Emotional Burden
Sarah Aea
Casberg
A.P. Lang.
10/16/14
In Tim O’Brien’s story, the things they carried, the purpose of the story was to describe the physiological and emotional burdens soldiers carry throughout their life. In the things they carried, soldiers did not only suffer with burdens from combat, soldiers in the war also suffered emotionally. Throughout the “things they carried” O’Brien creates this purpose by using diction, and imagery. O’Brien uses diction to show how much soldiers struggle with their emotional burdens. During the war, a lieutenant named Jimmy cross is excessively in love with a college girl named Martha, Jimmy cross can’t seem to get his head straight to lead his fellow comrades because all he can think about is how he loves Martha, which, in the end, leads to the death of a soldier named Ted Lavender. “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war.” (16) O’Brien not only explained how upset Lieutenant cross was in this quote, but he also uses the word “like a stone in his stomach” to signify how much emotional burdens he has. Lieutenant Jimmy cross will live the rest of his life knowing that his mistakes took the life of his fellow comrade. In O’Brien’s short story, soldiers carried things that were intangible, O’Brien exemplifies this by using imagery. They didn’t carry their personal items, or their weapons and gear, what they carried was the emotional baggage. “As if in slow motion, frame by frame, the world would take on the old logic-absolute silence, then the wind, then sunlight, then voices. It was the burden of being alive.” (81) By using imagery to show the setting, and guilt, this quote illustrates how the things they carried couldn’t be seen, and unseen, for these were the intangible things that soldiers had carried. Unlike physical luggage which can be
Casberg
A.P. Lang.
10/16/14
In Tim O’Brien’s story, the things they carried, the purpose of the story was to describe the physiological and emotional burdens soldiers carry throughout their life. In the things they carried, soldiers did not only suffer with burdens from combat, soldiers in the war also suffered emotionally. Throughout the “things they carried” O’Brien creates this purpose by using diction, and imagery. O’Brien uses diction to show how much soldiers struggle with their emotional burdens. During the war, a lieutenant named Jimmy cross is excessively in love with a college girl named Martha, Jimmy cross can’t seem to get his head straight to lead his fellow comrades because all he can think about is how he loves Martha, which, in the end, leads to the death of a soldier named Ted Lavender. “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war.” (16) O’Brien not only explained how upset Lieutenant cross was in this quote, but he also uses the word “like a stone in his stomach” to signify how much emotional burdens he has. Lieutenant Jimmy cross will live the rest of his life knowing that his mistakes took the life of his fellow comrade. In O’Brien’s short story, soldiers carried things that were intangible, O’Brien exemplifies this by using imagery. They didn’t carry their personal items, or their weapons and gear, what they carried was the emotional baggage. “As if in slow motion, frame by frame, the world would take on the old logic-absolute silence, then the wind, then sunlight, then voices. It was the burden of being alive.” (81) By using imagery to show the setting, and guilt, this quote illustrates how the things they carried couldn’t be seen, and unseen, for these were the intangible things that soldiers had carried. Unlike physical luggage which can be