The Man I Killed

I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "The Man I Killed" af Tim O'Brien. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspetivering.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “The Man I Killed” (1990)
Forfatter: Tim O’Brien
Genre: Short story

Tim O’Brien (f. 1946) er amerikansk forfatter, som har skrevet flere værker inspireret af hans tid som soldat. Hans mest berømte værk er The Things They Carried, en novellesamling som er baseret på O'Briens egne oplevelser under Vietnamkrigen. Novellen "The Man I Killed" optræder i denne samling.

Uddrag

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Symbols

The most important symbol is the young man Tim has killed. On the one hand, the young man’s death symbolizes the harsh realities of war, where people die no matter their age or background. On the other hand, the young man becomes a symbol of Tim’s inability to cope with war and its consequences. Although soldiers die during wars, Tim is unable to come to terms with the fact that he has killed a man. Consequently, the young man also becomes a symbol of Tim’s trauma. By imagining an ideal life for the young man, Tim engages in self-torture and becomes so traumatized that he is unable to speak or to move.

Through his brief appearance and his harsh comments, Azar becomes a symbol of the way in which war can take away one’s humanity. Azar’s comments are probably an attempt for him to detach himself from the situation and cope with the things that he is forced to do.