Essay On The Things They Carried

The horrific war of Vietnam consisted of many different people that were able to bring with them pieces and items that helped them survive throughout the battle. In the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O' Brien, symbolic items that were both physical and literal were carried and shown throughout the story from the characters of Jimmy Cross, Notman Baker, and Kiowa. Items specifically consisted of things like letters and photos of a woman named Martha that were given to Cross, a hatchet, and a diary which was carried by Bowker. The items that they kept close to them represented their true colors, as the book reveals to the reader how significant these objects were to these characters. Soldiers were allowed to carry such items to the battle,

The Things They Carried, a novel by Tim O’Brien, tells stories of soldiers in the Vietnam War. Some of the characters, all soldiers of the Alpha Company, include Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, Tim O’Brien, Rat Kiley, Kiowa, Mitchell Sanders, Ted Lavender, and Norman Bowker, among others. In the beginning, the author describes all the things that soldiers of the war carry. He includes everything material and intangible, including the universal objects: weapons, a poncho, letters, fears, and expectations. Each of the soldiers also carries specific and unique objects. For example, Henry Dobbins carries his girlfriends pantyhoes around his neck because of his superstitious nature, Ted Lavender carries marijuana and tranquilizers because of his nervousness, and Kiowa carries a New Testament Bible because of his father’s religiousness. The Lieutenant carries letters and photos from Martha, a college girl he fantasizes about. Because he becomes so engrossed in thinking of her, he loses focus on the important tasks of war at hand.

In "The Things They Carried," O'Brien made reference to the Vietnam war that was closely associated with the physical, psychological, and emotional weight the soldiers beared.  The overall method of presentation of this story incorporated many different outlooks on the things the soldiers carried, dealt with, and were forced to adapt to.  In addition to this, O'Brien showed us the many reasons why and how the soldiers posessed these things individually and collectively and how they were associated directly and indirectly.  The strong historical content in "The Things They Carried" helped emphasize the focus of the story and establish a clearer understanding of details in the

The Things They Carried is a book about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his platoon of soldiers that describes what they carried along the entire Vietnam war, whether it was physical, or mental these men had to endure it all year long. One way or another, whether

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story written about the Vietnam War. The title has two meanings. The first is their duties and equipment for the war. The second, the emotional sorrows they were put through while at war. Their wants and needs, the constant worry of death were just a few of the emotional baggage they carried. During the Vietnam War, like all wars, there were hard times. Being a soldier wasn’t easy. Soldiers always see death, whether it be another soldier or an enemy. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien explores the motivation of solders in the Vietnam War to understand their role in combat, to stay in good health, and accept the death of a fellow soldier.

In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien the author of this novel but also an important character who is a soldier in the Vietnamese War. Along with O’Brien are other soldiers that were very unprepared and filled with varied emotions like fear, sadness, anger and confusion while fighting the war. O’Brien as well as other soldiers carry things that they value during the war. They carry physical things that important to them and also rifles and things to help them survive. Also, mentally they carry more things like memories, fears, dreams, and hopes for the future. O’Brien understands and depicts the things the war takes from the soldiers and also himself. In this except Tim O’Brien uses imagery, epiphany and inner self conflict to develop his

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.

Tim O’Brien wrote a collection of related short stories titled The Things They Carried, that follows a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War and when they return to their homes. Throughout the novel, O’Brien uses real names and includes himself, as the protagonist, to create a style that ebbs and flows from fiction to non-fiction without realization. According to Kathleen Laura MacArthur, it is “through this process and these stylistic innovations, the reader might then experience this trauma secondhand and, perhaps, relate this trauma to one’s own personal traumatic experience” (26). At first, the reader is introduced to the narrator First Lieutenant Tim O’Brien; he begins to talk about his love for a woman named Martha and how he carries her letters and good-luck pebble with him. As O’Brien continues, he explains all the various things the men of the company carry. In most cases, these “things” are physical objects and depend on factors such as the individual’s priorities and necessities. In addition, he talks about items that are universal among the men, such as mosquito repellent, chewing gum, matches, C rations and a multi-use poncho. These possessions serve as an opportunity for us to see into the emotional burdens each soldier carries. As the title of this novel refers to the things, or “weight,” the soldiers carry, the soldiers are changed from lively, young people to hardened and cold throughout the war by the tragic events they go through, tasks they must

The Vietnam War. A war that many Americans believed unfair and unnecessary. “Why am I being sent off to fight in a war I don’t know anything about? Will I ever return again?” Many draftees asked themselves these questions hoping to find comfort in the answers. But there was little to no hope, and they knew it. They were being drafted and they could do absolutely nothing about it, only hope that at the end they would be returning to the enlightened faces of their loved ones, something that not many Vietnam soldiers expected to ever see again. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, portrays his experience in the war along with his fellow squad members, in their fight for survival against the Vietcong. In The Things They Carried, each

In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien made note to the Vietnam War that was mixed with physical, mental and emotional that pressured the soldier’s carried. The overall method of display of this story integrated many different ways on the things the soldiers carried. In addition to the current, Tim showed North American nation the various reasons why and the way the troopers possessed these items one by one and together and the way they were associated directly and indirectly. The robust historical content in "The Things They Carried" helped emphasize the main focus of the story and establish a clearer understanding of details within the narrative

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.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is "an anxiety disorder, characterized by distressing memories, emotional numbness, and hyper vigilance, that develops after exposure to a traumatic event" (Doyle-Portillo, Pastorino 490). Traumatic events include physical abuse, rape, military combat, death of a close friend or family member, natural disasters, or witnessing events such as terrorist attacks, a violent crime, or a horrible accident (Doyle-Portillo, Pastorino 490). All these different events lead men and women to have nightmares, flashbacks, and tormenting memories, especially the men who fought in the Vietnam War. Around "19% of Vietnam veterans developed PTSD at some point after the war" (Doyle-Portillo, Pastorino 491) from the events they witnessed out in the Vietnamese jungles during combat that it would have been highly unlikely for them not to develop PTSD.

The Things They Carried was written about soldiers who served during the Vietnam War, explaining the effect it had on some of the men, as well as a look into the weapons that were used and the personal items carried by the men. The first chapter of the novel goes into great detail about the things that were carried by the men, giving individual examples, such as pantyhose, and also objects, like weapons, that every man had to carry with him. Tim O’Brien’s descriptions of the weapons that were carried helped enormously in shaping the body of the soldier in the image. The

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien is a story in which the author details the possessions the emotions and the memories which were carried by the soldiers into the Vietnam War. The accuracy fact fullness and the attention to details make this story a truthful experience, riding on a thin line between fiction and a reality. It embodies the transformation that a soldier in a war zone undergoes. The author being a war veteran himself captures the events in a vivid manner. The two works of literature serve as an authentic and knowledgeable depiction of men fighting a war. They not only carry the weight of weaponry and ammunitions and supplies needed but also the weight of the struggle and the violent deaths that surround them which weigh heavier than the items they carried. The outcomes of war for the side that wins or loses results in devastation of the people but the soldiers are the ones who carry with them the memories of pain and struggle long after the war ends. Every war is partly fought on the ground and partly in the mind of soldiers.

In the short story “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien writes about a group of soldiers during the Vietnam war. Tim O’Brien goes into detail on what the soldiers carry. Most of the items are necessary for war, such as weapons, ammo, and medicine. Other items that the soldiers carry are more for comfort, such as a loved one’s photo, a lucky pebble, or a rabbit's foot. However, most of what the soldiers carry are not physical objects but are emotional tolls that the soldiers must carry wherever they go.