Translating the Sixties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Translating the Sixties - Essay Example According to Joshua, this 60s decade was also termed the Swinging Sixties due to the relaxation or fall of some of the social taboos especially those that are related to the racism and sexism that took place during that time. However, the 1960s decade has resultantly become synonymous with the new subversive and radical trends and events of the period, which developed continually between the 1970s through to 1990s and beyond. Therefore this paper seeks to highlight how Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, translated the period, what was different about the story in illustrating the events of the sixties than the real thing. In addition, the paper will assess how the constellation of the historical moments of the 60s ended through discussion of the social, cultural, economic, and political events of the decade ended or changed according to the story, The Things They Carried. In accordance to Tim O'Brien's writings, the 1960s decade was also characterized by war movements. The Vietnam War eventually would have resulted to the commitment of more than a half a million troops of Americans that could result into the deaths of over 58500 Americans that may have produced an anti war movement in large scale in the American nations. By 1965, some few Americans made efforts to protest the involvement of America in the Vietnam War. The war however continued and the dead counts multiplied leading to the escalation of the civil unrest. The students and campuses of various Universities became so powerful and had disruptive force which sparked debates over the war nationally. Doubts about the war within the administration itself arose as the ideals of the movements spread beyond the university campuses. There was a mass movement that opposed the war of Vietnam that eventually ended the mass of the Moratorium protests in the year 1969 alongside the movement that resisted conscription for the war. In Tim O'Brien's short story The Things They Carried, the a trocious physical fears and conditions of a man that he is subjected to in order to have his reputation save is clearly revealed. The story illustrates the events of 1968, a story concerning the Infantry Platoon who fights in the Vietnam jungles including the weight which were both emotional and physical that they had to carry. The modern warriors of the day were particularly equipped with everything one could imagine. The book tries to translate the events of the sixties from what happened to the real things, according to Tim O'Brien, necessity determined most of the things they carried. Some of those things they had to carry as dictated by necessity were the pocketknives can openers, flak jackets, and helmets (O'Brien 281). Additionally, they carried other things that were basically determined by particular ranks of the warriors and their specialty such as weapons, radios, and ammunition (O'Brien 283). Superstition also contributed to the selection of some of the items they carrie s. These are things that were common with war in the sixties. For instance, a particular soldier carried a thumb cut from a dead VC body and another had the foot of a rabbit. The soldiers also carried other items that served the purposes of emotional comfort such as a pair of the pantyhose belonging to their girlfriends and bibles (O'Brien 287). The conditions of the weather in Vietnam were particularly harsh, humid and hot days and nights which were