Necessities in The Things They Carried
In The Things They Carried , the characters themselves probably could
not tell you why they carried many of the things they did. The things they
carried can be divided into three basic groups, the things that everyone had to
carry in order to survive, the things that individuals chose to carry, and the
mental burdens that many carried without choice.
The necessities that the men were forced to carry were, for example, P-
38 can openers, pocket knives, matches, C-rations, water, a nylon covered flak
jacket, an M-16 assault rifle, and for Henry Dobbins, an M-60, which weighed 33-
38 pounds including ammunition. All of these items were carried for two simple
reasons, to survive, and to kill which was of course their job.
Next, the things that each individual chose to carry, for many of the
men , these items were things that they personally believed that they could not
live without, but to others would be unnecessary for survival. For First
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross it was pictures of Martha, and also letters from her whom
he loved unrequitedly. Another example and proof of irrelevance to survival was
Ted Lavenders six or seven ounces of dope and nine extra M-79 Grenades which he
was carrying when he was shot in the head. Extras such as these really did
nothing more than give the men a false sense of security, which was probably
necessary to cope with their surroundings.
Last but certainly not least they carried with them love, guilt,
memories, and fear of death. Lieutenant cross, for example carried love, guilt,
and even though he tried never to show it, fear. Tim O'Brien shows us this in
the passage shortly after the death of Ted Lavender, "He pictured Martha's
In the book “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien uses imagery, figurative language and repetition to convey his message. O’Brien’s purpose for story telling, is to clear his conscience of war and to tell the stories of soldiers who were forgotten by society. Many young men were sent to war, despite opposing it. They believed it was “wrong” to be sent to their deaths. Sadly, no one realizes a person’s significance until they die. Only remembering how they lived rather than acknowledging their existence when they were alive.
The pain that was felt on the body was created by all of the literal things that the soldiers carried. The most important of these physical objects were the numerous weapons, explosives and ammunition cartages that had to be carried at all times. Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs.and two or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between 12 and 18 pounds. They all carried steel helmets that weighed 5 pounds.
The weights of desires, fears, and responsibility place great amounts of pressure on an individual. The soldiers in “The Things They Carried” all around lug a great deal of heavy weaponry and equipment. But the heaviest items are intangible things such as their emotions, shame and reputations. These intangible items cannot be discarded and thus, the men continue to “hump” by enduring their weight for the remainder of their lives. Lieutenant Cross realizes that the men “carry these things inside, maintaining a mask of composure” (369) and that unfortunately, the only way to release these things is death.
Imagine if nobody had a cellphone in today’s world. That’s why today everybody has some form of a cellphone contract with the four major companies (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile) or a less know cellphone provider. AT&T and Verizon Wireless provide more than the other two major companies.
death is near. He tries not to show now that he is scared. "If this
route for them. Their very first task was the escaping from their actual slaveholder. For several
The advancements in maps help them out too. They were able to make better and more accurate maps than before. They had rudders on the boats to help build the
Rat Kiley has with him the medicine, surgical tape, painkillers, and other things that end up weighing a lot. Ted Lavender is very scared, so he also has with him a large supply of ammunition. They all carry with them as much as they can. Weather it be for protection or entertainment, fear and amazement of the things they have with them.... ... middle of paper ...
One of the clearest points in The Things They Carried is that of the importance of certain objects or feelings used by the soldiers of Alpha Company to survive the war. Jimmy Cross, the leader the group, carries a picture of a Martha, a girl who writes him from the states. Jimmy knows that there is no real relationship between the two, but he uses the picture the help keep him connected to the world he was forced to leave behind. He creates stories in his head about what will happen when he makes it back home, alive. The Bible carried by Kiowa was given to him by his father. When the book is mentioned, it is referring to the smell of the New Testament: the leather, glue, ink and paper. Kiowa carries the Bible as more of a remembrance then as a show of his faith. The stockings carried by Henry Dobbins came from his girlfriend. He carefully raps them around his neck each time the company moves out. Even after his girlfriend ends the relationship, Henry continues to wear the stockings because in his mind, their symbolism has not changed. All these items are psychological tools used by the soldiers to keep them connected to their homes and loved ones. The items are not important just because of who gave them to the soldiers, rather they are important because they seem like t...
Cellular phones carry a diverse group of users. In June 1985, there were about 203,000 cellular phone service subscribers. By June 1989, the number had exploded to 2.7 million subscribers, and by June 1995 there were mire than 26 million subscribers. When cell phones were first introduce, only people with a lot of money had them and the service was very expensive. It was a lot cheaper to stop and use the pay phone than it was to use a cell phone. Now, it is almost as cheap to use a cell phone to make a long distance call as it is to make a long distance call using AT&T.
Mobile is the first order priority device for access because people are connecting with others, finding entertainment, and doing business—all with smart phones. The prices of mobile phones are never over $1,000 in today’s world. They are affordable and accessible. As the result of the changes the worldwide and national business environment has undergone, people own 1-2 cell phones on average. However, the mobile markets in US seems to have been saturated.
‘Supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. It encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, thir- party service providers, and customers’. (Web: Council for Supply Chain Management Pr...
Cell phone manufacturers and service providers are at the core of the cell phone industry. These corporations are integral from their research and development endeavors to interactions with the consumer and the marketing of new products. The companies that control such factors of cellular phones are very numerous, so it is difficult to address all the cell phone manufacturers and service providers. However, we have focused largely on only the most significant cellular companies namely in the U.S. marketplace, although many have global ties. Collectively, companies around the world have the same goals in mind – to create desirable cutting-edge technology and to increase consumer satisfaction with hopes of generating sales, and thus profits.
Each office has their own supply management function that increases Group’s purchasing, manufacturing, packaging and delivering costs. Scotts Europe has hundreds of suppliers, numerous uncoordinated contacts, even several contacts with the same supplier, but with the different pricing.
Fear can bring out true character of a person. "Oh, Jesus," he said, and moaned, and tried to slide away and said, "Jesus, man, don't kill me." When Strunk gets shot he said if ever got shot he wants his friend to shoot him. He later chickens out and this shows his true feelings and character. “I was terrified. There were no thoughts about killing. The grenade was to make him go away—just evaporate—and I leaned back and felt my mind go empty and then felt it fill up again.” O’brien was so scared that he killed someone who was completely harmless to