Madeline Keller

Dr. Kikendall

Professional Writing as English Studies

9 December 2019

War in Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert & The Things They Carried

There are many different kinds of wars in this world. Physical wars that lead to death and

destruction and wars we cannot see that take place in people’s minds and hearts. In Terry

Tempest Williams, Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert and Tim O’Brien’s, The Things

They Carried both authors create a fictional picture of the wars they have experienced

throughout their lives and express the importance of these wars through their collections of

stories, ultimately starting a conversation about the way humanity views war differently.

In Terry Tempest Williams, Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert, we read a

collection of stories, articles, poems and essays paired together to increase awareness about the

ongoing war against the environment caused by the negative effect humans are having on it,

particularly the desert in Utah. In Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, we are given an

inside look as to what really happened during the war in Vietnam and how that affected the

soldiers, their families and the physical land of Vietnam.

Both authors, within their books, take a strong stand against a particular political decision

that was made, which ended up affecting the author's entire life. For Williams, it was the anti-

conservation acts that were enacted in the Utah area which increased tensions within the war and

for O'Brien, it was the Vietnam war. Having read and compared the two texts, the overall tone of

both novels is very stern and allows the reader to envision these wars occurring in their own

lives. The personal testimonies in Red and the realistic, everyday character in The Things They
Carried, causes the reader to connect with the texts, no matter your background knowledge of

the subject at hand and creates a conversation within new audiences about topics that are not

frequently discussed. These tactics keep topics that maintain a sense of controversiality, war,

relevant and per author's purpose, continue their fights for justice.

I would recommend these novels to a wide variety of audiences. I feel as though students,

including English majors, History majors, Environmentalists and Ecologists, should all read

these books because they provide a new perspective on controversial topics. That being said, my

overall rating for Terry Tempest Williams’, Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert would be 4

points on a 5 point scale (4/5). This is based off of the incredible story telling skills Williams

shows throughout her novel. The ranking does represent the political aspect of the novel

however, as I feel she should have represented both sides of the argument in order to strengthen

her own opinions. My overall rating for Tim Obrien’s, The Things They Carried, who be a 4.5

points on a 5 point scale (4.5/5). O’Brien’s book is ranked higher because of the opposing

viewpoints he shows within the novel and the many different opinions he examines within his

stories. Overall, anyone who is interested in making the world a better place and land

conservation should read these two collections of stories and examine how they can continue the

authors fights for justice within their daily lives.