The Things They Carried

It is debatable as to whether or not “The Things They Carried” even has a plot. In the traditional sense, the story lacks a defining story line. Instead the novel contains a central incident and a bunch of descriptions which go beyond what a plot could offer in portraying Tim O’Brien’s views on war.

One of the first things O’Brien does is differentiate between members of Cross’s group. Each person has a slightly different load meant to complement his particular skill set and situation. For example, Henry Dobbins, a large man, often carried extra rations, and Kiowa carried an illustrated copy of the New Testament and an old hunting hatchet. The personalization is important because it humanizes each individual during the trying time of war. Too often, the army is referred to as a unit without regards for each individual.

I enjoyed the way Tim O’Brien was so precise and meticulous with his descriptions of each piece of equipment each soldier had. He often goes as far as to describe how much a weapon weights when loaded or unloaded and how much a couple of letters weigh. The exactness of weight in each item can be juxtaposed again the immeasurable weight each soldier holds in the form of feelings. For Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, his feelings come in the form of a deep love, almost lust, for Marta. Yet it is not so much the love that is as important as the fact that Martha serves as an escape for O’Brien. He uses Martha to stay human during the craziness of a war which he did not know why he was fighting for. With the loss of Lavender, Cross severs his connection to the outside world which he had forged through Martha. Lavender’s death was the turning point that sucked him into the bleak landscape of war as evidenced by his change after Lavender’s death. Cross unnecessarily blames himself for being a “coward” by trying to escape his reality and in the process losing a comrade.This plays onto the idea of courage felt by most of the soldiers. Each of the soldiers could have called quits by refusing to move or by intentionally injuring himself. From speaking to my cousin who went to war, the main reason soldiers continue on is for the friendships each person builds within his or her unit throughout the war. In “The Things They Carried,” Cross feels cowardly because he did not devote his full time to his troops and could be blamed of trying to escape physiologically as opposed to physically.

The central incident in “The Things They Carried,” is one that does not receive a lot of time in the story. Lavender’s death is referred to many times throughout the story including the beginning and ending. The reference to his death occurred so quickly and unexpectedly in the story, just as it did in real life. One minute we are reading about Lavender’s death and just as quickly the topic moves towards superstition. The lack of mention of Lavender’s death should not be unnoticed. The effect of Lavender’s death on Cross is apparent, but it also affected other members of the unit including Kiowa who questions himself after he realizes he does not feel the grief Cross feels. In this way, O’Brien humanizes the soldiers by showing how hard death can be even for trained experts such as those of the army.

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