Tangible Objects In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

The Things They Carried A compress, a two-pound poncho, grenade launchers, morphine, marijuana, chewing gum, pocket knives, a Bible, diaries, personal letters, photographs M&Ms.... When these items come to mind, it’s difficult to imagine that they individually contain anything of significant importance. But when they’re put in the hands of an army unit involved in the Vietnam War, these tangible objects create a major interconnection. Through the agonizing journey in combat, the soldiers carried these tangible items all throughout the short story, “The Things They Carried.” But is that all they carried? As one can imagine, there are also intangible things often carried while in war, such as grief, fear, love and yearning, dignity, etc... However, the tangible objects are to some extent what bring those without a physical presence to life. In the short story “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien used tangible objects to express symbolism and characterization.

This is shown throughout the story, as the author lists what the soldiers carried. As mentioned earlier, from grenade launchers to M&Ms, these items played an important role in the soldier’s journey. Some of the items carried not only contained physical weight, but also an emotional load fixed to it. O’Brien thoroughly described what all the men carried, so the reader realizes from the start that they at least have some importance. As the author goes down the list of items, the reader catches a glimpse of the soldier’s condition and it continues to grow gradually as the story goes along. The objects were extremely revealing, which was a great method that O’Brien used. The object’s symbolism also contributed to the identity and heaviness of each