Theme Of Irony In The Things They Carried - 1329 Words

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien, metafiction is used to further the story. OBrien used the metafictional devices of irony, and nonlinear sequencing of events in order to push his story and properly represent the experience of war. Each metafictional device is used in order to advance the meaning of the story and let the reader truly understand the emotions and experience of being at war. Whether or not the story is perfectly true is not important, for OBrien is telling the story of the hardships and brotherhood of war rather than the exact facts. The first and most common of the metafictional devices OBrien used in the novel is irony. Irony is used in metafictional devices to show how things can be extremely†¦show more content†¦Being a women during the 50’s Mary Ann was expected to be proper, innocent and unable to understand or handle the extreme emotions and pressures of war, however, she quickly adapted to the war and went against everything exp ected of her and joined the green berets. OBrien pushed the irony of Mary Ann’s story even further than just defying gender norms as he juxtaposes innocence and the savagery of war together through Mary Anns actions and appearance at the end of the chapter. The men all talk about how Mary Ann is still out in the woods fighting, they say; â€Å"she was wearing her culottes, her pink sweater, and a necklace of human tongues† (110). Although it is extremely unlikely that this experience ever happened, OBrien uses this story to show just how life changing war can be, he proves that even the most innocent person can walk into the war and come out a savage, hostile and war oriented person. Had he never juxtaposed the innocence of Mary Ann and her ‘girly’ clothing against the demented and horrifying necklace of severed tongues, his point may have never had the deep message he wanted to portray. There are many other examples of irony spread throughout the novel, h owever this example had one of the most powerful message and proof of howShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay905 Words   |  4 PagesThe Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien uses many short stories to describe his experience in Vietnam. The story that captured many aspects of writing was â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† because it acts as a guide to writing a true story. 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