Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

The distractions of war, misinterpretation of reality and limited control of fate as a result of the human condition appear throughout the Vietnam War at all times. Tim O’Brien, as a narrator describes the struggles of storytelling during and after the war. The constant struggle to determine reality versus personal perception arises in many aspects of his memory. Some factors of recalling events are uncontrollable such as interference of imagination and uncertainty as a result of the human condition. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the telling of story-truth, rather than happening-truth, is necessary, as no replica can be as genuine as the original.

In works such as the novel The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brien and the movie Full Metal Jacket directed by Stanley Kubrick, we see the hardships soldiers had to pass through during training and the Vietnam War. As it is stated in O’Brien’s book “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing – these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had a tangible weight” (O’Brien 20). After stating all of the things they actually carried O’Brien makes reference to them carrying emotional weight, to let the reader know that there was more to the war than fighting. They had other reasons to be there, such not wanting to be titled as cowards for not enlisting themselves in the war. In Full Metal Jacket the emotional weight they have on themselves is also visible throughout the whole movie. The emotional burden caused some of the soldiers such as Private Leonard Lawrence to enlist in the training although he clearly was unfit for the job. This resulted in an amazing turn of events since due to intrinsic motivation to not be the source of everyone’s laugh, he becomes someone completely different. At the end of the first part of the movie Pvt. Lawrence was no longer that unfit soldier we see at the beginning, he had changed to be a vicious person with a death wish. In both works we see the physical and emotional struggles soldiers had to undergo causing them to develop an

In the book, The Things They Carried, by Tim O'brien, the title of the first chapter perfectly mimics the name of the book itself. The author talks about the many items soldier’s carried with them into the Vietnam War, as well as the effects they had on his many teammates. Each new chapter, though, gives new insight as to what they carried around with them besides physical objects. Despite palpable things in which they were required to have, young men would find themselves bearing the heavy weight of responsibility and emotional trauma that came with them. In order to cope with these endeavors, soldier’s would also bring with them something to help, whether it was simply the knowledge of God, or a reason for fighting. O’brien’s stories give

As Tim O’Brien states in his short story book, The Things They Carried, the only true thing about war is its allegiance to evil and obscenity. One example of this faithfulness war has to stick to its truth is the inevitable death of many soldiers. War consumes. It consumes a large amount of resources, money, energy, time, but most of all it consumes human lives. The ones who don’t pass must bear the witness of the death of the others. “In the Field”, one of the short stories in O’Brien’s book, explores the way death is handled by soldiers and the process by which absorb the emotions that come along with it.

Everywhere I go, I carry with me a tangible piece of my past as both a reminder of who I was, as well as who I have become. Although it seems trivial, this item is my beanie. In an effort to reestablish my image as I entered middle school I grew out my hair started to wear a beanie to school every day. After reaching the end of my middle school experience, I cut my hair (mostly out of desperation in the summer heat). Although my hair was gone, the beanie seemed to stick around. I believe this is because it takes me back to a simpler time in my life, but also serves as a reminder of how much I’ve grown and matured since then. I have no regrets, and it is fully my decision to carry this item, but it brings me comfort because of who I was back then versus who I am now. It only weighs a few ounces, and it weighs down my heart about as much as it weighs down my head: not much.

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change” (Mary Shelley, Frankenstein). War can be a drastic change for the life of a person as war can ultimately morph them into a slave of the battlefield. In the book The Things They Carried, Tim O’ Brien describes the experiences of people in the Vietnam War and how they have become changed individuals from their past lives before combat. War pummels you with things that transcend your typical escapades and the more you try to understand them, the more you get sucked into the void of combat. The increased time the characters are in the battlefield, the more they have to think about it, thus shaping who they are. Only time can determine how much war can affect you.

In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross recalls past stories told by him and from fellow soldiers in his time overseas in Vietnam. Experiences and events soldiers faced in Vietnam can change the way people think, feel, and act.

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a magnificent book illustrating the physical and mental impacts of the Vietnam War on soldiers. “The Things They Carried” gives an insight into the lives of the soldiers and the experiences brought upon them before, during and after the war. One theme that stands out is that the soldiers in the book carry not only physical items, but also thoughts and feelings such as the memories of their loved ones and burdens of those who have been lost.

When fighting as a soldier in the Vietnam War, everything carried has to have significance. In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the soldiers carried items that were important to them symbolically and emotionally. There were some objects that were a necessity such as, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, steel helmets, ponchos, and etc… Also, standard weapons were needed like the M-60, M-16, and M-79. Jimmy Cross was first lieutenant so he had the responsibility to shuffle around a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol. RTO Mitchell Sanders had the responsibility to carry the PRC-25 radio, which was a whole 26 pounds. Rat Kiley was the medic and had certain items needed to treat

War changes people and Tim O’ Brien is a great example because in The Things they Carried, the novel observes a struggle to conquer grief and the struggle to deal with death; which shows the human side. The story displays strong sentiment and lets the reader sympathize with the characters, especially Tim O’ Brien. Tim O’ Brien permits the spectators to feel the emotion by writing this fictional story.

In the world of Tim O’Brien story there are many individuals who come from different walks of life. Many affected by their culture, geography, surroundings, and circumstances they have each been exposed too. In “The Things They Carried,” the characters demonstrate the challenges and struggles they face and how they attempt to conceal it inside them. In today’s world this short story can be related to the responsibilities, challenges, and struggles individuals face internally from one day to the next.

In The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, the Vietnam War is used as a backdrop to show the hardships and lives of the young soldiers. Made up of a series of independently standing stories, the novel blends the line between fact and fiction. The definition of ‘truth’ is twisted in order to better convey the emotions behind the stories.

Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” focuses on war, masculinity, and the ability of objects to tether individuals to reality. Interspersed with the perspective of a group of American Vietnam soldiers are lists of objects that made their way with them, developing these characters and demonstrating the importance of items, emotions, and identity. With this focus on things, paralleled with the brutalities of war, O’Brien creates a world that is both ephemeral, set in human consciousness and mortality, and tangible, rooted in the items that prove to ground individuals to the world in extreme circumstances. Ultimately, through symbolism and characterization, O’Brien argues that the burdens of life are simultaneously insubstantial and weighty.

After the Vietnam War, thousands of veterans suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For over fifty years PTSD previously referred to as “Shell Shock” has been a significant problem for Vietnam veterans. The National Veterans Readjustment survey conducted in 1988 found that 31% of men and 27% of women suffered from PTSD upon their return home from the Vietnam War. Important to realize, it was not until 1989 did the Veterans Administrations (VA) list PTSD as one of the leading conditions treated by their medical professionals.

The Things They Carried is a fictional account of the nature of men during the Vietnam War. The power of the novel comes from the blurring of the line between fiction and non-fiction. Tim O’Brien used his actual memoir as a Vietnam soldier with a collection of what that appear to be fictional short stories that he credited to the members of his platoon. This style of writing shows that a person's subjective thoughts and feelings about an event, which O'Brien calls story-truth, is more meaningful than an objective factual account of the events, which O'Brien calls happening-truth. O'Brien blurs the line between fact and fiction right from the start when O'Brien dedicates the novel to the individual soldiers in his platoon, which the reader