Summary Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

He had touched these items day by day, wondering who had been beside her while she had retrieved the pebble from the beach, or who placed the shadow in the photo of her. His mind would race day and night, making it difficult for him to provide adequate attention on the war. Cross “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” (396). Cross would hope for nothing more than to be carrying nothing. These physical objects weighed him down terribly after the death of Ted Lavender. He had loved Martha much more than his men, and due to his overpowering love he had lost one of them. The pebble was not only a symbol of importance to Cross as he dealt with the trauma of war, but as the physical weight he carried due to the death of his man. These physical symbols helped to identify a shift in the story when Cross decides to open up and make a change to the way he is coping with the war after Lavender’s death. This “wouldn’t help Lavender, he knew that, but from this point on he would comport himself as an officer” (403).

Tim O’Brien writes about both the physical objects they carry as well as their emotional burdens. The objects that these soldiers carry serve as a symbolism for what they are carrying in their hearts and minds. The soldiers carry items varying from pantyhose, medicine, tanning oil, and pictures. Jimmy Cross is an inexperienced sophomore in college, he signs up for the Reserve Officers Training Camp because his friends are doing the course. Jimmy Cross doesn’t want anything to do with the war or anything to do with being a leader. The item that Jimmy Cross carries with him are pictures of his classmate named Martha.

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

The Things They Carried is an autobiographical novel written by Tim O’Brien that details his time as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Considered to be “the best work of fiction ever written about Vietnam, some even think it is the best about war,” (Greenya 1). The stories that are contained within the novel talk about themes such as loss, burdens, and the horrifying truths of the Vietnam War, the first war to take place during a more ‘modern’ era, as the tragedies of the war could be broadcasted through television. Much like many soldiers that fought in the war, Tim O’Brien was forced to face through many tragedies. Due to this, the book is used to preserve those who have died in Tim O’Brien’s life. The two chapters within The Things They Carried develop the importance of O’Brien’s coping mechanism. In The Little Brown Reader, ‘Snapshot: Lost Lives of Women’ by Amy Tan contains a similar structure to the two chapters of O’Brien’s novel. I believe that Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is similar to Amy Tan’s ‘Snapshot: Lost Lives of Women in the structure detailing the past and the idea of keeping people’s lives preserved through the art of storytelling, O’Brien’s last two chapters are essential in showing this similarity.

Many authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter “The Lives of the Dead,” O 'Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of storytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the ability to save himself with a simple story. Through snippets of main plot event of other chapters, O’Brien speaks to the fact the dead have not actually left; they are gone physically, but not spiritually or emotionally. They live on in memories as Linda lives on in the memories of O’Brien and as many of his war buddies live on through his stories. He can revive them and bring them back to the world through his writings and through these emotions or events he experienced with them and with their deaths can make them immortal. Through the reminiscent stories of Linda and O’Brien’s war companions and himself, O’Brien conveys that storytelling allows people to reanimate others who have died and past selves to create an immortality of humans.

In the story The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien didn’t mention anything about traditional war heroes. I think this was a great idea, because there are no traditional war heroes. A traditional war hero is someone who is fearless and someone who can’t be harmed mentally or emotionally. But in The Things They Carried the soldiers out on the front lines were emotionally and physically scarred. Tim O’Brien didn’t write about traditional war heroes, O’Brien wrote about normal people, people with different views on the Vietnam war, and how the war affected these people.

Death defines life; it has the ability to reinvent the living for better or worse. “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, provides a non-linear, semi-fictitious account of the Vietnam War that poignantly depicts the complicated relationship between life and death. His account breathes subtle vitality and realism into the lingering presence of the dead, intimating that the memories they impart have as profound an impact as the living.

Often times, we feel we deal with the weight of so many burdens. We feel overwhelmed and aren’t able to do anything about it. But unlike our minor situations faced daily that we feel is weighing down on us, there are many veterans who would love to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.

Tim O'Brien's “The Things They carried” is a story which is about the physical and emotional weight that a soldier carries during a war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is the main character of the story who is a weak soldier who does not want to be in the war, however, he could not withdraw because soldiers were needed to fight the war. Throughout the whole story, Jimmy remembered a girl named Martha, whom he desired to be his girlfriend. In the other hand, because of the remembering Martha, some good and many bad things happened during the war. While Jimmy Cross's love for Martha brought his respite for the war and ultimately proved to be harmful to him, his men and his ability to be an effective leader.

​For many years war has been a huge part of history. Thousands of people go to war for their country and come back physically fine. But what people usually do not notice is the emotional distress and burden that the veterans come back with on their back. That is what drives the purpose of the book in “The things they carried”. Tim O’Brien wrote this book in way that shows how war can be part of the soldier for the rest of their life. Coming home veterans have to deal with individual sufferings, but the emotional baggage the soldiers bring also effect the people around them. The characters in the book the “The things they carried” portray this very well.

The Things They Carried, published in 1990, is an American Novel written by Tim O’Brien. The story holds true to the Vietnam War. The different stories within the novel are never assumed to be equal, not because some are better than others, but because they hold disparate goals. These goals include everything from imparting life lessons to educating readers about their nation’s history. The Things They Carried is especially distinctive; it is overall a straightforward tragedy, with the main flaw of an otherwise likeable main character causing his downfall.

Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work “The Things They Carried” is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states the how the lieutenant carries letters of a girl he loves. Her name is Martha a girl that obviously does not feel the same for Lieutenant Cross. After talking about the odd relationship between Martha and Lieutenant Cross, the writer goes back to

In the Things They Carried by by Tim O’ Brian, he touches on several themes but only one prevails and is developed thoroughly throughout the book . Physical and Emotional burdens are a reoccurring theme that help fully convey the true meaning of the story. Many soldiers carry their own unique strains that often impact their experiences in life. The different themes mixed in the stories help develop the personal strife the men faced throughout Vietnam. Subjection of Truth to Storytelling, Friendship, Warfare, Courage, and Innocence are just a few important themes that are explored throughout tho novel .

The things they carried was a very interesting book that was filled with various stories. They all took place during the Vietnam War and follow multiple protagonists that reappear in later stories. Throughout the story, there is a vast number of themes and symbolism. One theme I found interesting is the theme of physical and emotional burdens. This was especially noticeable in ‘’The Things They Carried’’, where they were carrying both literally and figurative. ‘’ They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture.’’ (pg. 77) Sure enough, soldiers have to endure walking miles upon miles with a heavy backpack along with war equipment and standard m-16’s and such, but it becomes evident that the emotional burdens on their shoulders weigh more than the physical objects. These burdens come in the form of grief, sadness, and a vast number of what is mostly negative emotions. Jimmy Cross, the protagonist of this short story, is a perfect example. He got extremely distracted from his duty as a lieutenant. He even lost one of his men. And yet he could not stop thinking about his love for someone who clearly didn’t love him back. It’s times like that, especially in a war, that require you to put

The Things They Carried by author Tim O'Brien is a work of war literature that combines fact and fiction in a collection of memoirs, autobiograpy, and stories related to the foot soldiers' experiences, fears, and feelings that happened during the Vietnam War .1