Critical Analysis - the Things They Carried Essay

For example, Lt. Jimmy Cross carried letters from Martha that he continually fantasized about. Kiowa carried his grandfather’s old hunting hatchet as a way to hold on to his cultural past. The additional weight depended somewhat upon the soldier’s rank and position. For example, the radiotelephone operator carried a twenty-six pound radio as part of his position.

When men go off to fight a war, they often carry more emotional baggage than actual, physical baggage. “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing - these were the intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight.” (page 20) The war messes with their heads, causes them to become paranoid, scared, and anxious all hours of the day and night. Ted Lavender, who was terrified of his own shadow in Vietnam,

In “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien the theme of “carrying” both physical and emotional objects by the main characters can be found in the novel. While these men carry the same standard physical army gear, they differentiate with personal tangible and intangible items. From Lieutenant Cross’s responsibility of his men, to Henry Dobbin’s girlfriend’s pantyhose for its magic, each man faced the war with these things attached.

Tim O’Brien writes about both the physical objects they carry as well as their emotional burdens. The objects that these soldiers carry serve as a symbolism for what they are carrying in their hearts and minds. The soldiers carry items varying from pantyhose, medicine, tanning oil, and pictures. Jimmy Cross is an inexperienced sophomore in college, he signs up for the Reserve Officers Training Camp because his friends are doing the course. Jimmy Cross doesn’t want anything to do with the war or anything to do with being a leader. The item that Jimmy Cross carries with him are pictures of his classmate named Martha.

Written by author Tim O’Brien after his own experience in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in “The Things They Carried” guides the reader through the complex development of characters by establishing their humanity during the inhumane circumstance of war, articulating what the men need for emotional and spiritual survival, and by revealing

One literary technique prominent in The Things They Carried, particularly in the story by the same name, is symbolism. Throughout this story, O’Brien mentions all the things that the soldiers carry with them, both physical and emotional. However, the physical items that the men carried is more than just

This story also describes other people with what they pack in their bags and such. These items describe the lifestyle each person lives in or even outside of the war. For example, “Ted Lavender carried six or seven ounces of premium dope, which for him was a necessity” (355), which could explain that he is a drug addict and possibly a drug dealer. Another example is, “Dave Jensen carried three pairs of sox and a can of Dr. Scholl’s foot powder as a precaution against trench foot”(355), this describes Dave could be a health nut or someone that cares for his wellbeing more than his companions. The main character and narrator Jimmy Cross describes himself with the letters he saves in his sack from Martha,

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word "weight" as "a mass or quantity of something taken up and carried, conveyed, or transported." Tim O'Brien's war story The Things They Carried, published in 1990, explores the theme of weight and its importance to men at war in considerable depth. The opening chapter of this book, which was originally written as a short story, is comprised of a collection of lists. O'Brien details for his reader both the physical objects, such as cigarettes, C rations, and packets of Kool-Aid, and the more intangible things, such as fear and silent awe, that weigh these soldiers down. With the amount of space that the author gives to

Every one of us has experienced a strong emotional fear, and in that moment of stress, we learn more about who we are. The short story “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, follows the lives of soldiers trying to survive the emotional and physical stresses of the Vietnam War. Throughout the story, O’Brien juxtaposes the physical weight of the supplies that the soldiers must carry with the immeasurable weight of their intense emotional experiences. The theme of “The Things They Carried” is the burden of fear, which O’Brien portrays through the counter-weight of objects the soldiers cling to for consolation and escape. Some men turn to objects that remind them of love, no matter how unlikely it is that they are loved back. Other men

In "The Things They Carried," O'Brien made reference to the Vietnam war that was closely associated with the physical, psychological, and emotional weight the soldiers beared.  The overall method of presentation of this story incorporated many different outlooks on the things the soldiers carried, dealt with, and were forced to adapt to.  In addition to this, O'Brien showed us the many reasons why and how the soldiers posessed these things individually and collectively and how they were associated directly and indirectly.  The strong historical content in "The Things They Carried" helped emphasize the focus of the story and establish a clearer understanding of details in the

The Things They Carried is a story based on the experiences of young American soldiers fighting during the Vietnam War. The story begins giving you insight into the thoughts of the soldiers, describing to you what they humped along with them through their walk in the deep jungle of Vietnam. Some of those things were necessities P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing-gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets (81) and some were objects to give them hope. Throughout the story you follow a young platoon of men on their journey through the jungle never knowing which day could be the last day of their lives. The author, Tim O’Brien, using very accurate description and detail gives us

If the soldiers found a weapon worth carrying they would pick it up such as, captured AK-47’s and black market Uzis. All of the men in the platoon carried sentimental items. Some carried good luck items and some just souvenirs from their tour. For example Jimmy Cross carried pictures and letters from a girl that didn’t love him like he wanted. Kiowa carried a bible.

Each soldier carried with them items, some tangible others intangible, which helped them to adapt their minds and escape from the setting so that they could survive the traumatic events taking place. “Ted Lavender carried six or seven ounces of premium dope.” “Rat Kiley carried comic books.” The soldiers in the story do not only have a physical battle to deal with but also a mental one. Most of these items were a necessity in order to bear the war. However, there were a few items that the soldiers carried not because they had to or because they needed it to survive physically but because they needed it in order to survive emotionally. One soldier carried his wife’s pantyhose; another carried a new testament. One soldier permitted his items to take control of him and become an obsession, a trauma that took his focus away from his priorities, the war, and his men.

Tim O’Brien’s, The Things they Carried is a riveting tale of struggle and sacrifice, self indulgence and self pity, and the intrapersonal battles that reeked havoc on even the most battle tested soldiers. O’Brien is able to express these ideas through eloquent writing and descriptive language that makes the reader feel as if he were there. The struggle to avoid cowardice is a prevailing idea in all of O’Brien’s stories.

The soldiers face loneliness, isolation, the heavy burden of fear, and the weight of their reputations. The soldiers carry such a heavy weight from the past, in the present, and for the future. Even after the war, the psychological burdens the men carried during the war continues to define them. Those who survive the war carry guilt, grief, and confusion.