The Things They Carried

05/12/08

English 105

The Things They Carried

Symbolism is one of the most effective and powerful elements in writing, enabling us to tell a story one way while all along communicating a different, more profound message. In his story "The Things They Carried," Tim O'Brien uses the items soldiers tend to take with them to war to symbolize what the soldiers are actually thinking and feeling. The themes of the story, “The Things They Carried,” are the title itself and the narrative point of view.

O'Brien uses the word “things” in the title because the soldiers do not only carry equipment and supplies, but also emotions of love, terror, grief, and longing. Henry Dobbins, for example, carries his girlfriend’s pantyhose and, with them, the longing for love and comfort. Similarly, Jimmy Cross carries compasses and maps and, with them, the responsibility for the men in his charge. Cross does not only face with fear, but also with love, for example, O’Brien begins, “Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha” (1158). Not only does Cross carry Martha’s letters, but he ponders over them. The level of detail O’Brien offers about the characters is expanded upon and illuminated, though O’Brien distills the essence of each characters’ personality through the symbolic items each carries. Henry Dobbins carries a machine gun. Dave Jensen carries soap, dental floss, foot powder, and vitamins. Mitchell Sanders carries condoms, brass knuckles, and the unit’s radio. Norman Bowker carries a diary. Kiowa carries a volume of the New Testament and moccasins. Rat Kiley carries his medical kit, brandy, comic books, and M&M’s candy. The narrator offers additional detail about selected items; for example, the poncho Ted Lavender carries will later be used by his fellow soldiers to carry his dead body. Each man’s physical burden underscores his emotional burden. Faced with the heavy burden of fear, the men also carry the weight of their reputations. One such burden is the necessity for the young soldiers to confront the tension between fantasy and reality. Cross thinks that because he was so obsessed with his fantasy of Martha and the life they might lead after the war, he was negligent. He sees Ted Lavender’s death as the result of his negligence. So what does Cross do? Jimmy Cross “crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters “(1157). During that event, Cross “burned the two photographs” (1157) of Martha. “The Things They Carried” is the illustration of the conflict between love and war, and then the death of Ted Lavender and the subsequent disillusionment of Lieutenant Cross signify a triumph for war in this conflict.

O'Brien provides insight into the emotions and rationale of Viet Nam veterans through their physical and mental appearance. "Awkwardly, the men would reassemble themselves, first in private, then in groups, becoming soldiers again. They would repair the leaks in their eyes... light cigarettes, try to smile, clear their throats and spit and begin cleaning their weapons" (1156). From this passage we see how the men hid their feelings from each other. Often when coming close to death the men defuse the tension by joking, saying things like "that's sure as hell was close" (1156) or "I almost shit my paints" (1156)