Symbolism In "The Things They Carried" In Tim O'Brien's story "The Things They Carried" we see how O'Brien uses symbolism in order to indirectly give us a message and help us to connect to what the soldiers are thinking and feeling. During a war soldiers tend to take with them items from home kind of as a security blanket. The items they normally take with them tend to reveal certain characteristics of their personality. Henry Dobbins is the guy who loves to eat so he made sure he took some extra food. Ted Lavender was the scaredy cat of the group so he carried tranquilizers with him. Dave Jense is the paranoid one, so he takes soap and a toothbrush to prevent germs and disease as best he can. Kiowa has a bible with him showing us he is the dedicated religious type. Mitchell Sanders, the funny one, has condoms with him. I'll let you decide on that one. Norman Bowker has a diary and Rat Kiley carried comic books, most likely as a way to "get away" from everything at the end of the day. Regardless of the personal items each one takes, they all share 2 items in common; their boots and their helmets. Almost all of them also have pictures with them but Jimmy Cross takes 2 very special ones. He has 2 pictures of the woman he loves, Martha. What these guys are truly carrying is some extreme emotional and physical troubles. Amongst his personal items Jimmy Cross also takes with him navigation tools. Rat Kiley has with him the medicine, surgical tape, painkillers, and other things that end up weighing alot. 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, including fear and amazement of the thin... ... middle of paper ... ...e story the list of things that the items could actually symbolize continues to grow as O'Brien continues to use symbolism to do this. "The list becomes longer in the end and encompasses the hopes, dreams, and fears that each man carried" (Malone, 1). Symbolism is one of the most effective and powerful elements in writing. We see various examples of this all throughout "The Things They Carried." Symbolism enables us to tell a story one way, while all along trying to say another. I believe Tim O'Brien has achieved success in doing so in "The Things They Carried." Works Cited "The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Book Notes." BookRags, Inc. 22 Mar. 2005. "The baggage we carry weighs more than all of our suitcases." Jann Malone. 2003. GO READ. 22 Mar. 2005 "Vietnam recollections relive the war's surreal horror." Mark Webster. 22 Mar. 2005
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 title of the book itself couldn’t be more fitting. The Things They Carried is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Tim O'Brien about soldiers trying to live through the Vietnam War. These men deal with many struggles and hardships. Throughout this essay I will provide insight into three of the the numerous themes seen throughout the novel: burdens, truth, and death.
The Things They Carried. N. p. : Houghton, 1990. : ill. Print.
The main symbol in “The Things They Carried” is the necessities they carried as well as personal belongings. Each item tells a story that shows the past life on the soldier. Rat Kiley, the medic, carried M&M’s with him at all times. They were not to snack on during breaks. He brought them to provide as a placebo for soldiers who weren’t critically wounded and weren’t going to make it. The candy made some soldiers believe it was a painkiller and actually kept them alive and importantly quiet Ted Lavender’s tranquilizes and dope help reduce his fear. Kiowa carried an illustrated New Testament. For Jimmy it is his letters from Martha, it symbolizes the life that he wishes he could be living back at home with her. However, all of them carried one thing in common, the coward trait, the instinct to run at any given moment. Piedmont-Marton argues in her critical essay, “The things they carry on their bodies creates the illusion of unity and collaboration, but the fragile collective is always compromised by the things they carry inside and by the meanings and emotions attached to the smallest and most private of artifacts” (Para 3). She shows that the things that weigh the most have the least amount of meaning to them. The only thing getting them through times and not putting a bullet in their foot is the weightless mementos they have that give them
In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the word “carry” was used frequently with multiple different meanings. O’Brien first describes the necessities that every soldiers carry such as, “pocket knives, heat tabs, wrist watches, dog tags” which are tangible items (O’Brien 427). O’Brien than goes on to address unique item that individual soldiers carry for example “Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament” that was a unique item that Kiowa carried that was tangible but it also meant a lot to him and maybe it made him feel protected (428). There might have been many tangible items being carried but the soldiers also carried intangible objects like feeling. O’Brien mentions that “They carried all the emotional baggage”
Tim O'Brien in his book "The Things They Carried" is a very emotional heart-tugging book filled with horrifying war stories. The book takes place during the Vietnam War and is told through the soldiers point of view. The book utilizes an enormous amount of symbolism which can make the story sentimental and form connections with the reader. The symbolism utilized can be things that keep the soldiers comforted and give them the satisfaction of being at home or in their happy place.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a complex piece of literature and understanding it can be approached many different ways. The story in this book is told in both the first and the third person. This creates a mixture of viewpoints and character perspectives that would not be possible otherwise. The Things They Carried is a fictional story based on the author's real life experience. In evidence to that, its mainly a fictional story because its made up but it’s also considered as an autobiography because of real life experiences. Primarily, truth in storytelling stands out as the strongest theme in the novel, for it is called
Symbolism is one of the oldest and most well-used technique used to give an alternate meaning to something concrete other than its literal interpretation. The author Flannery O’Connor is one that has often used symbols designed to leave a lasting image in her readers’ minds. An expert at drawing the reader to the conclusion that not only was an item a symbol, but that it was an in depth and thought-provoking one, she understood that her work meant something, not only to herself, but her readers. She showcases this talent of hers in the short story “Good Country People.” In this narrative, symbolism is used throughout the story in order to help the reader understand the characters. Each symbol adds something to each person that previously may
Symbolism is strongly represented through Kaplan’s short story. The symbols represented are the ocean, the killing of the doe and the woods. Visiting the ocean for the first time at the Jersey Shore was new for Andy. Since then she had been awfully frightened of the ocean. She believes the ocean to be a huge, vast that constantly moved, keeps shifting
Symbolism is very important to “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. Baggage is the main symbol of this story. Each man in this company carries a pack that usually “weighed between 12 and 18 pounds” (O’Brian 712). While they must carry their battle gear, they also must carry an emotional baggage that is equally as heavy. The emotional baggage begins as the longing for home and for loved ones. After witnessing the deaths of their company members, the men are scared, sad, and tired. Those emotions can bear a physical weight for the soldiers. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries the letters and the pebble from Martha with him in his pack. The letters and the pebble are symbols of hope for not only being able to return home safely, but also to return
Symbolism when used accordingly, can give authors the power to captivate readers with a single sentence, but how is it used? Before understanding the use of symbolism, it is important to distinguish what it is. Symbolism is taking an object or idea and giving it a much deeper, significant meaning. Learning how to correctly and entrancingly symbolize can have a reader hooked on every single word, start to finish. Now knowing what symbolism is, and how to use it, exploring the different ways the authors have been infatuating their reader from word one with the theme of unity will be much easier.
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...
The symbols in The Things They Carried range from a pair of stockings from a soldier's girlfriend to tranquilizers. Some of the soldiers carried many items while other soldiers only carried a few items. The soldiers carried items such as letters, photographs, pebbles, stockings, tranquilizers, and drugs.
Symbolism is commonly used by authors that make short stories. Guin is a prime example of how much symbolism is used in short stories such as “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and “Sur.” In both of these stories Guin uses symbolism to show hidden meanings and ideas. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” there is a perfect Utopian city, yet in this perfect city there is a child locked in a broom closet and it is never let out. A few people leave the city when they find out about the child, but most people stay. Furthermore, in “Sur” there is a group of girls that travel to the South Pole and reach it before anyone else, yet they leave no sign or marker at the South Pole. Guin’s stories are very farfetched and use many symbols. Both “Sur” and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” have many symbols such as colors, characters, objects, and weather. The four types of symbols that Guin uses help the readers understand the themes in her short stories. Although her stories are farfetched, they need symbolism in them or the reader would not understand the theme; therefore the symbols make Guin’s stories much more enjoyable.
People hold different things to be symbolic. Dove and peace, a rose and love; they are simple things yet widely symbolic. Symbolism is commonly used in literature to change or deepen meanings or instill a different meaning to the mind of the readers. The reader is forced to think, make connections, and succeed in adding a new meaning to the novel. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses symbolism in the form of his characters and to develop the theme, the corruption of the American Dream.