The Things They Carried:
Consider the following passage from two editions of The Things They Carried:
(a) Twenty years. A lot like yesterday, a lot like never. In a way, maybe, I’d gone under with Kiowa, and now after two decades I’d finally worked my way out. A hot afternoon, a bright August sun, and the war was over (page 187 of the 2000 edition).
(b) Twenty years. A lot like yesterday, a lot like never. In a way, maybe, I’d gone under with Kiowa, and now after two decades I’d mostly worked my way out. A hot afternoon, a bright August sun, and the war was over (page 178 of the 2009 edition).
Answer the following questions in your essay:
1) Why do you think Tim O’Brien changed the word “finally” to “mostly”? What does his changing that one word imply about the lasting effects of war and the fragile nature of identity? Identify one other passage from the novel, The Things They Carried, that illustrates this and explain why you chose that passage?
2) Referring to one or more of the poems by Brian Turner, Marvin Bell, and Scott Hightower, discuss the author(s) treatment of war’s lasting effects in their poem(s). What are the similarities and differences in terms of the language and the content?