Personal Review of The Things They Carried
I thought that The Things They Carried was a good book to read. Usually, this would not be my first book of choice to read for fun, but nevertheless, it is a good, informative read. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on some of Tim O’Brien’s experiences during the Vietnam War. One thing that I really loved was the symbolism in this book. I liked the idea that the men not only carried their belongings, but their burdens too. These stories really gave me an insight of what a soldier’s life was, what he witnessed, and how he survived it all. This book had many good uses of tone, theme, mood, symbolism, similes, diction, syntax, and imagery, and I really like books that have many rhetorical strategies in them. At sometimes, the stories were really sad and the imagery of people dying was too descriptive, and there was some vulgar language, but other than that I thought everything else was of. I am very glad that I had the chance to read this book.
I agree with your personal review. I also felt that the book was extremely informative and the symbolism was very intriguing. It allowed for me as a reader to understand each of the characters in a much deeper way and be able to see their personal values and ethics. However, I also had one issue with this book. Although there was some vulgar language, —which I felt helped set the tone that the author had towards the war—I wish the author had gone into more detail about each of the characters backgrounds and what life was like for them before the war. This way we would be able to see just how much the war affected each of their lives.
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