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Summary Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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The Things They Carried is a harrowing story about the trials and tribulations of the Vietnam War by author and veteran Tim O’Brien. However, the qualities of the characters and the tangible/intangible things they carry with them are applicable to anybody who has witnessed the tragedies of war for themselves. O’Brien shows us the things these soldiers carry - and what they mean to them - through details, repetition, and a blunt tone. First, O’Brien shows the physical things the soldiers carry by listing them. Basic and/or regulatory items they have are stated, such as “safety picks, trip flares, signal flares, spools of wire, razor blades, chewing tobacco,” etc. The list keeps going on. He also lists the items that some of the men personally …show more content…

Of course these things are tangible and to any normal person, they would mean nothing except a means of protection. But by giving us these details, O’Brien was smart because even though he doesn’t tell us character traits, we are able to infer them through what each man chose to carry. For instance, Sander’s “tiger fatigues for special occasions” tell us that he likes women and carries vanity. Dobbins’ insecticide tells us that he carries a hatred vietnam’s jungle full of exoctic insects and wild animals; he would much rather be elsewhere. Jensen’s sandbags give us the impression that he carries a paranoia about being killed, especially if he’s caught off guard, and therefore feels he needs more protection. In addition,Lastly O’Brien writes how the men would throw away things on marches because they knew that resupply choppers would replaces the same items a day or two later. This detail sounds …show more content…

But as a veteran, he understands that to get through war and all of its daily tragedies, that’s exactly what a soldier needs to be, or he won’t survive. The quote “...just humping, one step and then the next and then another, but no volition, no will, because it was automatic, it was anatomy, and the war was entirely a matter of posture and carriage…” illustrates and reaffirms what O’Brien is trying to tell us by explaining how the soldiers got through every day. In war, they have to get used to all of the terrible things and still keep going because ultimately there is a task at hand to be completed. And they just do it. They just do it and try their best not to get killed in the process. That’s war. And that’s O’Brien’s (and many others) attitude towards it. More evidence of his objective tone is that O’Brien tells us exactly what the men carry without emotion or bias. Passionate adjectives lack, while we are almost given a grocery list of the things the group of soldiers carry. However, we do get some insight into what the characters could be feeling from O’Brien in a phrase that could have a double meaning: “They carried their own lives. The pressures were enormous”. Because he doesn’t elaborate, it lets us readers know that there definitely was a great mental toll. O’Brien, like the soldiers, just doesn’t want to talk about it. He helps to illustrate that through a juxtaposition of short

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The heaviest of the weightless load was fears that they would not speak of, or perhaps could not speak of, lest it come alive and eat up their sanity. Instead, they shallowly laughed off the threat of death in this war, all the while alienating each other, thinking that this isolation wouldn’t allow their fellow soldiers to see how afraid they were of the dark shadow of death. It’s easy to feel the weight bearing down on the soldiers shoulder’s as O’Brien goes over the detailed list of items strapped to these men’s backs. Perhaps the most haunting of his words being “They all carry the emotional baggage of men who might die.” Nonetheless, they marched on.

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Cross’ overall experience with Martha and the soldiers? The Vietnam War was one of the most unpredictable and controversial wars that the United States had fought in. Due to the unfamiliar jungle environment, there were many casualties and horrifying experiences. Many people were getting anxious about the war and wanted the soldiers to return.

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The short story, “The Things They Carried,” written by Tim O’Brien (1990), appears to be an unpretentious narration that list the tangible items carried by the soldiers while fighting in the Vietnam War. Upon further review it becomes clear that the lists of “things” have a much deeper meaning and carry an abundance amount of emotional weight. Not only is their load a physical burden that consist of hefty equipment that is necessary for survival, but they also bear the burden of internal conflict. The internal conflicts identified in the story center around the disturbing afflictions carried by the soldiers revealing that the men long for an escape from their dreadful surroundings, feel responsible for the lives of their fellow soldiers,

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The Things They Carried is a war novel written by former soldier Tim O’Brien. This novel is a depiction of experiences that O’Brien endured while serving in the war. This powerful and unique novel expresses many themes such as mortality, bravery, and the weight of physical and emotional burdens, which help weave together the horrors of life as a soldier. In The Things They Carried, being a story about war, the theme of mortality is written many times throughout the book.

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The Things They Carried shows an overall theme of soldiers carrying physical and emotional baggage through the war. Throughout the book, Tim O’Brien vividly describes some of the literal

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