The Things They Carried Pages 67-134: Inside Insanity

     These set of chapters are particularly disturbing and really go into depth exploring what can happen to a person when they peer to far into the darkness. Most prominently, Fossie's girlfriend Mary Anne loses herself to a freedom which she never had. As a result, she assumes a disturbing image that is darker and more wild, an effect that is enhanced greatly by her necklace made out of human tongues. What starts as a normal blonde going to Vietnam to see her boyfriend ends as a girl who runs away into the mountains like a feral animal, showing how the strangest of things can happen in Vietnam. The chapter is quite atmospheric, with references to darkness and jungle music that paints a very good image in the reader's mind. To an extent, the reader even feels the shock of Mary Anne's transformation.
     Furthermore, Henry Dobbins loses his girlfriend as well. He normally wraps her panties around his neck as a lucky charm. However, he gets dumped. Dobbins eventually overcomes the initial turn of of events and wears the panties anyway. Doing so illustrates how the soldiers cling to their pasts despite the past moving on from them, like when Jimmy Cross keeps his love as well. They retain a piece of their humanity in a way and in doing so keep their sanity. While the world may betray them, they will not betray themselves. Such an effect is not so much loyalty towards the people who abandon them, but towards there own constant image of themselves which lets them be alive in a human sense.
     The set of chapters concludes with the death of a young and seemingly inexperienced Vietnamese fighter. O'Brien is finally mentioned in a somewhat direct manner, but does not actually have dialogue. Instead, the story is a portrayal of his inner feelings. Through the story, O'Brien is shown to deeply regret killing the man, believing fervently that he killed a person that would otherwise have lived. There is a battle in O'Brien's head back and forth about whether he can forgive himself or not, showing that war is not something that one can forget. Kiowa shows up to comfort him by claiming that he would have died anyway by one of the members of the team, but the circumstances seem to indicate that such an event would be unlikely, considering that Kiowa is asleep during the confrontation. It seems instead that Kiowa comforts O'Brien, something apparently implied by how Kiowa keeps repeating the same thing despite not knowing anything about the situation. Friendships are a centerpiece of this set of chapters and the characters support one another in very troubling situations. Also, it seems that more is being developed when it comes to O'Brien and the soldiers in general. In accordance with such a trend, it seems likely that the bonds of the characters will be further built upon and O'Brien's character given solid elaboration. As the end approaches, the story is beginning to pick up and there seems to be care developing in what might transpire as the story comes to an end.

The Things They Carried- Pages 1-66

     At this point around page 66, about the first third of the novel, the narrative appears to be dark and morbid. In almost every chapter someone dies or at least is alluded to die, and even when there is no literal death mentioned, there is still the repeating concept of failure and cowardice. Although there is no clear order to the advancement of the novel's plot, it appears that the stories at least progress in terms of familiarity of names and character development, in a rough order of traditional importance. In the beginning the lieutenant, Jimmy Cross, is introduced. Much of the start appears to be told from his point of view, to such an extent that Tim O'Brien, the actual author and writer who was in the war, is not really highlighted. Later Cross's character is detailed.
     Soon, other characters are developed in the novel based loosely on the number of times they were mentioned in the opening parts. It appears that the book has more to do with the individual characters and their stories that perhaps all culminate to tell a larger message about some aspect of humanity given their primal tendencies in the frequently horrific situations that the soldiers are placed in rather than a more cohesive single tale about the writer. Another interesting detail is how the characters are put in more personal situations as time goes on with their section devoted to them. Rat Kiley is at first described to be a cheerful person, referred to as young and easygoing. Not too long after the death of his best friend Kiley slaughters a buffalo in what is likely the most gruesome scene in the first set of the novel.
     But when the characters lose something dear to themselves, they also move on. Cross has to by not thinking as much about his old crush while Kiley has to move on from the death of a fellow soldier and of his own brutality. Perhaps the end will converge to tie in all of these scarring events around the time the unit's time is done. Maybe all of this pain is due to the effort of trying to cope with something that is not a fight one should be forced to engage in only to bring enormous strife before a final rest. Then it seems that humanity needs to understand conflict among themselves to improve.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien: Impressions from the First Chapter

     From the start of the first few pages it is clear that repetition will play a key part in the novel. Specifically, the repetition of things being carried and their respective burdens will hold special meaning in the book. It also appears that flashbacks and foreshadowing will be mixed in and probably also repeated given the reappearances of the time when the soldier got shot in the head. Flashbacks and foreshadowing will probably be used to develop the plot and theme, which appears to have something to do with people having to deal with various problems. A soldier has to carry things that other people do not, so the context will also almost certainly shaped in accordance with such a distinction in mind. The novel does not appear to be overly political as it takes no clear side on way or the other but rather tells the stories of the soldiers as a narrative, utilizing devices such as symbolism in order to convey certain aspects of the soldiers' stories and personalities. Although the ultimate point is not yet evident, it should become more plain as the novel progresses. As more of the soldiers and their experiences are detailed,  specific nature of the message should become apparent to readers.

The Handmaid's Tale Chapters 40-Epilogue: June's Story Stops

     June is finally freed of her struggles by all likelihood in the final set of chapters and the epilogue. No longer is she trapped by what seems to be at least in part a fable made by her to keep her sanity. Instead she is escorted by Eyes members who are apparently actually part of the Mayday liberation underground movement which secretly send females away from Gilead, most likely to England. The reader also obtains the final bit of exposition and information that is sparsely placed in the entirety of the novel. Characters get a small bit of extra detail with the Commander being revealed as helpless and weak while Serena Joy is depicted as extreme. Cora and Rita are more or less the same as always as they were described in the beginning, being caretakers of the house that had no palpable personality. 

     Perhaps the character to come out of the novel in the best light is Nick, who is shown to be a sort of hero who supposedly helps others out, being able to ascend and retain his post while taking pity on June, appearing to help her to boot. Where in the beginning he was mysterious and dull, at the end he seems complex. He is kind to June in the context of Gilead and offers to help her multiple times in his unfeeling way. Therefore it seems unlikely that he would betray her at the end when June is being carried away by Eyes as he was extremely kind to her otherwise, risking his status on several occasions. 

     Ambiguity is an important concept in the novel as shown by how the story is minimal, fragmented and even called into question at the end due to it being written by an unreliable narrator who almost certainly altered names for some reason. Apparently, the most likely scenario for June is that she was saved by the Eyes who shipped her off to England where she spent the rest of her life as a shell. Speaking in terms of personality, June would fit the possibility offered by Pieixoto and Wade, the two professors giving exposition to the tale. Based on June's actions and inner thoughts, she would not say anything to gather attention and prefer to try and play the survivor role, living out the rest of her life as a recluse. Maybe June had accepted the mentality of Gilead so much that she could not break out of it and still followed its creed by not saying anything that would be seen as inflammatory or she could be in shock. Regardless, June has achieved peace in the literary text and will now have a life that is finally resolved.