Cliffsnotes on O'Brien's the Things They Carried

by Jill Colella

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.In "CliffsNotes on The Things They Carried, " you discover Tim O'Brien's powerful and innovative novel about the experiences of foot soldiers during and after the Vietnam War. Drawing largely on his own experiences during the war, the author creates a fictional protagonist who shares the author's own name, and allows this fictional "Tim O'Brien" to relate disturbing war stories as he creates an indictment against the wastefulness of war.Chapter summaries and commentaries take you through Tim O'Brien's very personal journey. Critical essays give you insight into the novel's historical context, the novel's narrative structure, and the theme of loss of innocence. Other features that help you study includeCharacter analyses of the main charactersA character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the charactersA section on the life and background of Tim O'BrienA review section that tests your knowledgeA Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Internet sitesClassic literature or modern modern-day treasure -- you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Genres: History

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 28, 2000

About the author

Jill Colella is a former teacher, the author of many nutrition-themed books for children, and the founder of both Ingredient and Butternut, award-winning children’s magazines that promote food literacy. She lives in Minneapolis.

Reviews

[Robin Redden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The CliffsNotes version for "The Things They Carried" has all the standard CliffsNotes information in it. I found it definitely helped me notice the larger themes and meta fictional writing which enhanced my reading. The novel uses a complicated form with the fictional author having the same name as the actual author. Being able to read the CliffsNotes helped me notice and understand that better.

The character analysis also helped me to understand what the character's themselves represent in the novel (a basic example is the loss of innocence portrayed in the Mary Ann character).

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried using this for a quiz back in high school. It was my sophomore year, I believe it was during a fall night, most likely a Wednesday when I was more occupied with watching the latest South Park episode then reading some "Things They Carried" (Don't get me wrong, it was a very good book, I'm just blaming me undeveloped teenage brain.) The next day during class, I remember this vivid sense of pride, for I being a super genius used Spark Notes. To my surprise, the next class my quiz was returned to me. 6 out of 10 baby!!

[Doug Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best accounts I have read on the Vietnam War. O'Brian is a master storyteller and pulls the reader into the book with uncanny ease.