Theme Of Weight In Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'
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The Symbolism of Weight in “The Things They Carried”
The title of Tim O 'Brien 's collection of short stories employs the use of weight. However, this is both in the physical and psychological sense. This book, published in 1990, explores in depth the theme of weight in regards to physical objects such as rations and cigarettes, while delving deeper into the emotions of fear, reverence and admiration that “weigh” on these soldiers. O ' Brien gives a considerable amount of space to amplify the weight of these objects, and on the surface, one may assume that this is what is most paramount to the soldiers. However, the symbolism of objects is merely the tip of the iceberg; it is the innumerable …show more content…
He clearly outlines this in his text when stating, "they carried all that they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." Often times, the human spirit and emotions are not given the weight they deserve and are written off as inconsequential. This can clearly be seen even today when psychological problems are not treated to the same degree as physical problems. Many believe if a problem is not visible, it mustn 't exist. Nothing could be further from the truth and O 'Brien brilliantly outlines this in his compilation of stories. He includes feeling and emotions with the tangible objects that the men carried, making their emotional struggles much more apparent. He states that the intangibles contained their own type of gravity and mass, so much so that they were very much tangible. This is crucial, as the objects that one cannot touch, wind up being much heavier than actual physical goods. Every soldier had to carry goods that were necessary to their survival, as governed by their superiors. They had to have food, water, ammunition and other necessities that were crucial to their survival in Vietnam. However, these men carried other things like condoms, dope, photos of loved ones, and sand from a geology class. The latter items are seemingly insignificant to live, however they prove to be even more …show more content…
This book embodies all of the facets that go along with love and death, during a volatile time of war. O 'Brien captures the theme of emotional conflict and how strongly it affects soldiers in a brilliant way. By correlating mundane goods with intangibles like feelings and emotion, he successfully points out all of the angles of war that the lay person generally cannot comprehend. He compels the reader to understand not just the daily grind of war, but how the little things can bring important things in life into perspective. He digs under the surface of the tangible items to demonstrate a much greater meaning to these mens lives. In essence, the soldiers are defined by the things they
Name
Professor 's Name
Course
Date
The Symbolism of Weight in “The Things They Carried”
The title of Tim O 'Brien 's collection of short stories employs the use of weight. However, this is both in the physical and psychological sense. This book, published in 1990, explores in depth the theme of weight in regards to physical objects such as rations and cigarettes, while delving deeper into the emotions of fear, reverence and admiration that “weigh” on these soldiers. O ' Brien gives a considerable amount of space to amplify the weight of these objects, and on the surface, one may assume that this is what is most paramount to the soldiers. However, the symbolism of objects is merely the tip of the iceberg; it is the innumerable …show more content…
He clearly outlines this in his text when stating, "they carried all that they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." Often times, the human spirit and emotions are not given the weight they deserve and are written off as inconsequential. This can clearly be seen even today when psychological problems are not treated to the same degree as physical problems. Many believe if a problem is not visible, it mustn 't exist. Nothing could be further from the truth and O 'Brien brilliantly outlines this in his compilation of stories. He includes feeling and emotions with the tangible objects that the men carried, making their emotional struggles much more apparent. He states that the intangibles contained their own type of gravity and mass, so much so that they were very much tangible. This is crucial, as the objects that one cannot touch, wind up being much heavier than actual physical goods. Every soldier had to carry goods that were necessary to their survival, as governed by their superiors. They had to have food, water, ammunition and other necessities that were crucial to their survival in Vietnam. However, these men carried other things like condoms, dope, photos of loved ones, and sand from a geology class. The latter items are seemingly insignificant to live, however they prove to be even more …show more content…
This book embodies all of the facets that go along with love and death, during a volatile time of war. O 'Brien captures the theme of emotional conflict and how strongly it affects soldiers in a brilliant way. By correlating mundane goods with intangibles like feelings and emotion, he successfully points out all of the angles of war that the lay person generally cannot comprehend. He compels the reader to understand not just the daily grind of war, but how the little things can bring important things in life into perspective. He digs under the surface of the tangible items to demonstrate a much greater meaning to these mens lives. In essence, the soldiers are defined by the things they