I believe that there are many forms of symbolism embedded into the text of the book The Things They Carried. One form of symbolism I have realized throughout these last few chapters is in the story of Norman Boker’s life. He was forced into the war at a young age when he had so much life in front of him. He had friends and a family and once he was forced into the war all of their lives moved on without him. Now, his family and friends are all married, moved, and no longer in the same stage of their lives as they were when Norman last saw them. What does he have now? He drives around Sunset lake where he remembers so many good memories he had there when he was young and with his friends, but the only difference now is he is alone. The fact that he is driving in circles represents the fact that he is stuck in the war. He is in the never-ending circle and he can’t pull his head out of the war especially if he has nobody to talk to about it and tell his stories to. War is a traumatic experience and after going through that kind of experience you need somebody to talk to, but there is nobody left. Norman wants to tell somebody he “almost won a silver star for valor” and the sad story to go with it, but there is nobody around to tell (O’Brein 140). Everyone he remembers talking to and having important conversations with such as this one are either married, dead, or are moved away. He remembers driving around with Sally and thinks about going to talk to her, but then realizes times aren’t like they used to be and talking to her will never be the same. Due to this, he ended up committing suicide. Sadly, even though this is a fictional story, soldiers who come back from the war have to deal with this kind of situation every day. They have to risk their lives for years and then come back to a normal life only to find their friend’s lives have progressed, their old girlfriends are married and gone, or their parents are older and different than how they remember them. I wish there was some way these poor men could have their live back to normal after they spend so much time risking their lives for our freedom.
O'Brein, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York. Broadway Books, 1990. Print.
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I agree with your post on the sybolism of the book. This book really focuses on the sybolism during the war in Vietnam. Norman Boker's life is interesting. I didnt realize all of this about Norman until after the reading and discussing it with the group. im glad that you explained this more in depth, this was a very helpful post.
ReplyDeleteI too agree with the symbolism in the book. Its important to talk about how the soldiers deal with "normal" life after the war. The concept of sleeping safely in a house is totally foreign to returning soldiers, and many times they cant deal with it. It is interesting how much symbolism is in this book that you dont catch the first time.
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism in this book can be very blunt and I am with agreement with you. Norman needed a way to cope with his life instead of comiting suicide. Like Ashley I feel that Norman Bowker needs to get his head out of the war instead of worrying about what has past in his life.
ReplyDeleteBy Ryan Barber
There is a lot of symbolism in this book, but Norman is the one that sticks out the most to me. I also noticed that as he is driving around the lake he notices all of the good, the fireworks, a nice summer say with kids fishing, and the high school marching band. This sounds like the perfect community but he can't figure out how to fit back into this community because, like you said, he is going around in a circle and is stuck in the war. It is sad to know that soliders have to deal with this and sometimes it is just to much to handle for them. :(
ReplyDeleteComment by: CHELSEA STRANG :)