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Alliteration
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
On the Rainy River
Explanation and Analysis—Military Leaders:
Because The Things They Carried is set during the real-life Vietnam War and discusses actual historical events, the stories contain a number of historical allusions. Although O'Brien overwhelmingly focuses on what happens on the ground among the members of the Alpha Company, rather than on the higher-ups waging the war, he nevertheless brings up historical military leaders from both sides.
In "On the Rainy River," O'Brien mentions the names of the American president and military commander:
I was a liberal, for Christ sake: If they needed fresh bodies, why not draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk? Or some dumb jingo in his hard hat and Bomb Hanoi button, or one of LBJ’s pretty daughters, or Westmoreland’s whole handsome family—nephews and nieces and baby grandson.
Lyndon B. Johnson was president of the United States from 1963 to 1969, and General William Westmoreland was commander of the American forces in Vietnam during much of the war. Given that they were both in charge when O'Brien was conscripted in 1968, they are the foremost people he can blame when he receives his draft letter. Although a number of more hawkish political and military leaders also contributed to the escalation of the war, Johnson and Westmoreland became two of the main figureheads of American presence in Vietnam.
By including these recognizable names, O'Brien develops the verisimilitude of his story, grounding it in historical context that is familiar to the reader. In O'Brien's view, "there should be a law" requiring those supporting a war to put their "own precious fluids on the line." He then expresses his wish that Johnson, Westmoreland, and their families are placed in the front lines and "help spill the blood." Later in the same story, he blames everyone who supports the war but doesn't know history: "They didn’t know the first thing about Diem’s tyranny, or the nature of Vietnamese nationalism, or the long colonialism of the French."
Later, in "The Man I Killed," O'Brien fabricates a past for the man he killed, imagining him in a relatively similar position to himself. He describes the man's political leanings and plans for the future, then makes allusions to Vietnamese history:
He was not a Communist. He was a citizen and a soldier. In the village of My Khe, as in all of Quang Ngai, patriotic resistance had the force of tradition, which was partly the force of legend, and from his earliest boyhood the man I killed would have listened to stories about the heroic Trung sisters and Tran Hung Dao’s famous rout of the Mongols and Le Loi’s final victory against the Chinese at Tot Dong.
In this passage, O'Brien brings up a number of Vietnamese names that may be less familiar to the reader than Johnson or Westmoreland. The Trung sisters were ancient military leaders who defended Vietnam from China. Tran Hung Dao was a notable military commander who successfully defeated Kublai Kan and repelled two Yuan dynasty invasions in the 13th century. After his death, he was considered a saint in the Đại Việt kingdom. Le Loi is another major military hero from Vietnamese history, who restored the Đại Việt kingdom after it was occupied by the Ming dynasty for two decades in the 15th century. Although these historical allusions go much further back than Johnson or Westmoreland, they contribute to the story's verisimilitude. They also reveal O'Brien's urge to understand or reconstruct the background of the man he killed and to acquaint himself with Vietnamese history.
Related Themes:
The Man I Killed
Explanation and Analysis—Military Leaders:
Because The Things They Carried is set during the real-life Vietnam War and discusses actual historical events, the stories contain a number of historical allusions. Although O'Brien overwhelmingly focuses on what happens on the ground among the members of the Alpha Company, rather than on the higher-ups waging the war, he nevertheless brings up historical military leaders from both sides.
In "On the Rainy River," O'Brien mentions the names of the American president and military commander:
I was a liberal, for Christ sake: If they needed fresh bodies, why not draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk? Or some dumb jingo in his hard hat and Bomb Hanoi button, or one of LBJ’s pretty daughters, or Westmoreland’s whole handsome family—nephews and nieces and baby grandson.
Lyndon B. Johnson was president of the United States from 1963 to 1969, and General William Westmoreland was commander of the American forces in Vietnam during much of the war. Given that they were both in charge when O'Brien was conscripted in 1968, they are the foremost people he can blame when he receives his draft letter. Although a number of more hawkish political and military leaders also contributed to the escalation of the war, Johnson and Westmoreland became two of the main figureheads of American presence in Vietnam.
By including these recognizable names, O'Brien develops the verisimilitude of his story, grounding it in historical context that is familiar to the reader. In O'Brien's view, "there should be a law" requiring those supporting a war to put their "own precious fluids on the line." He then expresses his wish that Johnson, Westmoreland, and their families are placed in the front lines and "help spill the blood." Later in the same story, he blames everyone who supports the war but doesn't know history: "They didn’t know the first thing about Diem’s tyranny, or the nature of Vietnamese nationalism, or the long colonialism of the French."
Later, in "The Man I Killed," O'Brien fabricates a past for the man he killed, imagining him in a relatively similar position to himself. He describes the man's political leanings and plans for the future, then makes allusions to Vietnamese history:
He was not a Communist. He was a citizen and a soldier. In the village of My Khe, as in all of Quang Ngai, patriotic resistance had the force of tradition, which was partly the force of legend, and from his earliest boyhood the man I killed would have listened to stories about the heroic Trung sisters and Tran Hung Dao’s famous rout of the Mongols and Le Loi’s final victory against the Chinese at Tot Dong.
In this passage, O'Brien brings up a number of Vietnamese names that may be less familiar to the reader than Johnson or Westmoreland. The Trung sisters were ancient military leaders who defended Vietnam from China. Tran Hung Dao was a notable military commander who successfully defeated Kublai Kan and repelled two Yuan dynasty invasions in the 13th century. After his death, he was considered a saint in the Đại Việt kingdom. Le Loi is another major military hero from Vietnamese history, who restored the Đại Việt kingdom after it was occupied by the Ming dynasty for two decades in the 15th century. Although these historical allusions go much further back than Johnson or Westmoreland, they contribute to the story's verisimilitude. They also reveal O'Brien's urge to understand or reconstruct the background of the man he killed and to acquaint himself with Vietnamese history.
Related Themes:
The Ghost Soldiers
Explanation and Analysis—Movie Stars:
"The Ghost Soldiers" contains a number of allusions to American movies, actors, and characters associated with the middle of the the 20th century. By way of these allusions, it is possible to trace a transformation in O'Brien.
In the beginning of the experience he recounts, he compares himself—with a certain measure of irony and criticality—to actors and movie characters. By the end of it, he has completely lost interest in such comparisons. He learns that real life is nothing like movies, and that he should be careful about aspiring to behave like movie characters and actors.
The first time O'Brien is shot, he lies there thinking "I've been shot, I've been shot" as "all those Gene Autry movies [he'd] seen as a kid" come to mind. This memory makes him almost smile, until it hits him that he "might die." Gene Autry was a very famous actor, musician, and rodeo performer who often played the sympathetic hero in Westerns. O'Brien laughs at himself a little—or takes comfort from childhood memories—for thinking of an actor when he has been shot, until the association makes him recognize the gravity of the situation.
When he and Azar wait for midnight, they watch Barbarella, a science fiction film from 1968. O'Brien finds the film "lousy," however, and feels eager to go out and execute his scheme. As he prepares his gear in the darkness, he again invokes actors and characters that he would have looked up to as a child:
There was a light feeling in my head, fluttery and taut at the same time. I remembered it from the boonies. Giddiness and doubt and awe, all those things and a million more. It’s as if you’re in a movie. There’s a camera on you, so you begin acting, you’re somebody else. You think of all the films you’ve seen, Audie Murphy and Gary Cooper and the Cisco Kid, all those heroes, and you can’t help falling back on them as models of proper comportment.
Audie Murphy became famous as a decorated soldier after WWII, which sparked his acting career. Beginning as a silent actor, Gary Cooper came to be a star of Hollywood's golden age. The Cisco Kid is a fictional character, found in film, radio, TV, and comic books. Originally rather violent in O. Henry's Western short story "The Caballero's Way," the Cisco Kid came to be a classic character who fought off bad guys and saved the day. With this set of allusions, O'Brien explicitly states that the scheme makes him feel like he's a movie hero, and that he acts as though a camera is filming him. He acknowledges that he and the other soldiers compare themselves to macho movie characters during combat.
However, it is worth noting that O'Brien recognizes the danger of such comparisons. He feels the "old imperatives" and "old movies" swirl together, along with clichés and his emotions: "in the end you can’t tell one from the other." Later, as he watches Jorgenson from afar and observes his fear, he does not feel like he's watching a movie. Rather, he feels as though he's in Jorgenson's shoes:
I was there with him. [...] You know you’re about to die. And it’s not a movie and you aren’t a hero and all you can do is whimper and wait.
O'Brien knows that in moments of terror, people probably aren't comparing themselves to movie stars. A small piece of him may be inspired by actors like Gene Autry and Gary Cooper, but when he's truly scared, he no longer performs for anyone.
Related Themes:
