Anaphoras In The Things They Carried

In The Things They Carried, the author, Tim O’Brien, wants to emphasize different aspects of what the men carried. O’Brien provides different subjects throughout the work, with all having significance to the story. The items build on one another with the author’s use of anaphoras and examples, both general and specific, which stress the importance of what the men truly carried. Throughout the story, O’Brien uses several subjects that all have significance to the story. With each subject change, there is a change in emotion and amount of stress put on that item. For example, he mentions the physical things they carried, such as: “a compass, maps, code books” (O’Brien 89), and “special equipment” (O’Brien 91). These items hold significance because without them, the men could be put into a difficult situation where they would have trouble getting out of it. But, these items are standard. They don’t hold a lot of emotional importance, making their weight not as heavy. But, O’Brien then
Throughout the selection, O’Brien uses several anaphoras to stress the multiple burdens the men carry. “They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice…They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier’s greatest fear” (O’Brien 96). The word “they” combines these sentences into one thought, The men don’t just carry one item “they” carry “memories”, “reputations”, “cowardice”; things that don’t have any physical weight, but emotional weight. These emotions weigh them down as they add on to one another, creating a heavy burden, a heavy load of things to carry. Although the emotions are intangible things to carry, they have weight and the use of “they” helps to build their significance. The emotional weight is symbolic of what they have to carry through their time in both the warzone and at home, something that will never leave