The Things They Carried Journal Assignment

It is based on necessity such as the standard fatigue jacket and trousers, canteens, MRE’s or C-rations, cigarettes, steel helmets, flak jacket, ponchos or sleep bags, a weapon such as the M-16, the M-60, or the .45 caliber pistol, or in Ted Lavender’s case dope. It is based on rank or field specialty such as Lt. Cross carrying the maps, compass and codebook, or Mitchell Sanders being the RTO carrying the PRC-25 radio, or Rat Kiley being the medic carrying his canvas satchel filled with morphine, and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape. It is based on mission, such as a mine detector is they though an area was especially littered with toe poppers and bouncing betties, and it is based on superstition, such as Lt. Cross’s good-luck pebble, Dave Jensen’s rabbit’s foot or Henry Dobbins carrying his girlfriend’s pantyhose. Despite the heavy load (each soldier carrying closer to a 100 lbs worth of gear) this story, isn’t about the physical weight, but rather the emotional and psychological toll a war can take on a person. The Things They Carried is about LT. Cross and his men, Rat Kiley, Henry Dobbins, Dave Jensen, Kiowa, Ted Lavender, Norman Baker, Lee Strunk and Mitchell Sanders and there time in Vietnam. The author talks about the various things that they had to carry and well as a number of events such as Mitchell Sanders cutting of the dead vietcongs thumb, to Lee Strunk being picked to going in a VC tunnel and to the sudden death of Ted Lavender, who was shot while walking back from

For example, Lt. Jimmy Cross carried letters from Martha that he continually fantasized about. Kiowa carried his grandfather’s old hunting hatchet as a way to hold on to his cultural past. The additional weight depended somewhat upon the soldier’s rank and position. For example, the radiotelephone operator carried a twenty-six pound radio as part of his position.

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.

This quote helps O’Brien to portray the theme of motivation by shame. Curt Lemon fainted in a scene before the last one where he got a good tooth pulled out. He was afraid of the dentist that was on sight, and because of this he was embarrassed because he fainted. He didn’t want to face the other guys because he knew that they

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

“War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead.” (80)

In Tim O’Brien’s story called “The Things They Carried” he writes about how a group of soldiers, who are in Vietnamese, are caring items that are important to them. Lieutenant Cross carries letters from Martha because he loves her. While he is day dreaming of Martha instead of watching out for his team, Lavender gets shots and dies. Cross feels guilty about Lavenders death because he was thinking about Martha; so he burns everything she gave him and he keeps himself and the rest of the soldiers on point.

The text, ‘The Things They Carried', is an excellent example which reveals how individuals are changed for the worse through their first hand experience of war. Following the lives of the men both during and after the war in a series of short stories, the impact of the war is accurately portrayed, and provides a rare insight into the guilt stricken minds of soldiers. ‘The Things They Carried' shows the impact of the war in its many forms: the suicide of an ex-soldier upon his return home; the lessening sanity of a medic as the constant death surrounds him; the trauma and guilt of all the soldiers after seeing their friends die, and feeling as if they could have saved them; and the deaths of the soldiers, the most negative impact a war

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien the author tells about his experiences in the Vietnam war by telling various war stories. The quote, "It has been said of war that it is a world where the past has a strong grip on the present, where machines seemed sometimes to have more will power than me, where nice boys (girls) were attracted to them, where bodies ruptured and burned and stand, where the evil thing trying to kill you could look disconnecting human and where except in your imagination it was impossible to be heroic." relates to each of his stories.

            Tim O’Brien brings the characters and stories to life in The Things They Carried. He uses a writing style that brings stories to life by posing questions between the relationship of reality and fiction (Calloway 249). This is called metafiction and it exposes the truth through the literary experience. Tim O’Brien uses metafiction to make the characters and stories in The Things They Carried realistically evocative of the Vietnam War.

The new medal for military service is called the medal of preserving innocence. In the book The Things They Carried, war is viewed as an event that steals youth and innocence away from many, but with the many that have their innocence stealing, they preserve the innocence of many back home. The qualities of the recipient include but are not limited to: stopping the truth of war actions from spreading back home, taking action to stop the enemy from invading territory, and performing heartless acts to see a fellow solider make it home alive. The medal includes many symbols. The heart is there to show that it takes a lot of love for someone to shield them from the truth of the war. The crest of the eagle is to show that bravery does not always

Necessity is a rather slippery concept in terms of definition. The notion of what an individual requires for his or her survival varies with the particular situation at any given time. These needs may intensify or become distorted as one finds himself in an increasingly dangerous situation, particularly a life-and-death one such as war. Such dire circumstances may provoke in an average person feelings of extreme vulnerability, and the desire to hold on to all that he can, not unlike a child's instinct to grasp the nearest object in his search for comfort while in the throes of anxiety. Despite the fact that these "necessary" items or ideas that he clings to may impair or even threaten to destroy

     Tim O’Brien is drafted one month after graduating from Macalester College to fight a war he hated. Tim O’Brien believed he was above the war, and as a result pursued the alternative of escaping across the border to Canada. This understandable act is what Tim O’Brien considers an

In the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, there are stories being told by Tim O’Brien that seem surreal, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represent the hard and exact truth as it seemed. He talks about the Vietnam War, his experiences, and about other people’s lives. In the chapter “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” O’Brien explains the story of his comrade, Rat Kiley. Now Rat Kiley is known for exaggerating his stories. He explains his first assignment in the mountains of Chu Lai.

I have just finished reading a new book called “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. This book was unlike another war story I have read before, it was honest and moving. The burden of what men have to carry mentally and physically during a time of war is something I had never given much thought to before. While doing this assignment I found it very difficult for me to put into words why I chose the quotes I did, they were all personal to me and made me feel something throughout the novel. I read this novel because my sister had recommended it to me and now I am beyond happy that I have, the author brought to life something that was unique and packed with a punch. The description of pain and happiness throughout the novel makes the reader