OBrien uses many long descriptive paragraphs. Choose one example and explain and identify his purpose and techniques.

A fantastic
example of the way that Tim O'Brien uses long, descriptive paragraphs comes early in theof the
short story "The Things They Carried," which gives its name to O'Brien's most famous
collection. The second paragraph goes on for nearly and entire page, and it opens with a list of
many of the things in the soldier's packs; it lists the things they all have and alternates this
list with specifics about the particular items that different individuals carry for
themselves.

The purpose of this paragraph is twofold: the items they carry in
common give a window into the environment that the characters find themselves in, and each
character's individual items give an intimate, if tiny, picture into those characters lives and
habits. This single paragraph is incredibly effective in establishing the exposition for the
story.