Emotional Burdens In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

“The Things They Carried”

"The Things They Carried" is a short story collection which was written by Tim O’Brien. The story is about American soldiers who were fighting in the Vietnam War and the experiences they encountered on the battlefield. The novel carries main themes such as struggle, sacrifice, self pity, and also interpersonal battles that not only affected, but also tested the patience of the soldiers at war. Tim O'Brien has brought up these events in his style of writing in a language that is so descriptive, it makes the reader feel as though he or she was there. The active theme of physical and emotional burdens is a main idea that resonates throughout the story. This story gives the reader an idea of the kinds of things soldiers

It is also seen that Martha was a volleyball player through the photographs and that they had only gone on one date where they had a chance to watch a movie "Bonnie and Clyde." Through the scene we see Cross touch Martha's knee at the movie, in response, Martha looks at Jimmy, and instead of embracing the hand, she pulls it back and refuses him to touch her. The burden continues when we realize Jimmy wishing while in Vietnam, that he had carried Martha up the stairs, put her on the bed and at the same time get a chance to touch her knee throughout the night (p.2). However, he feels scared to imagine that the feeling and affection might never be realized

The main concerns of Bates include the fact that the author misinterprets the meaning of courage and therefore the attempt to achieve its results in the attainment of frivolous objectives. Tim O'Brien presents an instance of a shooting where Lavender makes Cross issue an order and leads the team back to Than Khe, where they burned everything and also shot the chicken and dogs. Meanwhile, as the team meditates the shooting of their colleague, the author introduces a dialogue between Kiowa and Norman discussing the gap between life and death and how easy it is to die. Kiowa meditates how easy Lavender died since he fell so quickly and, in a few minutes, before he was zipping his pants as was coming from the bathroom. The next morning after the death of Lavender, the audience is introduced to Cross who regrets his actions that led to his colleague’s death. The author expresses mild courage in the American soldiers who ought to be stronger and