The Thing's They Carried By Tim O Brien

“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.” (Sue Monk Kidd). In The Things They Carried, O’Brien is clear in saying that he would agree with this as without stories, people would be very blind about their past and in some cases, what to do in the future. Sherman Alexie and Tim O‘Brien tell stories to help teach people, or show that people are naturally good at heart but they’re ideas can change based on events that they experience or witness in their lives.

More often than not, soldiers and people in a war zone will be affected by the war one way or another. Either that being during or after the war, one could have a negative or positive outlook on the war, but one single event could automatically change that person's behavior. During 1957-1973, the longest war in the United States history took place, the Vietnam War. Many soldiers have lost their lives in this battle, but the ones that survived have significantly changed from this event.

Upon the death of Lavender and Lt. Cross putting the blame upon himself, he had decided to burn his distraction (which was told to be the reason for Lavender’s death-it could have been prevented) alongside disregarding his good luck pebble from Martha, a symbol O’Brien had used to depict classification for Cross. Thus, in this sequence, as Cross had “renewed” himself from distraction, it can be relatable to O’Brien as he represents Lt. Cross not with a pebble nor Martha, but rather a man who rehabilitated himself in response to the death of one of his men. Furthermore, throughout the story, O’Brien begins to categorize his fellow soldiers through the listing, indicating a weak relationship between everyone. However, as the story progresses after the death of Lavender, a conversing style of writing emerged (about Lavender’s death and how the soldiers were grateful to be alive), indicating emotional connection between O’Brien and the company amplified, such as when Kiowa noticed the Lieutenant being “…in some deep hurt [indicating]… The man cares.” Additionally, O’Brien, from there forth, begins to characterize the Alpha Company through their personal traits with phrases identical to, “For the most part they carried themselves with poise, a kind of dignity” or the general reactions and responses the soldiers produced before, during, and after a firefight including embarrassment and apprehensive sentiment to die and the jokingly conversing subsequent to the battle.

The Things They Carried” is a great short story by Tim O’Brien who displays the remarkable story of soldiers during the Vietnam War. Being away from your family, in an unknown place, giving up your life’s luxuries is difficult to handle mentally and physically. Similarly, in the short story we see how soldiers try to overcome their fear by escaping from the reality of the war time situation around them, to a world that is just an illusion. Throughout the short story we see several men coping through their fear in Vietnam as they had the responsibility of a solider and carried burdens of need and emotions. In order to cope with their fear, the soldiers talked with each other and told each other what they felt since the only thing that they had was time and pain.

The fear of embarrassment. It was life and death. Although fear was what pushed many soldier to go to war, it was also a motivating factor got them to attempt to escape it. Temptation (to escape the war) was an additional daily battle the men had to face. All men, “carried the common secret of cowardice…

Poetic Elements in “The Things They Carried” In the short story “The Things They Carried “ O Brien explores many poetic elements in the story. The author’s purpose of this story is to tell us about the effects and impact that the Vietnam War has left. War is truly horrific and should not be taken lightly. Going to war can be very devastating.

The Weight In the short story, “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien talks about the weight soldiers carry in war. This particular war that Tim O’Brien was a part of is the Vietnam war. The soldiers in Vietnam have not only their gear to carry but they also carry the weight of the world in their hearts. Tim O’Brien uses symbolism, figurative language, and imagery to tell us of none other than pure hell.

The author then presents us with the idea that unchecked emotions prove to be a greater burden than any physical stress, “They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried” (O’Brien pg. 104). Here the author hints that our protagonists do in fact think of their actions and the repercussions associated, but at this point in the story, no one is willing to open up a discuss how they feel about the war. Whats equally as important is how Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries himself. He sees himself as a squad leader and therefore takes responsibility for everything that goes on, but he’s also preoccupied with another girl back home causing him to lose focus which later leads to

Lavender was dead. You couldn’t burn the blame” (O’Brien 22). This quote is important because it tells about why LT. Cross burned the letters and what other

The bluntness of the introduction of Ted Lavender’s death shows how sudden his death was and how death was an ordinary occurrence in the Vietnam war. Ted Lavender’s death plays a significant role in the novel. He carried tranquilizers and extra ammunition as precaution and a way to calm himself; however, he was still killed. His death is ironic because the items that were meant to protect him ended up weighing him down, which made him fall quicker when he was killed. This shows how no object could prevent the soldiers from dying and how death was a worry constantly on the soldiers

He hated himself” sets a very frustrated and angry tone, similar to the feeling Jimmy Cross was feeling. Furthermore, the parallelism used in these sentences beginning with “he” emphasizes the hate and shame he felt towards his actions. The author utilized a simile when describing the utter sadness and guilt Jimmy Cross felt, saying that he was like carrying a stone in his stomach. He further emphasizes this by once again using the word “carry”, this time showing that he is carrying his feelings as a burden. This shows that after his fellow soldier, Ted Lavender died due to his fantasies of Martha, he realized his mistake and felt shame and

In The Things They Carried, the rest of the soldiers watch Lavender die and show mixed feelings towards him. For example, Kiowa makes fun of his death whereas O’Brien is greatly shaken by this reality. O’Brien is living with sad memories of the war he participated in himself. ‘he lay at the center of the trail, his right leg bent beneath him’ (O’Brien 349). Death

The True Weight of War “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers go through during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and and mind, to the point where some men return home completely destroyed. Some soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. An indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet secretly desired to die and bring a conclusion to their misery.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men entered the warzone and came face-to-face with unimaginable scenes of death, destruction, and turmoil. While some perished in the dense Asian jungles, others returned to American soil and were forced to confront their lingering combat trauma. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried provides distinct instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and reveals the psychological trauma felt by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short, is the most common mental illness affecting soldiers both on and off the battlefield.

Quotation Analysis “It wasn't as if they had a choice. They were soldiers whose choices had ended when they had signed contracts and taken their oaths. Whether they had joined for reasons of patriotism, of romantic notions, to escape a broken home of some sort, or out of economic need, their job now was to follow the orders of other soldiers who were following orders, too. Somewhere, far from Iraq, was where the orders began, but by the time they reached Rustamiyah, the only choice left for a soldier was to choose which lucky charm to tuck behind his body armor, or which foot to line up in front of the other, as he went out to follow the order of the day”(Finkel 54).