The Things They Carried () by American Novelist Tim O'Brien. The Things They Carried is a story by O’Brien about soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The author skillfully creates a vivid picture of the world soldiers live in, which consists of the things they carry, i.e. physical and emotional burden. What each of them carries reflects their inner struggle, shows their humanness, Ratings: 99 Jul 21, · This essay analyzes Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”. It is a compelling short story of the Vietnam War. In summary, war is its central theme, as shown in numerous researches. This paper on “The Things They Carried” aims to connect O’Brien’s biography with the main issue of the plot Jul 08, · It is the author’s complex blend of fact and fiction, which takes the reader into an in-depth understanding of the underlying implication of “The Things They Carried” short stories. The analysis shows that the novel sounds more to a narrative than the story, where every twinge is factual beyond reality
O'Brien's "The Things They Carried": Literary Analysis
The author skillfully creates a vivid picture of the world soldiers live in, which consists of the things they carry, i. physical and emotional burden. What each of them carries reflects their inner struggle, shows their humanness, vulnerability and tension between reality and fantasy world and what it sometimes resulted in. The list of things the men carry is very detailed. It is not merely a description of a backpack contents; it is reflective of the circumstances they have to endure, their personalities, and their mission. They take only the things they need to survive, physically and emotionally, and every item has its weight. Not only did they carry their backpacks, their ammunition was also extremely heavy.
What soldiers had to carry depended on a mission they had to embark on, their capacity and their specialty. The doctor had to carry heavy medical supplies, the lieutenant carried heavy maps and measuring instruments, while others had to carry more weapons. The list is very long, and each detail provided more insight into the personality of each member of the team Bloom In addition to the necessary items, there are also personal things that need to be 'humped'. Those were personal belongings of sentimental value, the things they carried analysis essay. The list of items soldiers carried is completed with their names, which allows the reader to create an image of each soldier without describing their appearance.
Some soldiers carried a diary, a comic book or an illustrated New Testament, while others carried toothbrushes, soap, etc, the things they carried analysis essay. Soldiers carried some items because they were superstitious. The main character, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, is a young man of only 22, who is in charge of his men; however, he is overtaken by his love to Martha, who he is daydreaming about. The author shows how important this love is for Jimmy by often talking about it, starting from the first line of the story and continuing with it untill the very end of it when a young lieutenant makes a the things they carried analysis essay to put it behind him and to get rid of everything that reminded him of Martha.
There were many reasons for his decision. From the very beginning of the story, it is obvious that the girl does not reciprocate his feelings, even though her letters always the things they carried analysis essay 'Love, Martha' in the end. Jimmy might not want to believe it, but he knew that the words did not reflect her feelings; however, he wanted to hope that there is a prospect of her returning his feelings some day. He fantasized about what their relationships might be, that is why he also wondered, whether Martha is a virgin or not.
He did it almost uncontrollably by citing the evidence that spoke either in favour or against it, and it was difficult for him to even know what he preferred in that regard. In a way, the things they carried analysis essay, his love for Martha was something that kept him distracted from the reality of his present life, where everything was so different. Dreaming about Martha was a way of escaping to the other world, unlike his. In her letters she never mentioned the war, 'except to say, 'Jimmy take care of yourself' Updike, Kenison Apparently, this was another detail in her letters that Cross felt uneasy about — the author repeats this fact twice, in the first paragraph of the story and then almost at the very end of it, when the lieutenant accepted reality he was living in, which Martha 'was not involved in'.
He understood that 'she signed the letters 'Love', but it was not love, and all the fine lines and technicalities did not matter' Updike, Kenison As nice as letters sounded, they were only distraction in his life that were not worth suffering the danger he was putting himself and his men through daydreaming about what is not real. He was realistic about it. There was that new hardness in his stomach. No more butterflies, Cross was accepting the reality and its harshness. The death of Ted Lavender had a profound effect on his combat comrades, the things they carried analysis essay. His death was mentioned several times before the author gives account of how it actually happened. Baxter, Turchi This way of narration builds the things they carried analysis essay the tension and emphasizes significance of the event, preparing the reader for the following action.
In his many accounts, the narrator mentions Lavender and his death by referring to the timing of the event. This repetition shows that the moment of senseless death, when it was least expected, was remembered by all the men Baxter, Turchi That was a routine duty that had to be performed each time before exploding a tunnel, the things they carried analysis essay. That was also a horrible duty no soldier wanted to perform; therefore, the things they carried analysis essay, each time they had to cast a lot to see whose turn it would be to go in. It was a dreary task of crawling into darkness where each of them had to face many fears - some real and others imaginary - of how it might go and what they might encounter there. The task of waiting for one to return was just as taxing for his comrades as it was for him to go, or, possibly, even more so.
And seeing one emerging out of the hole was a happy event for all. From what could be viewed as a grave, Lee Strunk was interrupted by the sudden death of Ted Lavender. That shocked everyone. They were worried about what might have been a dangerous mission for Strunk and did not think death might be looming elsewhere. It never occurred to them that such a trivial activity as peeing might end up being a grievous event. Everyone was ready for what they expected. They each carried enough weapons to protect themselves; however, being at war, brought a lot of unexpected occurrences that one could not foresee.
Each of the men had fears and they fought to hide it. The shame was a great motivator in forcing them to move ahead. They did not go to war because they wanted to become heroes, but because they were ashamed not to do so. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of the things they carried analysis essay or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment Updike, Kenison This is the greatest tragedy of war: men are dying and causing death and destruction for no other good reason than saving their pride.
After the death of Lavender, Cross takes his troops to the village to burn it down to inflict the pain they themselves were unable to cope with. However, what set Ted Lavender apart from the rest of the crew is the fact that 'he the things they carried analysis essay scared' Updike, Kenison Apparently, the things they carried analysis essay, they all had their moments of almost panic fear that they wanted to conceal from others. However, Ted Lavender was the only one whose fear was very evident for others and the content of his backpack reflected it, because he 'carried tranquilizers', 'six or seven ounces of premium dope, which for him was a necessity' Updike, The things they carried analysis essay Apparently, it was hard for him to constrain his fears, even in what seems to be a trivial situation that did not require him to use his drags.
Even on the day of his death, he took tranquilizers before going peeing. Undoubtedly, the things they carried analysis essay, drugs not only the things they carried analysis essay his fear, but his other senses as well. When his comrades were waiting for the chopper to come to take his body, they were smoking 'dead man dope'. It seems they needed their feelings to be dulled, too. The shock was so great that Kiowa, who saw how it happened, repeated many times how Lavender fell under the weight of his backpack Bloom Another way to dull the sense of helplessness and guilt was to 'trash the village' by erasing it completely will all the chickens.
This was one of the senseless and unnecessary activities, just like many other they performed, because 'they had no sense of strategy of mission. They searched the village without knowing what to look for, nor caring, kicking over jars of rice, frisking children and old men, blowing tunnels, sometimes setting fires and sometimes not' Updike, Kenison What they were engaged in was not only dangerous but purposeless. And they could not escape it because the pride would not let them admit their fear. They thought of those who inflicted minor injuries on themselves as cowards. However, they were envying those who were able to board the 'great bird' and fly to freedom.
The war claimed its casualties, whether alive or dead, because those who escaped it suffered emotionally, and those who stayed on the battlefield knew death was everywhere, and they were happy just to be alive. Significantly, for anyone involved in war 'there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry' Updike, Kenison After burning down the village of Than Khe and marching for several hours in the heat and they struggled to overcome their trauma in the evening. It is only in the things they carried analysis essay evening that 'Lieutenant Cross found himself trembling' Updike, the things they carried analysis essay, Kenison and allowed himself to cry.
The violence dulled their senses for the time being, but it did not take away the pain and heavy burden of what had happened. Soldiers carried many practical things with them. They also carried 'all the emotional baggage of men who might die'. Among those were 'grief, terror, love, longing… shameful memories… the common secret of cowardice barely restrained. The pressure was enormous' Updike, Kenison After Ted Lavender was killed, Lieutenant Cross had another weight added to his burdens. He felt guilty of having neglected his duties and fantasized about Martha instead of securing the perimeter and watching over his men Bloom The narrator explains why Cross was 'not there': 'He was just a kid at war, in love He couldn't help it' Updike, Kenison The key scene the whole story is evolved around takes very little span of time, but it has lasting consequences.
Prior to the account, the things they carried analysis essay, he allowed himself to fantasize about what his life could be like when the war ended by entertaining possibility of Martha returning his love. In a way, it was like the need to take drugs for Lavender. Thinking about her and realizing that death could come at any moment he also fantasized about things he should have done, such as being more aggressive with the girl. However, he also remembered that she had never returned his affection and the only time he put his hand on her knee she looked at him in such a way that he had to take away his hand.
However, being in charge, he felt responsible for it, and realizing that the price of him living in a fantasy was human life of his fellow soldier, he decided to finally end his fascination and concentrate on his responsibilities of being a leader. He had to mature and forsake the destructions that kept him from carrying out his duties. The fantasies were sweet, and that is why it was hard for him to put them aside. Also, the things they carried analysis essay, him being able to dream about a girl that loves him gave him some meaning and purpose to keep on fighting and surviving. However, he chose another purpose, i.
that of carrying for his men. He realized that it would not be easy to stop daydreaming, even after burning the letters and photographs because 'the letters were in his head'. He made the resolution how he would act from now on. He would fulfill his obligations by maintaining discipline and being in command.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - The Things They Carried
, time: 2:29Analysis of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Jul 08, · It is the author’s complex blend of fact and fiction, which takes the reader into an in-depth understanding of the underlying implication of “The Things They Carried” short stories. The analysis shows that the novel sounds more to a narrative than the story, where every twinge is factual beyond reality The Things They Carried () by American Novelist Tim O'Brien. The Things They Carried is a story by O’Brien about soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The author skillfully creates a vivid picture of the world soldiers live in, which consists of the things they carry, i.e. physical and emotional burden. What each of them carries reflects their inner struggle, shows their humanness, Ratings: 99 Jul 21, · This essay analyzes Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”. It is a compelling short story of the Vietnam War. In summary, war is its central theme, as shown in numerous researches. This paper on “The Things They Carried” aims to connect O’Brien’s biography with the main issue of the plot
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