thought that the whole story was going to be in the 3rd person. Personally I liked how the first story flowed with it being in 3rd person, but I also like how we're more in the soldier's head now so that we can get a better look on his emotions of certain things.
Mrs. Erdman
5/6/2014 09:29:25 am
I'm curious. Did you notice the shift in point of view as you were reading, or was it only after seeing the discussion?
Cole
5/9/2014 02:07:14 pm
No, I noticed it while I was reading when he kept saying "I".
Kasey Gallagher
5/6/2014 08:10:54 am
I'm not sure why O'Brien used third person in the first story, but I liked it because it gave us a look all the characters from a unbiased view that a first person account would give. It introduced us to the characters and gave us background information. I think the transition into first person is a good idea because it will allow us to see the war from a different perspective again and it will give us an insight that third person can't. The pretending activities let us know that O'Brien was a soldier in the war so that wasn't surprising for me.
Mrs. Erdman
5/6/2014 09:30:39 am
Now, since he has switch to first person, do you think the narrator is reliable? Meaning memoirs are supposed to be nonfiction; however, if he is writing in first person as each of the characters, how much do you think is believable?
Brian Burke
5/8/2014 03:49:32 pm
You say that you do not understand why it is in third, but you proceed to explain why it is. Although I could be wrong, I believe what you were saying is what O'Brien was trying to do. His reasoning for using third person was most likely to introduce the different characters in the best way possible. The third person view gives strong insight and descriptions of these characters.
Cole
5/9/2014 02:11:14 pm
I also enjoyed the third person point of view in the first story. I liked finding out what each character had with him and since it didn't tell you right then why they carried that item, it left some mystery. I thought it was good when we found out that O'Brien made himself a character in the book. I couldn't figure out who the point of view was coming from in the second story and it was really bothering me.
Alyson
5/6/2014 09:15:05 am
I think that the first story was written in third person because the author wanted to seem like he wasn't showing bias to the characters. The fact that the author really lives these events makes it hard to determine whether he is a reliable narrator or not. It was a nice introduction to all the characters because you gained a lot of background knowledge on them and how they feel about the war. Now that I know that the narrator is one of the soldiers I am curious to see how his role is played out among the group.
Mrs. Erdman
5/6/2014 09:31:58 am
I'm glad you brought up the idea of a reliable narrator. As you continue through the readings, come back to that thought about a reliable narrator. Is this nonfiction, or might it be classified as historical fiction?
Alyssa Saggio
5/7/2014 12:13:54 pm
I agree with Mrs. Erdman on the whole reliability thing. The fact that he gives an unbiased background on each man he fought with. I didn't take into account that Tim O'Brien should be establishing credibility in the beginning in the story due to the fact that he would be writing stories and memoirs from his own life events. I think it's nice that he gives his readers a clear background to the characters he will later elaborate on in the story. It is extremely helpful, especially in the first vignette; "The Things They Carried" (vignette, not the whole book) was great insight on each of the character's personalities.
Devin Blattner
5/6/2014 10:41:26 am
In my opinion, I believe that the reason why "The Things They Carried" was written in third person for the first story is because it gives the reader and expectation and understanding of what is happening during the rest of the book. It lets the reader know about each character and their role in the book. When the novel switched from third person to first person I was happy. Personally, I like when books are written in first person because I feel more connected and in-tune with the character. I think Tim O'Brian transitioned from 3rd to 1st person in order to allow the reader to see what was happening through his eyes.
Aly
5/9/2014 04:24:23 am
I would also prefer to read a book that is written from 1st person point of view, but it is always nice to see things from other characters point of view. That being said, are the characters really expressing themselves or is Tim expressing them the way he wants them to be seen? Sometimes we say or do things that people misunderstand because they don't get to see our thought process. The same can be said for these men.
Kasey Gallagher
5/9/2014 07:06:24 am
I definitely liked when O'Brien switched into 1st person, but at the same time it was confusing because its hard to figure out who the narrator is. The first vignette makes it easier to guess who is writing which vignette because we have background information on who they are. Comments are closed.
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