A Literary Analysis Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional standpoint of being young men out at war.

Lieutenant Cross was in love with a girl back home named Martha. He carried around letters that she wrote to him and pictures that she gave him. His obsession of Martha took his focus away from the war. “He had loved Martha more than his

This book is an actual war story where it has numerous of stories about his experiences. But under all those harsh stories and events lies one of the most powerful forces, and that is love. Could it be that instead these stories are based on love and not war? When I say love I do not mean that they are all homosexual but rather they are best friends, battle buddies, loyal to each other. They may get into fights but they all have each others back at the end of the day and I’m going to go through three characters and how they connected with the author, Tim O’Brien.

There are two types of people that fight in wars; those who consider their patriotic duty an honor and those who entered the war by force. In 1990, twenty years after returning from the Vietnam War, Tim O’Brien published The Things They Carried, a disturbing and remorseful collection of short stories that gives detailed, yet fictional, accounts of the horrific events that occurred during the war. Later in 2012, after his tour of duty, Chris Kyle released American Sniper, a humble and passionate memoir that describes what Kyle had to face during his tour. While The Things They Carried utilizes symbolism and similes to inform the reader about the horrors of war, American Sniper uses flashbacks and imagery to demonstrate that some people “come alive” during the war.

"The Things They Carried" list the variety of things his fellow soldiers in the Alpha Company brought on their missions. Several of these things cannot be seen, including guilt and fear, while others are specific physical objects, including matches, morphine, M-16 rifles, and M&M's candy.

The disillusionment of the Vietnam War weighs heavily on the American soldiers in The Things They Carried. Lt. Jimmy Cross carries a picture of Martha, the pebble she sent to him, his weapons, and the responsibility of his men. Lt. Cross unwillingly bears the burdens of war in Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carry; therefore, he passes his time by imagining Martha. He finds refuge in his daydreams of Martha, where he carries nothing. Cross' descriptions of these daydreams emphasize the appeals of his refuge through the artistic effect. Unlike Cross' report of weapons and mementos his men carry, the depictions of his dreams are artistic and fluid, emphasizing their attractiveness compared to the bluntness of war. Cross draws contrasts between

In the story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, Lt. Cross is a young soldier who like many others was drafted into the war. Though he is the leader of the Alpha Company, he doesn’t show it, he is not emotionally nor patriotically devoted. Lt. Cross was distracted from the war that was going on by his feelings for Martha whose letters and photos were a fantasy to him. “Whenever he looked at the photographs, he thought of new things he should’ve done” (O’Brien 470). As the war goes on Cross becomes a dynamic character. The death of Ted Lavender served as a reality check to Lt. Cross and he began to

It was something that symbolized hope for Jimmy during war. Even though going through the reality of war, he chose to keep the love for Martha to most likely get his mind off the terror. Other things he carried were grief and terror of the men who died and might die. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is responsible for him men, probably making him the most effected when something happens to his soldiers. The reality of war is that people die, people are scarred with the experience, and people just give up. Jimmy Cross carries the emotional baggage of grief when his men start to die. He also carries the terror of being there because he is also a soldier in war, fighting and trying to stay alive while trying to keep his men alive as well. These are the intangible things Cross carries but it has tangible weight, effecting

Tim O’Brien starts the book The Things They Carried with a chapter that literally tells the audience what each soldier carries. This ranges from mandatory equipment to sentimental items. These sentimental items also indicate the figurative things that the soldiers carry. The first chapter is all about O’Brien stating which man in the unit carries the guns and radios.

Cross felt a surge in his brain that, “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had love Martha more than his men.” (pg.103) Lieutenant Cross had to take a few steps back from this object he ”loved” because he was losing his men. People who are here with him in the moment were losing their lives over Cross fantasizing about running in a sandy beach, or tying an object (Martha) to the bed for his own pleasure and escape.

One of the main characters in the short story “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’Brien, is a twenty-four year old Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is the assigned leader of his infantry unit in the Vietnam War, but does not assume his role accordingly. Instead, he’s constantly daydreaming, along with obsessing, over his letters and gifts from Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, Jimmy’s home state. He believes that he is in love with Martha, although she shows no signs of loving him. This obsession is a fantasy that he uses to escape from reality, as well as, take his mind off of the war that surrounds him, in Vietnam. The rest of the men in his squad have items that they carry too, as a way

However, while in Vietnam Martha sends him a pebble with a note that states that they are separate but together. O’Brien uses descripted styling to show how this statement makes Jimmy Cross ponder his role in her life. Rather than concentrating on his men; “He pictured Martha’s smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more that his men” (5). This shows how his total love for Martha distracts Cross from his

On occasion he would yell at his men to spread out the column, to keep their eyes open, but then he would slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore, with Martha, carrying nothing." By this statement, the reader can analyzes that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross had difficulty keeping his attention on the

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story written about the Vietnam War. The title has two meanings. The first is their duties and equipment for the war. The second, the emotional sorrows they were put through while at war. Their wants and needs, the constant worry of death were just a few of the emotional baggage they carried. During the Vietnam War, like all wars, there were hard times. Being a soldier wasn’t easy. Soldiers always see death, whether it be another soldier or an enemy. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien explores the motivation of solders in the Vietnam War to understand their role in combat, to stay in good health, and accept the death of a fellow soldier.

The story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien, follows the protagonist, Jimmy Cross, through the battles of Vietnam war portraying the Vietnam experience. It begins by portraying a scene where O’ Brien is reading letters from his college sweet heart Marsha. The story continually names things that his fellow soldiers in the Alpha Company brought with them on their missions. Some things carried by the soldiers can be used to show the soldier’s personality. From intangible objects such as guilt and fear, to the physical objects like M&M’s and M-79s, the items all tell the uniqueness of every solider and his importance to the Alpha Company.