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. Soldiers suffered from trauma they witnessed and from posttraumatic stress disorder. It has a tremendous impact on soldier’s lives something they can never change or forget. Many young men are often drafted in to war although they opposed it. This should not be the case people should not be forced to go to war against their will. Many soldiers carried things that were a reflection of them or things that were important to them during the Vietnam War. What the soldiers carried were both psychical and emotional loads. For example, Henery Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter. The soldiers carried things that helped them …show more content…
The protagonist Jimmy Cross was in love with a women named Martha. Every chance he got he would reminisces about the times they’ve had together. During the war Jimmy couldn’t stop imagining and daydreaming about him and Martha together. By doing so Jimmy was putting his men in danger because mentally he wasn’t there. The relationship failed before it ever even started because of the war. After the war, Jimmy reached out to Martha. She never ended up getting married which could possibly mean she did love him at a point but got fed up waiting on him. He tried to work on his relationship with her but sadly she rejected him. Perhaps, she taught it was too late to start a relationship together. Martha and Jimmy could have possibly been together but the war took away love from both of them. It could possibly be because Martha couldn’t handle that he went to war. It was too much for her to handle