Things They Carried

In the novel “The Things They Carried” written by Tim O’Brien, he discusses the weapons and equipment’s that each American soldier carried during the Vietnam War. The things that the soldiers carried with them are both tangible and intangible. What these items are depends upon each of the soldiers. They carried the basic necessities in order for survival and the bare minimum to make life as livable as possible. However, they also carried with them fear and memories. It is the intangible items like these that are the primary focus of O’Brien’s novel. He provides the audience with images of both physical and mental items the characters carried. The items they carried were the things that everyone carried to survive, the personal things that individuals chose to carry, or the mental burdens that many carried without a choice. The weight of theses intangible items is as cumbersome as that of any physical ones, and unlike the tangible objects, they are extremely difficult to get rid of. O’Brien alternates between narrative passages and simple descriptions of the items that the soldiers carried. Telling fragments of each soldier brings focus to the things they carried, both tangible and intangible, without downplaying the narration. O’Brien is very exact and detailed in his descriptions; cataloging what the soldier’s carried. "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 full loaded" (5). O’Brien gives only straightforward descriptions, giving his writing no sentimental feeling or emotion in these segments. However, when describing the intangible items, the writing is more in tune with the emotions of the characters. “Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps...Lieutenant Cross remembered touching that left knee. A dark theater, he remembered...when he touched her knee, she turned and looked at him in a sad, sober way that made