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Symbolism of "The Things They Carried
Symbolism of "The Things They Carried
"the things they carried" literary analysis
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The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brein, is a story told through the eyes of members of a United States Army troop trudging their way through the Vietnamese country side and jungles during the Vietnam War. Each man has a specific job and so they carry specific belongings that they need to fulfill that job as well as a few mementos from home. These men also carry unseen baggage that is all too real to these men, their families and responsibilities back home preying on their minds, the horrors of war, and the stress of the importance of fulfilling their duties to keep then men around them alive.
The soldiers carried the individual items necessary for individual jobs and sentimental mementoes from home, such as Rat Kiley, the platoon medic, who carried a canvas medical bag filled with supplies and Kiowa, a Christian Native American, who carried his grandfather’s hunting hatchet, a pair of moccasins, and a New Testament. These items were of as much importance as the overabundance of weaponry the men carried to keep them alive. In a way, the personal belongings were reminders of home that helped the men combat the perils and nightmares of warfare and without the comforts of life on the home front, the likelihood of the men surviving the mental onslaught which was daily thrown at them would have been greatly decreased, in a way, the home-born reminders saved these soldier’s lives. Each soldier lugged or “humped”, as O’Brien refers to it in the story, different items for different jobs. "As a big man, therefore a machine gunner, Henry Dobbins carried the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds unloaded, but which was almost always loaded. In addition, Dobbins always carried between 10 to 15 pounds of ammunition draped in belts across hi...
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... and memories of home it would have been a heavier struggle to stay sane and keep hope alive.
Works Cited
""Battles are Always Fought Among Human Beings, Not Purposes": Tim O'Brien’s Fiction as a Response to the Crisis of Modernity." Renascence; Winter 66.1 (2014): 25-45. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Belasco, Susan and Linck Johnson. "Tim O'Brien." The Bedford Anthology of American Literature Volume Two: 1865 to the Present. Boston/New York: Besalsco/St. Martin's, 2008. 1457-471. Print.
Clarke, Michael Tavel. "'I Feel Close to Myself': Solipsism and US Imperialism in Tim O’Brien’s "The Things They Carried"" College Literature 40.2 (2013): 130-54. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Smiley, Pamela. "The Role of the Ideal (Female) Reader in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried: Why Should Real Women Play?" Massachusetts Review 43.2 (2002): 602-13. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
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.
In this critical review I would like to critique Tim O’Brien’s characterization. O’Brien’s expression towards each character is very unique because not one of them is exactly alike. They all differ in age and ethnicity, and have different views on the Vietnam War. They bear the weight of their country on their backs, but they also have different emotions weighing on their hearts. “The Things We Carried” takes in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his platoon are in the fields of Vietnam. His platoon includes: Mitchell Sanders (Radio Telephone Operator), Rat Kiley (Medic), Henry Dobbins (Machine Gunner), Kiowa, Norman Bowker, Ted Lavender, Dave Jensen, Lee Strunk, and a few other soldiers that O’Brien doesn’t name in the story.
In the book “The Things They Carried” four female characters played an important role in the lives of the men. Whether imaginary or not, they showed the power that women could have over men. Though it's unknown if the stories of these women are true or not, they still make an impact on the lives of the soldiers and the main narrator.
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.
Eder, Richard. "Pain on the Face of Middle America." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski. Detroit: Gale Research Publishing, Inc., 1986. 103.
Experiences and Emotions in The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is not a novel about the Vietnam War. “It is a story about the soldiers and their experiences and emotions that are brought about from the war” (King 182). O'Brien makes several statements about war through these dynamic characters. He shows the violent nature of soldiers under the pressures of war, he makes an effective antiwar statement, and he comments on the reversal of a social deviation into the norm. By skillfully employing the stylistic technique of specific, conscious detail selection and utilizing connotative diction, O'Brien thoroughly and convincingly makes each point.
Tindall, G.B. & Shi, D.E. (2010). America a narrative history 8th edition. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. p.205-212.
Tim O’Brien wrote the novel The Things They Carried in 1990, twenty years after the war in Vietnam.In the novel,Obrien takes us through the life of many soliders by telling stories that do not go in chronical order. In doing so we get to see the physical and mental things the soldiers carry throughout the war in Vietnam.Yet the novel is more than just a description of a particular war. In the things they carried Tim O’Brien develops the characters in the book slowly, to show the gradual effect war has on a person. O’Brien shows this by exploring the life of Henry Dobbins, and Norman Bowker.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
Robinson, Daniel. "Getting It Right: The Short Fiction of Tim O'Brien." Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 40.3 (1999): 257. Expanded Academic ASAP.
“The things they carried were determined to some extent by superstition” (12). Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Dave Jensen, and Kiowa all seemed to have a deal in superstition. Each man carried an object that he thought would bring him luck and never left anywhere without it. These men carried these objects because it connected them to home in some way and made them feel more powerful on the battlefield. All men carried fear. At any moment, their life could be lost and they would never see their friends and family ever again. To any ordinary man, his greatest fear in life is death. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried more than just fear for his own life, but the responsibility of the lives of the men in his unit as well. He often would feel guilt as men died throughout the war. Kiowa often carried distrust towards the other men due to biased opinions on where he came from.”That’s a smart Indian. Shut up” (17). Kiowa carried what many men didn’t have within the unit, sympathy. He cared about others even when he didn’t want to and told the honest truth. The final thing every man carried with him is his own mind. The thoughts and memories of war are not always pleasant and it is something they must carry with them for the rest of their lives. “They were tough” (20). The men were tough and though some struggled with the thoughts of war back home, they still fought for their country
The novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien takes place in the Vietnam War. The protagonist, Lieutenant Cross, is a soldier who is madly in love with a college student named Martha. He carries around photos and letters from her. However, the first few chapters illustrate how this profound love makes him weak in the war.
Robinson, Daniel. "Getting It Right: The Short Fiction of Tim O'Brien." Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 40.3 (1999): 257. Expanded Academic ASAP.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien offers readers very unique and interesting view of the Vietnam War and the mentality of a soldier.
Works Cited “American Literature 1865-1914.” Baym 1271. Baym, Nina et al. Ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature.