'The Things They Carried By Tim O' Brien: Analysis
The Things They Carried 2
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
Summary / Response
War! Seems like every where we turn anymore you hear a story about war. The story of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien takes place during the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien narrated the story, and is writing from first hand experiences. This story gives you a good insight of how soldiers think during such difficult times. Throughout this story you’ll see how love can affect a person’s judgment even during a war. In this story Tim O’Brien and his platoon would March village to village through Vietnam. In these villages they would kill and destroy everything they came across. They would burn everything and even kill the animals like chickens
and dogs. Every day seemed the same besides the fact that they would lose a soldier here and there due to cross fire. During the story each soldier has their own personal way of getting through each day. For example, “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey”. Other soldiers would carry things like rabbit feet, dope, condoms, and hunting hatches. These objects helped them through each day. Tim O’Brien explains a little about each soldier in his platoon and how each one reacted to situations in the war. The main focus is on Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, and his battle to stay focused on the war and not on his love for Martha. In one instance Lieutenant Jimmy Cross had felt shame because as quoted, “He had loved Martha more than his men and as a consequence
Things They Carried 3
Lavender was now dead”. Lavender was a soldier in the platoon. As you can see Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was carrying Lavenders death on his shoulders. Throughout this story Tim O’Brien explains how Jimmy Cross battles with his love for Martha and leading his troops through Vietnam. In response to this story, I found it interesting how even during war how love can affect a person’s judgment. I’m referring to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s love for Martha. I started to think how I would react in such a situation, and realized I would not be thinking about love when my life or one of my fellow troops lives were in danger. I was glad in the end when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross finally realized he was not going to focus on Martha anymore and finally lead his troops properly. The way Tim O’Brien breaks down how much weight they each are carrying is interesting to me. In the story Tim O’Brien says, “With quilted liner, the poncho weighed almost two pounds, but it was worth every ounce”. I know if I was at war and had to carry a lot of equipment I would know exactly how much everything weighed as well. The overall story was a good reading and kept my attention. I would definitely recommend it to others to read. This story relates to me in one particular way. The way Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was distracted by his feelings for a girl over the war. For me the distractions would happen while I’m working, and it can drift your thoughts very easily. That might be why I found this story so interesting. The Things They Carried 4 I have summarized and explained my response to “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. I hope if you read this story you see how love can affect a person’s judgment even during a war. Also, I hope you see how soldiers act during war and their reactions to certain situations.
References
O’Brien, T. The Things They Carried.1990.Faith and Doubt.(pp1172-1184)
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
Summary / Response
War! Seems like every where we turn anymore you hear a story about war. The story of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien takes place during the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien narrated the story, and is writing from first hand experiences. This story gives you a good insight of how soldiers think during such difficult times. Throughout this story you’ll see how love can affect a person’s judgment even during a war. In this story Tim O’Brien and his platoon would March village to village through Vietnam. In these villages they would kill and destroy everything they came across. They would burn everything and even kill the animals like chickens
and dogs. Every day seemed the same besides the fact that they would lose a soldier here and there due to cross fire. During the story each soldier has their own personal way of getting through each day. For example, “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey”. Other soldiers would carry things like rabbit feet, dope, condoms, and hunting hatches. These objects helped them through each day. Tim O’Brien explains a little about each soldier in his platoon and how each one reacted to situations in the war. The main focus is on Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, and his battle to stay focused on the war and not on his love for Martha. In one instance Lieutenant Jimmy Cross had felt shame because as quoted, “He had loved Martha more than his men and as a consequence
Things They Carried 3
Lavender was now dead”. Lavender was a soldier in the platoon. As you can see Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was carrying Lavenders death on his shoulders. Throughout this story Tim O’Brien explains how Jimmy Cross battles with his love for Martha and leading his troops through Vietnam. In response to this story, I found it interesting how even during war how love can affect a person’s judgment. I’m referring to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s love for Martha. I started to think how I would react in such a situation, and realized I would not be thinking about love when my life or one of my fellow troops lives were in danger. I was glad in the end when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross finally realized he was not going to focus on Martha anymore and finally lead his troops properly. The way Tim O’Brien breaks down how much weight they each are carrying is interesting to me. In the story Tim O’Brien says, “With quilted liner, the poncho weighed almost two pounds, but it was worth every ounce”. I know if I was at war and had to carry a lot of equipment I would know exactly how much everything weighed as well. The overall story was a good reading and kept my attention. I would definitely recommend it to others to read. This story relates to me in one particular way. The way Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was distracted by his feelings for a girl over the war. For me the distractions would happen while I’m working, and it can drift your thoughts very easily. That might be why I found this story so interesting. The Things They Carried 4 I have summarized and explained my response to “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. I hope if you read this story you see how love can affect a person’s judgment even during a war. Also, I hope you see how soldiers act during war and their reactions to certain situations.
References
O’Brien, T. The Things They Carried.1990.Faith and Doubt.(pp1172-1184)