The Things They Carried Literary Analysis - Essay Example

7 April The Things They Carried – Literary Analysis Tim O’ Brien is very well known for having won both the Pulitzer and the National BookCritics Circle Award for his modus operandi – The Things They Carried. This book is a collection of short stories based on the lives of American soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War, and the kind of struggles, hardships as well as joyous emotions they went through in their lives. The entire book is about experiences that these soldiers, led by Tim O’Brien went through, which included tangible as well as intangible important elements. These included emotions and feelings like fear, dread and guilt, as well as the kind of machines and guns which formed an inherent part of their routine lives in the War. This paper is a reflection of the literary analysis and in depth meanings of the characters and the circumstances they were thrust into. A number of famous stories make up the confines of the pages of this book – these include characters that keep reappearing every now and then. Each and every character is a justification towards some or the other feeling that every man suffers in his lifetime. For example, the main protagonist, Tim, is a soldier who finally admits that he was responsible for the death of Kiowa, tries to explain to others, and believes that not everything is explicable. This book is an amalgamation of the kind of experiences he shared with other soldiers. Jimmy Cross is a lieutenant and the platoon leader in the short story of the same title as the main book, The Things They Carried, and is also blamed for the death of Kiowa, a devout religious Christian soldier. Ted Lavender is one of the first to die in the book; he was a soldier with true grit but smoked marijuana and contained a great amount of anxiousness regarding what would happen next in the War. (Rafferty, Rebecca) The Things They Carried is a story full of symbolism; in this particular tale, O’Brien has marked a very vivid description of all the objects that the various soldiers carry with them. Incidentally, all these objects help the reader to understand the kind of people the soldiers are and the kind of relationship they share with others around them. He has written about Lavender’s obsession with tranquilizers and marijuana, Dobbins’ need to carry his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck as well as his extra rations, and Kiowa carrying a copy of the New Testament at all times. All this imagery helps to provide a stark understanding to the reader as per the needs and priorities of the soldiers. O’Brien has also described the kind of burden each man carries on his shoulders in the form of memories from their personal lives, for example, the lieutenant’s obsession with Martha back home leaves him feeling very disgruntled and regretful. These thoughts eventually leave him questioning and wondering about Martha’s virginity and this eventually leads to distractions and death He also carried maps and compasses, giving a picture of the true leader that he was, always looking out for his soldiers. (Department) Physical objects like machine guns, M-16 rifles, grenade launchers and tents help to depict the harsh reality they were surviving in. Thus, with the use of these physical objects that the soldiers require during their stay in the War, the author has tried to explain the kind of dilemma they were being made to choose between – fantasy and reality. Cross begins to question himself for the death of Lavender and wonders whether or not it was his fault and negligence towards his duty because of his dark fantasizing about Martha that led him astray. (Moore, Julie) A literal meaning of the title and the background that the soldiers are in, the story speaks of a cross join between love and war. It tries to reflect, with the use of the everyday objects that each of the soldiers used (that made up their personalities) how it was unconditional but one sided love for someone that gave way to waging another war. This is a transition from Cross’s contemplation from Martha to Lavender. A very crude depiction of Cross tells the reader about the actual war in his own head despite the one going on outside - about the quandary that he was in regarding Martha’s feelings towards him, and how after Lavender’s death, he blamed the young woman for his neglect as a platoon leader. His anger and cynicism turn his mind into a true devil’s workshop as he is caught between whether or not to make a choice regarding his decisions and deliberations. He burns every object he has that reminds him of Martha because all of that is a reflection of how he let his soldier die, and thus in order to make an attempt to free himself of all the guilt, Cross finds himself losing his mind over such a burden. The narrator says, “They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honour, just to avoid the blush of dishonour. They died so as to not to die of embarrassment.” (O'Brien, Tim) Thus, with the help of the objects that each soldier carried, the author has tried to help the reader comprehend the kind of person each soldier was and the emotional tension that he was carrying within himself. Despite being sad and full of guilt on the outside, each of them also contained feelings of relief which were portrayed in their mannerisms throughout the book, just to be able to remain alive. “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” is one very renowned short story within the book. This is a depiction of how women are not only the objects of attraction for the soldiers, and how they are not only there to comfort them and serve them. With the help of Mary Anne, Fossie’s fiance, the author explains how the woman was interested in understanding the plight of the local Vietnamese; including their language, way of life and habits, unlike Fossie. She is influenced by the surroundings and takes to them better than the soldiers. The story is an analysis of the kind of foreign culture that gets imbibed in her by metaphorically spending time while Fossie was busy with the platoon. Further, the tongue necklace that she constantly wears is a strong reminder of the way she has adapted to the Vietnamese culture, and the kind of bond she had formed with them. (Maximus, Zeuses) “Speaking of Courage” centres on the life and death of Kiowa, and how his absence affects the rest of the platoon greatly. The use of many layers of narration have been made in this particular tale, which are a metaphor to help the reader understand the various ‘layers’ of guilt that the soldiers were going through because of his death. It is a reflection of the pain that the soldiers go through on a personal level, and how they try and hide it from each other. It is written in the past tense, in order to explain the kind of changes that had gone through O’Brien with respect to his past and present persona. Another soldier Bowker, is seen greatly trying to free himself from the trauma. His barely speaking to anyone reflects his uneasiness and difficulty to leave the terror caused by war, imprinted in his mind. Another way to describe this kind of suffering has been done with the use of the sewage field and lake in order to exemplify the dull and meaningless lives that the soldiers were spending, full of distress and disturbance. Therefore, most of the setting in the story has been created through the use of the kind of emotions and deep feelings that explicitly help to explain the lives of the soldiers. A great amount of imagery and metaphors have also been made use of, as discussed above, in order to establish each person’s past and his reference to the present circumstance he is thrust into. “The Things They Carried” is thus a must read for those trying to understand the lives of others going through hardships in life. It is a masterpiece that helps to explain how different people have tried to combat their emotions while being a victim of almost every kind of situation like the soldiers in the book were. Profound thoughts and experiences help to shape their lives and change them from the people they were. Some of them, like Cross, end up carrying an even heavier weight of guilt within themselves, whereas others secretly enjoy the freedom of being liberated from the hellish experiences, and just being alive. (Vince, Passaro) The book thus helps one to look into the various happenings of these soldiers that set them apart from one another, through a simple understanding of their means and ways of carrying on with their lives. Works Cited O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: a Work of Fiction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print. Moore, Julie. "Critical Analysis of Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"" Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. 22 Oct. 2008. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. . Maximus, Zeuses. "Symbolism in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried - by Zueses Maximus - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. 8 Apr. 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. . Vince, Passaro. "The Things They Carried - Review." Harpers Magazine 1 Aug. 1999. Print. Rafferty, Rebecca. "Literary Profile: The Big Read - The Things They Carried." City Newspaper 6 Oct. 2010. Print. Department. "The Things They Carry." Time Magazine 13 Nov. 2006. Print. Read More