The Things they Carried

Introduction

In his book "The Things They Carried," Tim O'Brien describes a group of soldiers marching through Vietnam. He does this by recounting the items that each of them carries with him during the march. The things that the fighters convey with them are both tangible and intangible pieces and what these things are depends upon the one-by-one soldier. They convey the basic necessities for survival and the bare minimum to make life as livable as possible. They furthermore convey recollections and fears. The weight of these abstract pieces is as real as that of any personal ones, and different those personal objects, they are not so easily cast away.

Analysis

   Tim O'Brien's innovative The Things They conveyed is a innovative set throughout the Vietnamese War. The author and narrator, Tim O'Brien was drafted into the war and survived to tell about it. He wrote this story to "bring back life" to many who had died in the war, yet this is not entirely a true story. In fact, Tim O'Brien wrote this in a very unique style, one that conceals any truth among a great deal of fiction.

Throughout the article, O'Brien alternates between narrative passages and simple descriptions of the pieces that the fighters are carrying. This fragmentation brings focus to the things the men are bearing, both tangible and intangible, without downplaying the narration. In the descriptive segments of the article, O'Brien is very accurate in his descriptions: "As a first lieutenant and platoon foremost, Jimmy traverse conveyed a compass, maps, cipher books, binoculars, and a .45 caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds full loaded." O'Brien gives only a clear-cut descriptions in these segments and the composing is void of any feeling or sentiment. When describing the intangible things, the writing is a lot more in tune with the emotions of the characters: "Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps.. Lieutenant Cross recalled moving her left knee. Adark theater, he remembered,.. when he affected her knee, she turned and looked at him in a miserable, sober way that made him pull his hand back, but he would always remember." O'Brien's writing takes on more sentimentality in these sections and adds a large deal of emotional heaviness for the reader. This contrast in narrative method="color: Red;">method is method="color: Red;">method="color: Red;">essential to give emphasis to the intangible things that the men carried.

One thing O'Brien does often in recounting the items is to notify how much it weighs. "The tool for fighting weighed 7.5 pounds unloaded, 8.2 pounds with its full 20 around magazine. The riflemen carried any place from 12 to 20 magazines..adding on another 8.4 pounds at smallest, 14 pounds at maximum." This donates the book book reader a sense of the problem that the men are bearing in bearing these things. Much vigilance is granted to the heaviness and force the fighters feel from what they're carrying and from external forces, such as nature.

These emotional burdens are the heaviest because they ...