The Things They Carried By Tim O ' Brien Essay

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional standpoint of being young men out at war.

Many may question the true meaning of love. However, there is not an exact description. According to Merriam-Webster, The full definition of love is “a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties-maternal love for a child (2): attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests”. Love played a role in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is the platoon leader. While stationed in the Vietnam, Lieutenant Cross was infatuated with Martha. He used his memory and imagination to escape from the scenes from the war.

"The Things They Carried" list the variety of things his fellow soldiers in the Alpha Company brought on their missions. Several of these things cannot be seen, including guilt and fear, while others are specific physical objects, including matches, morphine, M-16 rifles, and M&M's candy.

     How does death affect the behavior of people? Although death affects everyone's behavior differently, knowledge of one's imminent death is a main force behind behavioral changes. This knowledge causes emotions that motivate people to act in ways that they normally would not. In Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried,'; the knowledge of death and its closeness causes the men in the story to alter their behavior by changing they way they display power, modifying emotions to relieve guilt, and by exhibiting different actions to ease anxiety.

Tim O’Brien’s short story “The Things They Carried” is about a platoon of seventeen soldiers that are in the Vietnam war. The focus of the story is on First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross going back and forth from Vietnam and his memory for Martha, “an English major at Mount Sebastian” (323). The narration bounces around during the telling of the story, as if the story is being told from memory years after the war. The narration of the story is told around the death of one of the soldiers, Ted Lavender. As the platoon “humped” (324) through the Vietnam wilderness outside the village of Than Khe, the narrator gives the reader lists of military issued equipment and what each piece weighs. “They would never be at a loss for things to carry” (332) for these lists changed depending on the mission and the soldiers mental state, as does their weight. Along with their military issued equipment they also carry personal belongings, as well as emotional baggage. This essay will analyze the personal and emotional things they carry and whether they are helpful or a burden.

Culture teaches that men must dispense of ridiculous emotions and remain firm, following expected duties. O’Brien develops this theme of the transition from youth to manhood in his short story, “The Things They Carried.” Through the protagonist Jimmy Cross, metaphors of weight, and futile ideas of freedom, O’Brien reveals how society expects young men in transition to adulthood to let go of impractical idealism and dwell instead on the cruel reality of the world.

In the story The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien uses literary devices such as imagery and repetition to show how conflict impact humanity in ways of making people care for who they have and how long they have them.

In Tim O’Brien’s short story, “The Things They Carried,” he explains more than just what people face while fighting a war. He gives detail of each struggle, memory, and heartache each soldier carries on their shoulders into the war. O’Brien describes of a battle more destructive than a war filled with any ammo. He describes a battle within the human mind, a battle in which is harder than any man has faced. A battle within the mind controls one’s every decision. O’Brien explains the importance on having one’s mind “battle-free” so memories will not distract one making successful decisions.

While this aspect of war was only explicitly explained in the beginning of the book, its message followed the soldiers in Vietnam through their experiences. O’Brien explains in the beginning of the book that “[the soldiers] would go to war… because [they] were embarrassed not to” (O’Brien 57). Despite personal feelings against the essence of war, soldiers still found themselves heading to Vietnam. The fear of embarrassment not only played a role in a soldier’s entry into the war, but it often plagued a soldier while in Vietnam. Should soldiers act in a way that would deem them cowards, they feared the loss of their reputations. The “men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to” (O’Brien

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story written about the Vietnam War. The title has two meanings. The first is their duties and equipment for the war. The second, the emotional sorrows they were put through while at war. Their wants and needs, the constant worry of death were just a few of the emotional baggage they carried. During the Vietnam War, like all wars, there were hard times. Being a soldier wasn’t easy. Soldiers always see death, whether it be another soldier or an enemy. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien explores the motivation of solders in the Vietnam War to understand their role in combat, to stay in good health, and accept the death of a fellow soldier.

The Things They Carried is a book that was written by Tim O'Brien who discussed his experiences in the Vietnam war. He did not want to go to war, but he had no choice except leaving the United State to live in Canada, but if he went to Canada he would never be allowed to come back to the United States because he would be a criminal. However, O’Brien feared that people would call him a coward. In the The Things They Carried O’Brien demonstrate that stories have the ability to pass heroic action and moral dilemma.

Tim O’Brien’s interrelated stories of The Things They Carried recount the lives of fictional soldiers during the Vietnam War. Through O’Brien’s catalogs of the variety of stories, the working and reworking the details of his service and fellow soldiers, O’Brien is able to express the mental burden that they endure, to show the digression of innocence in a solider, and he is able to conclude a meaning for his life is post war.

In conclusion, a personal connection to something that means so little to others can be a huge impact for someone else. In the novel, “The Things They Carried”, the author Tim O’Brien uses pieces of things that had a major impact toward the soldiers and talks about how it prevents insanity. He shows this through symbolism in the characters, like Norman Bowker, Henry Dobbins, including the author himself. All throughout the novel, the author chose to use the soldier's pain in a way that makes them unique. The author expresses how the soldiers dealt with their pain through the war, and Henry Dobbins way of coping was by sniffing his girlfriend's pantyhose while reminiscing the times they had together. That is an example of how the author uses

Host: Hello and welcome to ban or not to ban, where the nations most exciting topics are discussed between opposing parties. Today we 're debating whether or not to ban “Tim O 'Brien 's novel The Things They Carried. In this book author Tim O’Brien depicts the Vietnam conflict by distinguishing between the role of whether or not to be a civilian or a soldier. Though the book is fictional, Tim O’Brien portrays himself as a man who struggles with himself inside and his choice of wanting to join the army or turn tail and run to Canada. Tim O 'Brien has won the national book award, the james fenimore cooper prize for best historical fiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and many more for his other books, but is The Things They Carried too controversial? This book is controversial because of its use of profanity and its descriptive detail on war and the gore and violence that occurs. Here with us we have Sergeant Wilson who wants the book to be banned because of a common disorder known as PTSD and its effect on war veterans. Opposing him is John Bender local high school history teacher who feels that this book is of extreme literary value because of its stories of Vietnam from a soldiers perspective.

Tim O’Brien, the author of The Things They Carried, was also the main character and narrator who gives a soldier’s personal outlook on war. O’Brien writes personal and fictional stories using the several soldiers he knew during the Vietnam War. Mentally and physically, he and his fellow soldiers went through a lot. Some getting through it and others did not. Their struggles offer much to learn about what a person can go through. Although in The Things They Carried soldiers physically carried large amounts of equipment, the mental and emotional burden influenced them on a deeper level due to the fear of death, judgement, and loss.