Storytelling Keeps Them Alive

Storytelling Keeps Them Alive

Introduction

Stories are immortal because they are passed on from generation to generations. They may change in some aspects, but they never die. A significant theme that has been developed by Tim O’ Brien in “the things they carried” is the importance of storytelling. According to Tim O’ Brien, these stories keep the dead alive as they are a vivid memory of the deceased person. To some extent, through telling stories about the deceased person, one can feel their presence as if they were still alive. Among the structures used in theme development include characterization and repetition. O’Brien uses indirect characterization where he introduces the characters through their words, actions or appearance. This type of characterization helps the reader get a mental picture of each one of them. There is also the use of repetition as a writing technique as the theme of storytelling is developed. O’Brien first mentions the death of a person then later narrates it. This creates emphasis on how storytelling keeps the dead alive.

Characterization

O’Brien makes use of indirect characterization in most parts of the story. This means that he introduces each character using either their words, actions or appearance. This type of characterization helps the reader form a mental picture of the described character. An instance is where Tim narrates how he pictured the life of the man he killed. A man who he later believes had no intention to harm him and this thought tortures him. He believes that the man was not violent when he describes his appearance and he decides to make up a life story for the man and portrays him as a gentle soul (Tim p119). In this made-up story, he describes the man to have feminine features which makes him an object of ridicule among the other boys. His interest is in education, but he feels obligated to defend his land just as his fathers and uncles did before him (Tim p121). In reality, the young man was in love and was praying for the war to end since he didn’t dare to fight. However, the young man was afraid of disgracing himself and his family, and this made him join the war (Tim 121). After his studies in the university, he comes back to his village with his new wife, and he joins the war. He, however, dies on his first day of the war (Tim 123). According to Tim, the young man had fallen dead, but he would undoubtedly wake up in the stories of his people and his village (Tim, p124).

Repetition

In his narration, Tim makes use of repetition as a writing technique. This lays an emphasis on the theme of storytelling. The most vivid instances are where he mentions the deaths of Lemon, Lavender and Linda then later narrates how they died. Later in the story he narrates stories about how they lived. Tim believes that the dead can be kept alive by stories. He remembers the death of his fellow soldiers during the war and how the dealt with the loss. The stories of Curt Lemon and Ted Lavender made them appear alive (Tim 219). If a person who never knew they were told of their stories, he would have assumed that they were still alive. When Lavender died, they remembered how he used to take tranquilizers every morning and how he would give funny answers. They mimic a normal conversation with him, and they can almost hear him (Tim 219). When Lemon dies, Rat revives his memory by giving a detailed story of what he used to do during Halloween. According to Tim, these stories made it seem like Lemon was still alive but the reality is that he was dead (Tim p227). Another dead person that was kept alive by Tim was his childhood girlfriend, Linda. Tim stole her soul and maintained it through a story (Tim 224). He imagined so many activities with Linda, and he would write down the conversations. He developed a habit of bringing her alive in his dreams, and it all seemed so real (Tim 230). These stories help him keep her memory alive despite her being dead. Tim concludes by saying that even when he dies, he will be kept alive through a story (Tim 233).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that the dead can be kept alive by stories about them. O’Brien uses characterization and repetition to develop this topic. The indirect characterization used in the story introduces the character by either their words, actions or appearance giving the reader a chance to visualize the introduced character. The aspect of repetition lays an emphasis on how storytelling keeps the dead. As such, it is indeed true that the dead can be kept alive by narrating stories about them.