Pt Dd Research Paper

The symbols in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” are essential to understanding the soldiers and their lives during the Vietnam War. At the opening of the story, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross would dig into his foxhole and read the letters while imagining romance with Martha; however, at the end of the story after the death of Ted Lavender, he “crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters” (402). The inner feelings of Cross would be mistakenly ignored without the help of symbols throughout his travel through Vietnam. O’Brien uses the emotional and physical weight carried by the soldiers as a representation of their personalities and how they prefer to cope with the war. The

One of the most overlooked aspects in the life of a soldier is the weight of the things they carry. In Tim O'Brien's story, "The Things They Carried," O'Brien details the plight of Vietnam soldiers along with how they shoulder the numerous burdens placed upon them. Literally, the heavy supplies weigh down each soldier -- but the physical load imposed on each soldier symbolizes the psychological baggage a soldier carries during war. Though O'Brien lists the things each soldier carries, the focal point centers around the leader, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, and his roles in the war. Lt. Cross has multiple burdens, but his emotional baggage is

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 soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to 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 stand point of being young men out at war.

The Things They Carried is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War that the author, Tim O’Brien, uses to convey his experiences and feelings about the war. The book is filled with stories about the men of Alpha Company and their lives in Vietnam and afterwards back in the United States. O’Brien captures the reader with graphic descriptions of the war that make one feel as if they were in Vietnam. The characters are unique and the reader feels sadness and compassion for them by the end of the novel. To O’Brien the novel is not only a compilation of stories, but also a release of the fears, sadness, and anger that he has felt because of the Vietnam War.

The Things They Carried is about a group of soldiers set during the Vietnam War. We are first introduced to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in the jungle setting of Vietnam. At first glance the reader is submerged into his secrete obsession with a women named Martha. He carries letters from her enjoys fantasies involving the two and even has gone as so far as to lick an envelope just because she did all in the name of love or his version of it. Love is an emotion felt by every human being no matter age or period of time.

The Things They Carried is more than just a story about the Vietnam war. A focus has been placed on the real soldiers who lived through it. With the use of repetition, figurative language, and described imagery O’Brien is able to illustrates his story. WIth these three things, we are able to understand the physical and emotional side of a soldier at war.

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

“The Things They Carried” is about Cross and the soldiers under him and their activities in Vietnam during the war. The story begins with Cross introducing the object of his infatuation, Martha. He then goes on to list, in detail, materials, gear, and emotions that were “humped” by him and his men. Cross seems to be a day dreamer since he often thinks about Martha when he should be focusing on his men, the mission, and their surroundings. Cross also loses one of his soldiers, Ted Lavender. Cross, being the leader, blames himself for being off in la-la land with Martha rather than focusing on the reality he and his soldiers are in. Burdened with the guilt, he throws himself into the act of digging a foxhole, using the rage to fuel him. Cross, then, partakes on a sort of self-examination where he realizes all of the negative things that have happened but could have been

A person’s possessions can tell a great deal about the person that they belong to. Tim O’Brien’s short story “The Things They Carried” uses the objects that soldiers are carrying in Vietnam to reveal information about their families, lives, and values as well as the theme and tone of the story. The story follows the main character Lieutenant Jim Cross and his platoon throughout Vietnam. It provides an account of their experiences prior to and following the death of one of their men, Ted Lavender.

The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, is a generalization of his own experiences in Vietnam although the story itself is a work of fiction there is still much to be learned from it. Through the actions of soldiers in The Things They Carried we can begin to explore the effect war has on the human condition and the toll it plays on their minds.

The horrific war of Vietnam consisted of many different people that were able to bring with them pieces and items that helped them survive throughout the battle. In the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O' Brien, symbolic items that were both physical and literal were carried and shown throughout the story from the characters of Jimmy Cross, Notman Baker, and Kiowa. Items specifically consisted of things like letters and photos of a woman named Martha that were given to Cross, a hatchet, and a diary which was carried by Bowker. The items that they kept close to them represented their true colors, as the book reveals to the reader how significant these objects were to these characters. Soldiers were allowed to carry such items to the battle,

The novel, The Things They Carried is a story of one man’s accounts resulting to his tour of duty in Vietnam. Many of the men that are discussed in the book continued to be effected by the war, long after they returned home. Men were left emotionally scared, even if they managed to get out of the war physically unharmed. The

Veterans of Vietnam also experienced many of the same side effects of war. Veterans suffered from "depression, substance and alcohol abuse, antisocial personality and anxiety disorders" (Price). The veterans also often reported complications with employment security and conflicts within their marriages.

The Things They Carried begins by explaining the both literal and figurative items that each soldier in Vietnam carried. This portion of the book served as the exposition, as all the characters are introduced and the setting established. From learning what each soldier carried, the reader learned a great deal about each character—Cross’s unrequited love for Martha, Dobbins’ superstitious mindset, Ted Lavender’s nervous tendencies, etc. During the exposition, we also learn that the soldiers are in Vietnam fighting the war. O’Brien continues and describes Ted Lavender’s unfortunate and unexpected death as he was returning after going to the bathroom. Jimmy Cross blames himself for Lavender’s death after daydreaming about Martha, his college crush. Before O’Brien continued telling war stories, he explains how he ended up in

In the short story, The Things They Carried, Jimmy Cross carried different type of objects that gave him the possibility of escape from the Vietnam war and being the strong leader, he should for been his platoon. Jimmy Cross has a hard time balancing the role of a strong leader and a human-being with the help of tangible and emotional object he was carrying on his shoulders.