The Things They Carried Mary Anne Character Traits

In Tim O’Brien’s “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,” Mary Anne Bell’s evolution into adulthood is driven by her acquisition of the knowledge that she is a predator. From the beginning, she is absorbed by the carnage and danger of war, even “fascinated by it. Not the gore so much, but the adrenaline buzz that went with the job” (O’Brien 7). Mary Anne accepts, and even welcomes, her predator lifestyle, and presents herself as “someone perfectly at peace with herself” (O’Brien 17). Mary Anne may crave the kill because it gives her a goal and an objective, while life as Mark Fossie’s wife would not provide such a purpose.

Baker, a historian and professor of history at Goucher College and who was also featured in the Alexander Street American History video on The First Ladies: North and South, provides insight into the life of Mary Todd Lincoln during the Civil War. In her book Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography, Jean Baker describes how Mary Lincoln showed her bravery and loyalty to her husband during the terrors of the Civil War. When Washington and the White House was under threat of an attack from the Confederates, she refused to flee for safety and leave her husband’s side. Furthermore, she would accompany Lincoln in reviewing the troops and regularly visit the Washington hospitals. During her visits, she would attempt to cheer and comfort the wounded soldiers as well as compose letters to the families of those who were unable to write for themselves.

She went from living in her nice community home to surviving in the woods and sleeping in a wigwam. You can really lose sight of who you are when your surroundings change quickly and drastically. These “savages” as she referred to them as made her life a living hell. Mary considered the world beautiful in the past because she was an at home wife that didn’t have to live under any difficult conditions. This was her first time actually being held without food for several days.

It was said that Mary was a “natural for the WAAC” which means that she had all the requirements needed to be the godmother of the women in American military and had all the leadership requirements for it as well. She also accomplished giving women a permanent part in the military establishment through the Women’s Army Corps which was given under her charge by Dwight Eisenhower, who was impressed with the way she served in England, France, and Italy during the

Mary’s whole definition of who she was changed drastically after the attack on Pearl Harbor and internment began. Mary questioned if she was really an American if her civil liberties and freedoms given to her by the Declaration of Independence could be taken away so quickly and without warning. She illustrates this notion in her novel when she states, “How strange it felt to be saying the Pledge of Allegiance after a forced evacuation to a prison camp.” (Matsuda Gruenewald,

Throughout the diary the value that Mary places on these characteristics can be seen in her assessment of events and people. First, Mary Thorp clearly believed that a strong sense of patriotism was an important component to what it meant to be British. Thorp demonstrates this sense of patriotism throughout the diary and it colors her opinion on many of the events and people who appear in the piece. One persistent component of this patriotic outlook can be seen in how Thorp views the air war which is being fought throughout the diary. Of particular importance is the difference in opinion that she demonstrates between the German raids and the English raids.

Discriminating those who look or believe differently is extremely wrong. The books “Night” by Elie Wiesel, and “Farewell to Manzanar” by Jeanne Wakatsuki go into detail about what is was like to living in camps. Jeanne Wakatsuki and Elie Wiesel both suffered in these camps, but Elie Wiesel lost more of his faith left in humanity. Elie Wiesel’s experiences took a major toll on his views of humanity. “As for me, I was thinking not about death, but not wanting to be separated from my father (Wiesel, 82).”

In the The Things They Carried, the emotions are more than just a mental problem, they become life changing conflicts. The author of this book is Tim O’Brien. Tim O’Brien is the main character throughout the whole book. In the beginning of the book, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien goes in depth describing what each of the men carried with them. He started with actual things having to deal with war, then talking about the emotional burdens the men carried.

A coward is a person who is so scared of others that they do not take responsibility for their actions therefore they often get innocent people in trouble. In Arthur Miller’s retelling of the Salem Witch Trials entitled The Crucible, the character of Mary Warren is the quintessential coward. She is one of the many girls who accuse others of being witches, though she knows it is wrong, she continues to cover up her faults with lies. Mary Warren finally accuses John Proctor of witchcraft in Act IV because she is a coward and does not want to take the blame for the hysteria she has helped to create. In Act IV Mary Warren is afraid of Abigail, so she points the finger at John Proctor to keep Abby from accusing her of being a witch who is very vulnerable and easily persuaded.

In the play, the Diary of Anne Frank a family and their friends hide in a storage room in Amsterdam, during a harsh period called the Holocost. During this harsh period, Ms. Franks daughter Anne stayed her hyper, playful self. First off Anne comes into this situation with a positive attitude. Anne Frank sees the good in almost anything and anyone. Almost evryone in the atic was botherd by Anne.

The more Mary Anne was there the more comfortable she got and she started to become out of control. The soldiers had no idea who she was becoming and they knew it was because of the war, “For a long while the girl gazed down at Fosse, almost blankly, and in the candlelight her face had the composure of someone perfectly at peace with herself” (O’Brien, 105). Rat Kelly’s memory recalled Mary Anne changing while she was in Vietnam. She started to kill and turn into someone other than when he first emt, but her attitude was still there that everyone loved. O’Brien shared this story readers understand that the war can change anyone and

Her mother died shortly after her birth leaving her father to care for her and her half-sister, Fanny Imlay. The dynamic of her family soon changed when her father remarried. Mary was treated poorly by her new stepmother, and her quality of life was less than satisfactory. Her step-siblings were allowed to receive an education while Mary stayed at home. She found comfort in reading, and created stories in her father’s library.

When she had the opportunity to do her part in the war she took in in hopes of proving herself to her parents that she is worth more than just someone to be married. Anne shows us that through determination and hard work, things may not end up with the happy ending you expected but instead can finish in something completely different but just as good.

Anne now is 15 years old and much more sophisticated. Before she was a crazy girl with all of her outbursts when they first went into The Secret Annex. Anne just needed a couple of years in isolation with a few other people to grow up from her younger, crazier, and more energetic self. She became a mature woman who stood facing her killers with a “soft reassuring

Mary Russell Laurie R. King is a mother who I imagine must define herself as a strong women. I believe when King created Mary Russell she kept herself in mind and she wanted Mary to posse some of the characteristics she thinks her herself posses. King even allowed Mary to posse a characteristic that she does not have. In The Moor King characterizes Mary Russell as intelligent, independent, and not patient. I feel that King was trying to set Mary apart from other women around at her time.