ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

Contemporary Literature 6 The Things They Carried 215 Views


Share It!


Description:

How did the Vietnam War change the public perception of the U.S. government? What themes are explored in The Things They Carried ? Do you know the Muffin Man? That last one isn't covered in this video, we're just interested. 

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

Thank you We sneak in contemporary literature the things they

00:08

carried a la shmoop the vietnam war is a really

00:12

important contemporary war because it's a moment where many many

00:17

americans began to distrust the government so the vietnam war

00:23

was a really confusing war A lot of people think

00:26

of it as a as a bad war not that

00:29

war is generally good but this is a war that

00:32

wasn't planned or executed well on dh where it wasn't

00:37

clear for american troops and their allies who they were

00:40

really fighting and why they were fighting and how to

00:42

fight the vietnam war is a moment where guerrilla warfare

00:46

becomes much more important Non military troops so small bands

00:53

of fighters fighting and really unpredictable ways So it was

00:57

just an incredibly difficult war to even compete in Historians

01:02

still grapple with how to register It is either a

01:04

success or a loss but pretty definitely a loss for

01:08

the american people in terms of their confidence in government

01:11

On dso tim o'brien's the things they carried was published

01:15

in nineteen ninety i hesitate to call it a novel

01:18

because it's a group of stories that blur the lines

01:22

between fiction and nonfiction on dh it's a set of

01:25

stories about the war and it's also like mouse just

01:31

a really intense reading experience on dh one where ultimately

01:36

you're you're immersed in this world and you're supposed to

01:40

understand kind of how violent and confusing and devastating it

01:44

wass it is a set of multiple stories narrated by

01:48

multiple characters That's not unusual in literature we can go

01:52

back all the way to the canterbury tales defined like

01:55

a multiple perspectives story But the thing here is that

01:59

sometimes what different character say they contradict each other You're

02:03

never totally sure what is real and what is not

02:06

So it really emphasizes this idea that the facts are

02:11

always uncertain and there's all of this confusion about who

02:14

you can believe in who's telling you the truth How

02:21

did the vietnam war change public perception of the u

02:23

s government What themes Air explored in the things they 00:02:26.758 --> [endTime] carried

Related Videos

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123038 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105893 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1256 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...

Quotes: A fool's paradise
294 Views

Find out the meaning behind "a fool's paradise."