Joy Kogawa and Tim O'Brien: two authors who used their mastery of the English language to produce literary masterpieces that reflect not only their own struggles, but also the difficulties of the multitudes around them. In her acclaimed work Obasan, Joy Kogawa illustrates the intense discrimination faced by Japanese Canadians during the Second World War and provides many thought-provoking anecdotes to give the reader insight into her personal situation. Tim O'Brien achieves basically the same goal in The Things They Carried by telling the reader many brief stories about his time in the Vietnam War. These two books, while incredibly different on the surface, share a plethora of themes and symbology, as well as many similar events. However, they do not emphasize or present these ideas in the same way. Each of these authors has a unique way of incorporating their own themes or values ​​into their writing, which gives the reader a completely different view of what may be happening. The brain is an amazing thing. It allows us to think, blink, walk and talk; it allows us to run, hide, seek and stride; but above all, it allows us to remember. Neither literary work takes a strong stance on its opinion on memories, as both have many different characters with many different opinions. Naomi sees and even vaguely reflects Obasan's views on memory; that the past be left to the past and the future will bear what is to come (65 Kogawa). This “Ashes to Ashes” position is reflected by Rat Kiley in The Things They Carried (SparkNotes Editors). Although Obasan has a much tougher exterior and is able to keep his cool, they are both haunted by cruel memories that they try to suppress. Rat, however, is not as lucky as ...... middle of paper ......n previously predicted. Things are not always what they seem; a concept that applies to the characters themselves. Obasan is more than a wrinkled old lady, just as Rat Kiley is more than just an infantryman. Don't judge a book by its cover or jump to conclusions; everyone is different. Take the time to discover and get to know someone, and you might be surprised by The Things They Carried.Works CitedSparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Obasan.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Internet. February 22, 2012. SparkNotes Publishers. “SparkNote on the things they were carrying.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Internet. February 22, 2012. Kogawa, Joy. Obasan. 1981. New York: First Anchor, 1994. Print. The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. February 22, 2012. O'Brien, Tim. The things they carried. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1990. Print.