The Things They Carried Critical Analysis
Nancy Bell
English 102
January 2013
Burdens of the Mind In this story, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, we see a parallel being drawn contrasting and comparing the similarities in the physical burdens that the soldiers carried on their backs with the emotional burdens each man carried in their minds. I see the author showing us that the psychological burdens that each man carried were as heavy as or heavier than the physical burden of the material items that they carried. We can understand many of the articles that these soldiers carried were for the necessity of being a soldier in a war situation. The P-38 can opener, water containers, mosquito repellent, salt, lighters, C rations and wrist watches, these, among …show more content…
Lt. Cross carried distraction in the form of a fantasy love relationship with a girl left at home. His distraction was focused on the memories, pebble, love letters and pictures of her. Lt. Cross also carried the blame for the death of Lavender, shot because of his own distraction and lack of focus on the field. Obrien says he carried it “like a stone in his stomach.” (124) Kiowa carried “his Grandmother’s distrust of the White man”; this must have made his life difficult, since he was on a crew of mostly White men (117). For their weapons, they carried “a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried” (120). ” They all carried ghosts”, which I believe Mr. Obrien meant to symbolize the memories of people left behind at home or friends that had been killed in battle. (121) “They carried out orders,” which sometimes were not pleasant things to do, such as exploring abandoned tunnels. (121) “They carried the weight of memories; they took up what others could no longer bear.” (123). They carried a variety of infections, viruses, and fungi and these diseases can all be very painful and debilitating. They carried the sky and gravity, symbolizing that they were carrying the weight of the world. They carried their own lives, each one aware of the fact that they could be killed at any time. “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die; grief, terror, love, longing, intangibles but had their own mass and specific gravity.” (126) Kiowa carried the guilt that he had about not being able to feel sadness or anger at the death of Lavender. “They carried shameful memories, the common secret of cowardice and the instinct to run or freeze or hide. In many respects this was the heaviest burden of all.” (126). They carried their reputations that they feared
English 102
January 2013
Burdens of the Mind In this story, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, we see a parallel being drawn contrasting and comparing the similarities in the physical burdens that the soldiers carried on their backs with the emotional burdens each man carried in their minds. I see the author showing us that the psychological burdens that each man carried were as heavy as or heavier than the physical burden of the material items that they carried. We can understand many of the articles that these soldiers carried were for the necessity of being a soldier in a war situation. The P-38 can opener, water containers, mosquito repellent, salt, lighters, C rations and wrist watches, these, among …show more content…
Lt. Cross carried distraction in the form of a fantasy love relationship with a girl left at home. His distraction was focused on the memories, pebble, love letters and pictures of her. Lt. Cross also carried the blame for the death of Lavender, shot because of his own distraction and lack of focus on the field. Obrien says he carried it “like a stone in his stomach.” (124) Kiowa carried “his Grandmother’s distrust of the White man”; this must have made his life difficult, since he was on a crew of mostly White men (117). For their weapons, they carried “a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried” (120). ” They all carried ghosts”, which I believe Mr. Obrien meant to symbolize the memories of people left behind at home or friends that had been killed in battle. (121) “They carried out orders,” which sometimes were not pleasant things to do, such as exploring abandoned tunnels. (121) “They carried the weight of memories; they took up what others could no longer bear.” (123). They carried a variety of infections, viruses, and fungi and these diseases can all be very painful and debilitating. They carried the sky and gravity, symbolizing that they were carrying the weight of the world. They carried their own lives, each one aware of the fact that they could be killed at any time. “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die; grief, terror, love, longing, intangibles but had their own mass and specific gravity.” (126) Kiowa carried the guilt that he had about not being able to feel sadness or anger at the death of Lavender. “They carried shameful memories, the common secret of cowardice and the instinct to run or freeze or hide. In many respects this was the heaviest burden of all.” (126). They carried their reputations that they feared