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Symbolism In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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There are many objects or scenes that have immense symbolism in The Things They Carried. The Things They Carried is a novel written by Tim O’Brien. The book is essentially stories through the different perspectives of people he went to the Vietnam War with, including himself. The title of the book in itself represents the basis of the story. In the first chapter, the author lists things some of the men in Lt. Cross’ corps carry. Some items were necessities and some gave the reader ideas of what kind of person one was based on their possessions. Lt. Cross carried photographs, such as a girl named Martha, playing volleyball or in front of a brick wall. Letters signed love at the end of them, and a lucky pebble from a girl he was infatuated with. From these personal items, we can clearly see that he loves this girl and keeps her close to his heart. The author refers to the soldiers carrying things as “humping”. So, Lt. Cross humps his love for Martha everywhere he goes. Cross relied on his love for Martha to get him through the war. Having something that tied him back home, something innocent and free from bloodshed, kept him fighting. …show more content…

Cross. He served as the platoon’s moral compass. He carried a Bible, an old hatchet, and the distrust of white men. Kiowa is very religious. He carried an illustrated version of the New Testament that was given to him by his father. His father, presumably a preacher, taught at an Oklahoma Sunday school. Kiowa is Native American so he has an Indigenous background. With that background comes the stories of not trusting white people since they stole their land. His grandmother was the one to bestow the distrust and he carries it with him. His grandfather’s hatchet serves as Kiowa’s tie to his family and back

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Lieutenant Cross comes to realize “his obligation was not to be loved but to lead” (337). Meaning can be found in the fact that as Cross no longer carries these gifts Martha sent him, he is beginning to free himself of her distraction and the fantasy-like mindset he has. However, now he must carry the weight of the guilt of Lavender’s death and the responsibility of being a tough

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772 Words | 4 Pages

The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, is a unique account of some of the devastating stories and tragedies that occurred during the Vietnam War. O’Brien is no stranger to the war, which makes his novel that much more genuine. His tour of duty lasted from 1969 to 1970 as a foot soldier with the 46th Infantry in Quang Ngai province (Reed, 2008). One of the tragic stories found in The Things They Carried has to do with a man by the name of Kiowa who was the heart-felt member of the group around whom the novel focuses. To the demise of all of the members of the Alpha Company, Kiowa is slowly lost in a very long and harsh death that seemed to be unpreventable by any of his dearest friends.

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482 Words | 2 Pages

The Things They Carried is about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, the leading officer of a band of soldiers in the Vietnam War. It is written by Tim O’Brien. Jimmy falls in love withe girl named Martha who is back home attending college. He carries a couple of pictures and letters that she has sent. The group comes across a runner and they draw numbers to see who has to go in to check it out.

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723 Words | 3 Pages

The chapter depicts love as an emotion that is carried as it talks about soldiers who carry physical things needed like a poncho, bug repellent, rations, and how "They all carried ghosts". Lieutenant Jimmy Cross likes to carry letters. Cross carried the letters as reminders of his love for Martha, a girl from his college. He also has no indication of her returning his love, but Cross still

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1426 Words | 6 Pages

O’Brien writes, “In the late afternoon, after a day’s march, he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light pretending. He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire. He would sometimes taste the envelope flaps, knowing her tongue had been there” (O’Brien). Cross is so infatuated with this girl and her letters that he often finds himself distracted. Cross’ men also carry emotional burdens.

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1754 Words | 8 Pages

He would sometimes taste the evelope flaps, knowing her tangue had been there. More than anything he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her, but the latters were mostly chatty, elusive on the matter of love." From this quote we can his love for Martha, the way he still had feelings at War , where you had to be focus on serviving and not making a space for love. Martha represents love, even through the fact that she never loved Jimmy Cross, his love for her keeped him alive, she helped him to go through the day. He imagined how one day after war they will be together, he carries her photograph<

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

He is conflicted with the emotional burden of loving Martha and his responsibility to his men. Cross is the Lieutenant of this platoon, meaning that he is their leader and ultimately responsible for the outcome of all their lives. Even though it is easy to see how these men need an escape to help them survive the daily task of fighting, the illusions of being somewhere else can result in additional weight being

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429 Words | 2 Pages

Something as simple as Lieutenant Cross’s good-luck pebble or Dave Jensen's rabbit’s foot held significant superstitial value and gave them peace of mind that something was on their side (O’Brien, 609). To them, every piece of their equipment had meaning; from the ammunition to the M&M’s (O’Brien, 607), whether it was for the benefit of them succeeding in the Vietnam War or a distraction from it, everything held value. From their helmets, boots, jackets and gear which helped them sustain themselves from the unfamiliar climate and jungle territory to things like Kiowa’s weight of his own feelings about a fellow soldier who died right before him. Even though Kiowa’s feelings had no physical weight, he still felt held down by this “un-Christian” of not feeling sorrow and pain when Ted Lavender fell down dead in an instant right there on the same battlefield he was in (O’Brien,

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1009 Words | 5 Pages

Along with his military gear, O’Brien states, “Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps” (p. 115). Cross loves Martha, and “More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her” (p. 114), but is unsure of whether she loves him back. Despite his uncertainty,

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938 Words | 4 Pages

Symbolism in The Things They Carried Symbolism is used in The Things They Carried many times, often to represent qualities, emotions, or states of minds. Tim O’Brien, the author and narrator of the story, expresses symbolism through forms of love, terror, and religion, and shows how all three have consequences in the Vietnam War. Symbols are very powerful in this story, and O’Brien does a good job of keeping the interest of the reader throughout this compassionate, yet saddening story of a group of infantrymen fighting for their lives, sanity, and loved ones during the War. Love is the most potent emotion felt throughout the story. Love is what kept some of the men alive in the war; it is also what killed some of the men.

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1509 Words | 7 Pages

The author was writing the story “The Things They Carried” expressed so many thoughts and feelings about what the soldiers had faced, they showed their feelings and duties, life or death, and overall fear and dedication. This story shows the theme of the physical and emotional burdens that everyone is going through in the war. By showing his readers what the soldier’s daily thoughts are and how they handle what is going on around them. Tim O’Brien expresses this theme by using characterization, symbolism, and tone continuously. In the story, physical and emotional burdens plagued several characters as they all had baggage weighing them down.

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648 Words | 3 Pages

Jimmy Cross is the first lieutenant who carries pictures and letters from Martha, the woman he loves who—sadly—does not love him back. The pictures and letters from Martha symbolize Jimmy’s longing to be loved and comforted. It is ironic that although he is the first lieutenant who is expected to take charge and lead others, yet he never took charge of his own love life. This is a regret and burden Cross carries to the end of the story. “It was very sad, he thought.

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986 Words | 4 Pages

He says in the book that writing everything down makes him cope with this traumatic experience. He uses his courage to help himself through hard times thinking about the war and everything he has been through. Soon after finding out about Kiowa's death Lieutenant Jimmy Cross wanted to go back to the fields to find him under any circumstances because no man would be left behind. He knew how good of a soldier and brother Kiowa is to everyone, but the thing is the field where he died has caused people to have many different emotions into finding him but that is the fear, shame, and courage that everyone has to face.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

Things They Carried Analysis draft In the short story “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’brien uses the literary element of symbolism to portray how people carry different items to represent certain things, and to represent the harsh realities of war and life. He also uses symbolism to show how people become attached to items, and how they take on deeper meanings in times of stress. The story takes place during the Vietnam war, and O’Brien talks about an army detail, and the different things that they carried. This story is a great example of the use of symbolism to represent many different things at once.

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510 Words | 3 Pages

A a hedge against bad times, however, Kiowa also carried his...grandfather's old hunting hatchet" (O'Brien 2). A large part of religion is family, and Kiowa kept his grandfather's hunting hatchet despite its age and the fact that it would take up precious space in his load. Kiowa's devotion to his religion kept him focused and

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