Disillusionment In The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien wrote The Things They Carried based on some of his own experiences in the Vietnam War. The characters he created are similar to the men he knew in the war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was a character that O’Brien’s character knew very well. Lieutenant He is not focused and does not seem to know his purpose in the war or in his life. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a character that experiences overwhelming emotions but he does not show them. He seems to feel lost in the war and burdened with responsibility.

The Things They Carried is about a group of soldiers set during the Vietnam War. We are first introduced to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in the jungle setting of Vietnam. At first glance the reader is submerged into his secrete obsession with a women named Martha. He carries letters from her enjoys fantasies involving the two and even has gone as so far as to lick an envelope just because she did all in the name of love or his version of it. Love is an emotion felt by every human being no matter age or period of time.

Novelist, William Timothy O´Brien is best known for his fictional novel, The Things They Carried, in which he recounts short stories of his experience in the Vietnam War. His odyssey began with him getting drafted into the war while he was in college and after the war becoming a journalist. In The Things They Carried, by William Timothy O’Brien, O'Brien entails the novel with a fictional character Jimmy Cross who then through the use of similes, imagery, and verbiage depicts the significance and value of the inanimate objects to the soldiers.

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien has an abundant amount of symbolism. Both tangible and intangible things were carried with them throughout the war and their life. The character Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a prime example in the novel that carry many items both physical and emotional.

One of the main characters in the short story “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’Brien, is a twenty-four year old Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is the assigned leader of his infantry unit in the Vietnam War, but does not assume his role accordingly. Instead, he’s constantly daydreaming, along with obsessing, over his letters and gifts from Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, Jimmy’s home state. He believes that he is in love with Martha, although she shows no signs of loving him. This obsession is a fantasy that he uses to escape from reality, as well as, take his mind off of the war that surrounds him, in Vietnam. The rest of the men in his squad have items that they carry too, as a way

In “The Things They Carried”, the author accentuates Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ infatuation with Martha, to allude to the fact that the soldiers are constantly trying to mentally escape from the war. Jimmy Cross is the leader of his platoon. As a platoon leader, Jimmy Cross is entrusted to him “ a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol that weigh[s] 2.9 pounds fully loaded” (O’Brien 1).The compass, map, code books and binoculars are items essential to any platoon’s survival. The items symbolize Jimmy Cross’ responsibility to his platoon, but he is unable to uphold that responsibility because he is unable to focus on the war at hand. During the war, Jimmy Cross is left powerless because images of Martha cloud his mind, and this hinders his ability to function as a leader. Cross’ constant infatuation of Martha leads to Ted Lavender's demise. After the death of Ted Lavender, Jimmy Cross begins to feel intense guilt. The narrator communicates to the reader that “He [feels] shame. He [hates] himself. He love[s] Martha more than his men, and as a

In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross recalls past stories told by him and from fellow soldiers in his time overseas in Vietnam. Experiences and events soldiers faced in Vietnam can change the way people think, feel, and act.

Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, is a novel that is seemingly separated yet completely connected throughout. As explained in an interview with Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried “is part novel, part collection of stories, part essays, part journalism; it is, more significantly, all at the same time” (Naparsteck 1). Although seemingly complex, this novel is built so expertly that it is quite easy to understand. Every chapter seems to offer a new variable or outlook on the war in Vietnam seen through the eyes of one soldier, Tim O’Brien, and experiences with soldiers he was close to. Every chapter offers a new look into different relationships: past and present, which offers insight into the mind of one soldier and his

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien contains many themes involving the impact of war, which are very prevalent in the lives of the soldiers and Tim himself; their very being in the war influences their thoughts and actions. Because of the nature of the war, these stories revolve around men and how their direct contact with the war changes their lives. While it is easy for women to be omitted from a story about war, especially the Vietnam War, O’Brien still incorporates them into his. In the novel The Things They Carried, there are very few women represented in both passing and the direct action; however, these women are used to allow the reader to further understand major messages about war: hope and motivation to persevere, the change that people undergo, and the general pointlessness of it.

Tim O’Brien’s compelling book about the Vietnam War, The Things They Carried, is a benevolent tale about an American soldier dealing with the internal struggles of raw virtue and thoughtful reflection. The book’s narrator incorporates a unique style that allows the reader to involve themselves in before, during, and post Vietnam War experiences. In addition to the wide range of time periods, O’Brien distorts the differences between fact and fiction allowing the reader to become closer to the emotional and mental state soldiers faced in the Vietnam War. Similar to a common soldier on the battlefield, The Things They Carried offers the ghostly feel and the absence of clarity soldiers are faced with. In contrast, many critics argue that O’Brien’s

In Tim O’Brien’s, “The Things They Carried” is centered around a group of U.S. soldiers and their experiences in the jungles of Vietnam. The main character Jimmy Cross leads his platoon through the jungle but is constantly distracted by the women he perceives to be his lover (Martha). Many of the soldier’s fear death, so they keep superstitious items such as rabbit’s feet or severed thumbs of the enemy soldiers. After the death of one of his squad mates Ted Lavender, Cross begins to take things more serious and begins to push his thought of Martha away.

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional standpoint of being young men out at war.

Personal items and necessities can symbolize a person’s fantasies and reality. Tim O’Brien displays this notion in his story “The Things They Carried”. This story follows a group of soldiers during the Vietnam War. Each member of this group has items that have notable importance either to the person themselves or their rank. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross thinks about this girl named Martha. Thoughts relating to Martha fill his mind. These thoughts range from her virginity to her love for him. Jimmy carries letters, photographs and a pebble that came from Martha. He thinks about Martha all the time, even when he tries to concern himself with his team. When the team arrives at a tunnel, Lee Strunk draws the unlucky number and goes to search the

The Things They Carried begins by explaining the both literal and figurative items that each soldier in Vietnam carried. This portion of the book served as the exposition, as all the characters are introduced and the setting established. From learning what each soldier carried, the reader learned a great deal about each character—Cross’s unrequited love for Martha, Dobbins’ superstitious mindset, Ted Lavender’s nervous tendencies, etc. During the exposition, we also learn that the soldiers are in Vietnam fighting the war. O’Brien continues and describes Ted Lavender’s unfortunate and unexpected death as he was returning after going to the bathroom. Jimmy Cross blames himself for Lavender’s death after daydreaming about Martha, his college crush. Before O’Brien continued telling war stories, he explains how he ended up in

O’Brien explores the purpose of imagination in the lives of soldiers, both as a coping mechanism and as a way to mentally escape the trials of war. In The Things They Carried, narrator Tim O’Brien’s platoon leader, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, exemplifies the use of imagination as a method for coping, pretending to be in a relationship with his high school sweetheart, Martha. Lieutenant Cross imagines Martha is in love with him, enabling him to distance himself from the horrors of the war and focus instead on fictional plans for a future. This false sense of happiness and security helps the Lieutenant fight the struggles of loneliness and isolation that torment soldiers stationed overseas and away from their loved ones. Through the story of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, O’Brien cautions against war, focusing on each man’s the inner point of view in order to highlight the largely unknown personal struggles faced by each soldier (Farrell). By bringing the unseen battles of American soldiers to light, O’Brien garners support for the anti-war movement, giving civilians a look into the minds of the soldiers fighting their wars.