Summary Of The Things They Carried 'By Tim O' Brien

In the story The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien uses literary devices such as imagery and repetition to show how conflict impact humanity in ways of making people care for who they have and how long they have them.

Historian Jacob Bronowski concluded that “War is a highly planned and cooperative form of theft.” In the book The Things they Carried, Tim O’brien portrays stories of his own time at the Vietnam War and the stories of his platoon members. During their time in Vietnam, the men of the Alpha Company must manage with the loss of their friends and guilt from killing and witnessing others die. There are three stories of theft and loss among the platoon members. The stories of Jimmy Cross, Tim O’brien, and Kiowa.

The things they carried was a very interesting book that was filled with various stories. They all took place during the Vietnam War and follow multiple protagonists that reappear in later stories. Throughout the story, there is a vast number of themes and symbolism. One theme I found interesting is the theme of physical and emotional burdens. This was especially noticeable in ‘’The Things They Carried’’, where they were carrying both literally and figurative. ‘’ They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture.’’ (pg. 77) Sure enough, soldiers have to endure walking miles upon miles with a heavy backpack along with war equipment and standard m-16’s and such, but it becomes evident that the emotional burdens on their shoulders weigh more than the physical objects. These burdens come in the form of grief, sadness, and a vast number of what is mostly negative emotions. Jimmy Cross, the protagonist of this short story, is a perfect example. He got extremely distracted from his duty as a lieutenant. He even lost one of his men. And yet he could not stop thinking about his love for someone who clearly didn’t love him back. It’s times like that, especially in a war, that require you to put

Life is full of regrets, life is full of death, Tim O'Brien explains this in the book The Things They Carried. The Things They Carried takes place during the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien is a sergeant during the war. This book shows O’Briens and his platoon mates hardships throughout the war. That one's life could be changed in a split second, or by one little mistake. In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien presented mortality and death and shame and guilt throughout the war towards people who want an entertaining take on the Vietnam War.

Tatyana Smith 1363908 English III Honors Jody, Hollis Seminar: The Things They Carried O’Brien, Tim. The things They Carried. New York: Houghton Mufflin, 1990.Print. 1.

In the class discuss there were multiple connections and perspectives of the war. They spoke about how like in the world we all have decisions to make and to see the impact you leave with whatever you do. Also, there was couple of symbolism thrown in the discussion, the symbol of the self harm happening with the soldiers. One soldier broke his own noise and another one wanted to take a perfectly working tooth out. Additionally, one thought is that the soldiers are trying to find a balance with all the war going on, wanting peace with violence all around them. The style of O’Brien in a chapter was repetitive and alliterate with his storytelling. He kept speaking about the story of the war and it was a way to explains how he feels. Moreover,

The Things They Carried, is a story written about the experiences in Vietnam shared by the author Tim Obrien. The story centers around soldiers from Alpha company and the “things” they carried. In this story, I believe Tim O’Brien uses the “things” they carried in a literal and descriptive sense. Every solider was literally responsible for carrying large loads of gear and they also carried tremendous emotional loads. Each soldier carried personal items to remind themselves of life after war. I believe that the emotional burden carries these soldiers through the battles of war and they far outweigh the physical obstacles being thrown at them. These men are responsible for themselves, fellow soldiers and families back home. Henry dobbins is

“The things they carried” by Tim O’Brien follows lieutenant cross and shows his deepest feelings for Martha. That he forgets he is in war and lets some of his soldiers die because he was in the clouds. Moreover, he notices that Martha is nowhere and that she doesn't love him like he does and decides to get rid of every attachment to her and focus on his real task. O’Brien also shows the other soldiers feelings and the things they carried, vital supplies to survive in the war but also items that they believe are luck and also make them feel comfortable or at home. However, those items don't make them forget about the reality that death can happen at any time. One can see the author having shame and guilt and morality of death.

In the story Lieutenant Cross makes both of the changes after the death of Lavender. He changes his values by acknowledging that Martha was not in love with him and now he would not be in love with her and he also burnt the pictures and letters so he was not looking at them anymore. The guilt that they all felt altered how they acted. Some of the men made jokes about tense situations that were not funny because joking made them feel better. The situation grew lighter by laughter, even though the men knew nothing was funny about their situation, and this knowledge made them feel guilty about their insensitive acts because it violated their values. The way the men dealt with their guilt was by passing the blame or trying not to think about how wrong it was, even though they knew. These kinds of strange reactions to normally tense or tragic situations are a way to ease the fear of death.

Martha was the lady that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross loved. He carried letters and two pictures along with his love for her around at all times. All of the letters from her were signed Love, Martha and he knew that that was the only a way of signing a letter but he still hoped that she loved him back. He was constantly thinking about her. He thought about her so much that when he was supposed to be destroying the tunnels his friend, Ted Lavender, was shot and killed. He blamed himself for the death of his friend, but even then all he could think about was being away from Martha. “He pictured Martha’s smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” (O’Brien 6.) The story of Martha and Jimmy shows the trials and tribulations of love during a war. He was responsible for the entire Alpha Company, for everything that they did and yet all he could think about was one women who was all the way across the world, safe at her home.

Many of the wives talked about the letter their husband/boyfriend sent home, and their inability to talk about anything other than the "weather". One particular wife stood out though for her husband's story. She said he husband left her a simple note that read “I love you sweetheart, but I can't take the flashbacks", before he went in to the garage and killed himself. In this case, it is obvious that whatever the soldier witnessed in Vietnam greatly affected him. He was unable to take seeing the atrocities that he witnessed in Vietnam anymore, he was willing to go to the extreme of taking his own life- dismantling not only his own life, but also his whole families- just to avoid seeing the visions anymore. This would lead many to assume that events the soldiers saw were horrific, and continued to affect them even after they had already returned home. One soldiers wife said "he lost his soul in Vietnam but it took 7 years for his body to catch up", soldiers were dehumanized by the things they had to in Vietnam and this cause them to "die" even though their hearts were still technically beating.

“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.

Throughout the story “The Things They Carried” the author Tim O’Brien constantly teeter tots on the concept of what is the truth. He contemplates whether it is possible to tell a true war story. Tim creates a story that makes the reader puzzle over what they can perceive as the truth and what is not. I believe that Tim wrote this story to expand upon the purpose of storytelling and to express this thought through a war story. When diving into the chapters “Notes” and “Speaking of Courage” Tim makes a clever use of literature to create a seamless reading that expands the way we understand the content. The seamless fit of the two chapters complement each other and construct a powerful message between them.

Accepting the death of a fellow soldier is a very important process during war. In a war, death is almost as common as breathing. After Lavender is shot the men burn the city of Than Khe. The loss of their comrade makes then angry and they totally demolish the city. They smoke the rest of Lavender’s dope and wait for the plane to take him away. The platoon talks about the soldiers they hear about

They carry many things, they carry a massive amount of weight on their shoulders. However, the heaviest thing that they carry cannot be touched. The intangible weight of fear, loss, anger, and guilt far outweigh any tangible item that they could possibly possess. The Thing They Carried is not only an eye-opening collection of war stories, but it is also a love story, a memoir, and a tribute to the unimaginable things that happen to our soldiers in war zones. War changes men, makes them different, and when they come home they are not the same person and they often have trouble readjusting to the life of a civilian.