The Things They Carried by Tim Obrien Dialectic Journal
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
1 | Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. (pg. 2) | Most of these items I understand that they have to have them. There are a few though that I don’t think are a necessity or a near-necessity, like the candy or cigarettes. Those are two things that aren’t necessary in the war. | 2 | As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds fully loaded. He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men. (pg. 5) | He carried a lot and the last sentence there just seems like foreshadowing. I’m now expecting something to happen to one of his men. | 3 | As an RTO, Mitchell Sanders carried the PRC-25 radio, a killer, 26 pounds with its battery. (pg. 5) | I would hate to carry that around all the time. | 4 | As a medic, Rat Kiley carried a canvas satchel filled with morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M&M’s for especially bad wounds, for a total weight of nearly 18 pounds. (pg. 5) | All of this stuff would be a pain to carry around also. | 5 | Imagination was a killer. (pg. 10) | This is true, people always let their imagination get the best of them, and it causes them to experience the worst. | 6 | Lieutenant Cross carried his good-luck pebble. Dave Jensen carried a rabbit’s foot. Norman Bowker, otherwise a very gentle person, carried a thumb that had been presented to him as a gift by Mitchell Sanders. (pg. 12) | This is disgusting; I don’t understand why some people carry around weird things like this. And it was a gift!? | 7 | On the morning after
1 | Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. (pg. 2) | Most of these items I understand that they have to have them. There are a few though that I don’t think are a necessity or a near-necessity, like the candy or cigarettes. Those are two things that aren’t necessary in the war. | 2 | As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds fully loaded. He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men. (pg. 5) | He carried a lot and the last sentence there just seems like foreshadowing. I’m now expecting something to happen to one of his men. | 3 | As an RTO, Mitchell Sanders carried the PRC-25 radio, a killer, 26 pounds with its battery. (pg. 5) | I would hate to carry that around all the time. | 4 | As a medic, Rat Kiley carried a canvas satchel filled with morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M&M’s for especially bad wounds, for a total weight of nearly 18 pounds. (pg. 5) | All of this stuff would be a pain to carry around also. | 5 | Imagination was a killer. (pg. 10) | This is true, people always let their imagination get the best of them, and it causes them to experience the worst. | 6 | Lieutenant Cross carried his good-luck pebble. Dave Jensen carried a rabbit’s foot. Norman Bowker, otherwise a very gentle person, carried a thumb that had been presented to him as a gift by Mitchell Sanders. (pg. 12) | This is disgusting; I don’t understand why some people carry around weird things like this. And it was a gift!? | 7 | On the morning after