Dear Audience: Breaking the Fourth Wall in The Things They Carried.
Not often do authors choose to connect with their readers during the telling of their story. They don’t make it a point to go out of their way to write a whole chapter on how they wrote the book. There aren’t many instances of a reference to how the reader is feeling or would feel if they were put in the situation of the characters. Tim O’Brien writes an intricate novel including many uses of metaphors, symbolism, and personification, all while telling different war stories that may or may not have been real. However, what evokes thought in the reader's mind is the specific choice to ask about their feelings and their thoughts as part of the book. How would they react to situations like these if they were put in the shoes of the soldiers? In the book, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses the literary choice of breaking the fourth wall to exemplify the profound impact storytelling can have because of its direct connection between the …show more content…
Readers first see an example of this when O’Brien makes the intentional choice to write, “You'd be sitting at the top of a high hill, [...] you'd feel the boredom dripping inside you like a leaky faucet, [...] and with each little droplet you'd feel the stuff eating away at important organs. You'd try to relax. You'd uncurl your fists and let your thoughts go. Well, you'd think, this isn't so bad. And right then you'd hear gunfire behind you and your nuts would fly up into your throat and you'd be squealing” (33). This entire paragraph is directed at the reader. It breaks this disconnect between the book and real life. This choice brings the reader into the book as they are now part of the story. They have
Not often do authors choose to connect with their readers during the telling of their story. They don’t make it a point to go out of their way to write a whole chapter on how they wrote the book. There aren’t many instances of a reference to how the reader is feeling or would feel if they were put in the situation of the characters. Tim O’Brien writes an intricate novel including many uses of metaphors, symbolism, and personification, all while telling different war stories that may or may not have been real. However, what evokes thought in the reader's mind is the specific choice to ask about their feelings and their thoughts as part of the book. How would they react to situations like these if they were put in the shoes of the soldiers? In the book, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses the literary choice of breaking the fourth wall to exemplify the profound impact storytelling can have because of its direct connection between the …show more content…
Readers first see an example of this when O’Brien makes the intentional choice to write, “You'd be sitting at the top of a high hill, [...] you'd feel the boredom dripping inside you like a leaky faucet, [...] and with each little droplet you'd feel the stuff eating away at important organs. You'd try to relax. You'd uncurl your fists and let your thoughts go. Well, you'd think, this isn't so bad. And right then you'd hear gunfire behind you and your nuts would fly up into your throat and you'd be squealing” (33). This entire paragraph is directed at the reader. It breaks this disconnect between the book and real life. This choice brings the reader into the book as they are now part of the story. They have