Tim O'Brien short story "The Things They Carried" is about a unit in the Vietnam War. One of the soldiers “Ted Lavender, a "Grunt" gets shot by a sniper when in route to the restroom. Meanwhile, his superior by the name of, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross points the finger at himself for the catastrophe. One of O'Brien's themes is that emotional problems on soldiers can be heavier than physical problems. Symbolically, the things the soldiers carry represented who they were. Lieutenant Cross' “Jimmy Cross” name is a symbol of sacrifices for others. O'Brien's characters carry both passionate and physical burdens. while they all carry substantial physical burdens, they likewise all carry overwhelming passionate burdens, made out of grief,terror,love, and aching. Every soldier’s physical burden underscores their passionate burden. Henry Dobbins, for example, carries his girlfriend’s pantyhose and, with them, the longing for love and comfort. Similarly, Jimmy Cross carries …show more content…
The fact that some characters in the story took tranquilizers to calm down their nerves clearly depicts that, the war period was depressive to the soldiers (sparknotes.com). For example, Rat Kiley carried morphine, plasma, malaria tablets, surgical tape, and every one of the things a medic must carry. The way that Kiley carried, beneficial necessities demonstrates that he is a decent medic committed to doing his service well, yet the M&Ms spoke towards something else. Kiley's optimistic and compassionate point of view toward the war and life when all is said in done. The tranquilizers carried by Ted Lavender express towards his dread of the battling in the war and his powerlessness to face reality, rather choosing to escape from it by taking drugs. Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school (428). Represented his faith & belief he had with