The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - Literature review Example

The Things they carried” (Published in 1990) is a collection of stories written by Tim O’Brien that can be considered as his memoir of the Vietnam War. O’Brien had fought in the Vietnam War as a combat infantryman and this book is the depiction of his experiences of war. In this book he has used the theme of ‘metafiction’, which is an act of writing about writing (for example – memories of writer). It tells the readers that the stories, which are in the fictional form, can sometimes be more realistic. These stories are partly fictional and partly based on his real life experiences. This book was considered to be a great work of fiction on the Vietnam War. O’Brien had felt that his message would better be conveyed if he would share his experiences in a fictional form rather than merely narrating the incidents. And that is why he wrote, “Things they carried”, which went on to become an excellent work of fiction. Although Vietnam War is a history now it is eternal in the form of this work of fiction and a person can retrieve it whenever he wishes to know about it, as it is in the form of a book. Tim O’Brien has made a very effective and creative use of the literary device of ‘symbolism’ in his narrative. According to Jay Braiman, “Literary devices refers to specific aspects of literature, in the sense of its universal function as an art form which expresses ideas through language, which we can recognize, identify, interpret and/or analyze. Literary devices collectively comprise the art form’s components; the means by which authors create meaning through language, and by which readers gain understanding of and appreciation for their works. They also provide a conceptual framework for comparing individual literary works to others, both within and across genres. Both literary elements and literary techniques can rightly be called literary devices”. In the first chapter of “Things they carried”, we are introduced to the different characters and the theme of this novel. The setting of the novel is of war front, but there is no war as such. Tim O’Brien describes various activities of the soldiers and their thoughts and feelings. These soldiers have come to fight the war, not out of will or choice but because they are forced to do so. They are seen carrying ration supplies and other heavy loads. They are described carrying all the things, tangible as well as intangible, while going on their way to the battlefield. The things, which he describes in this story, are not merely to be perceived as things literally, but they are symbolic of their personality. And this is the technique of Tim O’Brien that makes the narrative very interesting. In the first chapter we are introduced to not only the anonymous narrator of this story but also to the protagonist, Lt. Johnny Cross and the other members of his platoon. The soldiers in his platoon are very young men who are participating in this war against their wish and are not prepared for the same. These soldiers have strange experiences and they just lose their sense of thinking rationally. They don’t know what to do, as there is no war as such and are worried as to what their family members would think of them. Their mind still seems to linger in the memories of the past, before setting out for war. They are described to have carried lot of things, most, of which they get from home and the other things, which are related to war. He has given a very vivid description of what the soldiers had carried along with them. Firstly, we come to know about Lt. Johnny Cross. He is carrying the letters from Martha, a girl who was long back studying in New Jersey, whom he dated before he left for war. He loves her immensely. But he is unsure whether she equally loves him or not. Her thoughts keep on haunting his mind and he is so engrossed in her thoughts that he is sometimes distracted from his duties. Johnny carries two photos of Martha. In one photo she is leaning against a wall and he wonders who must have had taken her photo, and in the other she is seen playing volleyball. In the first photo it is seen that her left knee is carrying all her weight. From this description we come to know about her personality as well. As we readers cannot see her photos, we just can imagine about her looks from the way she is described. And she seems to be a beautiful girl having athletic personality. When Johnny sees her knee in the photo, it reminds him of an incident when he had gone to see a movie, “Bonnie and Clyde” along with her. Johnny had dared to touch her knee and he had to take away his hand immediately because of the looks, Martha gave to him. But now when he thinks of that, he feels that he should have had carried her in his hands to her room upstairs and done something more. So whenever he sees those photos he fanaticizes different things. Then he describes the other members of his platoon and the things they are carrying along with them. Each and everything these soldiers carry along with them reveals their personality traits. Henry Dobbins is a robust man who is very fond of eating and that is why he is shown carrying extra food along with him. He also carries a machine gun and the pantyhose of his girlfriend. Ted Lavender is described as a very timid person who carries tranquilizers along with him. He makes use of these tranquilizers whenever he feels upset and he continues to have them till he is killed. He is also described to be carrying a poncho, which is later used by his friends to carry his body after he dies. Dave Jensen, who is very much worried about the diseases and infections, carries soap, foot powder, vitamins and toothbrush along with him. Kiowa carries a bible along with him, which shows that he is a highly religious person and a true believer of God. He is a Baptist. Rat Kiley being a medic carries his medical kit, comic books, brandy and M&M’s candy. Norma Bowker carries a diary and Mitchell Sanders carries condoms, brass knuckles the unit’s radio. Some of these characters are very funny and they really make us laugh. In Chapter 1, we see many men in the platoon carrying loads of material like standard gear, weapons, tear gas, explosives, ammunitions, entrenching tools, starlight scopes, grenades, flak jackets, boots, rations, and the Army newsletter. These heavy materials are not only the physical goods that they are carrying but they stand for the tensions and the worries they are carrying on their heads. Lt. Jimmy Cross is carrying the navigation tools and he is also supposed to take care of his fellow members of platoon. Rat Kiley carries medicines, painkillers, surgical tapes and other things that are about 20 pounds in weight. Ted Lavender who is a rather timid person and who scares for his life is shown to carry lot of ammunition. But unfortunately, despite of all his efforts, he is shot at suddenly and he dies. Whatever the things these soldiers carry, are out of fear. The things symbolize their nature and their thoughts. Most of them are carrying those things, which will keep them distracted from the fear of war. They have become homesick and that is why they find happiness by seeing the photographs of their near and dear ones. All the soldiers are very much worried about their well-being and that is why they carry lot of bandages along with them. This is revealed in the following sentence - “The nights are cold, the ground is wet, and you can bleed to death very quickly, so they carry ponchos and bandages.” The ones who are carrying more ammunition symbolize their timid or cowardly nature. They feel that if they carry more ammunition they will be able to protect themselves in a better way. Rat Kiley carries comic books so that he can keep himself away from the fear of war and Jimmy Cross who is their leader, carries photos of Martha. Jimmy is also seen carrying a pebble, which is given to him by Martha, just a week before Lavender dies. She had found it on the shore of Jersey, right on the place where land separated from the water. It was a place where things come close and then separate again. The separation of water from the land symbolizes the separation of Martha from Jimmy. Although she tells him that the pebble is the symbol of her feelings for him, he is very unsure about her love for him. He keeps the pebble under his tongue, and continuously tries to guess about her feelings. By putting the pebble under his tongue he imagines that Martha is walking by his side, and that he is carrying nothing. Actually he is carrying the heavy load of the doubt of her love for him. His continuous thought about her distracts him from his duties. He holds himself responsible for the death of Lavender. He thinks that the thoughts of Martha made him fail in his duties and he did not take proper care of the soldiers in his platoon. Death of Lavender changes Jimmy altogether and starts looking at his job more seriously. He realizes his duty as a soldier and decides to perform his duties whether he wishes to do it or not. Most of these soldiers carry out their soldierly responsibilities, not out of choice but do it reluctantly as a job. Besides carrying all these things they have to do many other things like searching for tunnels, which they find to be a very terrible job. They think that these tunnels are very dark and ghostly and there might be dangerous animals like rats in the tunnel. Once when it is the turn of Lee Strunk to go and search in the tunnel, he is initially apprehensive but then readily goes inside. And he does not return for sometime. Jimmy feels that something is wrong but he cannot help thinking about Martha. He is engrossed in his own thoughts and is fantasizing something else. He imagines taking her in the tunnel, as he wants to know her completely. He imagines to be crushed by love in the tunnel. Thus this shows how, he is lustily attracted towards Martha. When Lee emerges from the tunnel safe and sound, he screams happily. But then Lavender is shot in head immediately and he dies on the spot. He is described to fall as a ‘sandbag’ on the ground. It is during this time that Johnny feels ashamed of himself, as he cannot save the life of Lavender, because of his distractions. (pg. 13) The soldiers are described to be moving from one place to the other, wandering aimlessly carrying heavy loads. There was no purpose behind their journey, there wasn’t any war, and there was no fight, nothing. They are tired of this endless journey. Yet they are amazed by the constant supplies they get. And as they are very much aware of this fact, they tend to throw the supplies that they have got earlier. They also get colored eggs for Easter. (pg.15) The behavior of soldiers is as unpredictable as is the war. The soldiers display their bravery on some occasions, when they are attacked by the enemy but sometimes they just scream and cry and are seen praying to God. Later they feel very much ashamed of their behavior, as they do not intend to pose themselves as cowards in front of the whole world. They keep on cracking jokes to overcome their sorrows and fear. They are very afraid of death. Whenever they hear about the death of someone else they just avoid using that word. They refer to it as “being greased” or “offed” or “lit up”. This behavior is totally contradictory to the characteristics of a soldier. Soldiers are supposed to be brave and tough. They are expected to be brave and should be capable of facing any problem that comes their way. Although, the soldiers change the name of the term “death”, the fact remains the same. Death is the ultimate tragedy in the life of a human being. Despite of their cowardly behavior they don’t wish to be condemned as weak or soft, by the people. They are so much tired of carrying heavy luggage that they simply wish to lie down and not carry anything. They wish to shoot off their own toe, so that they will be turned out from the army. After the death of Lavender, Jimmy burns the letters of Martha. The burning of letters symbolizes the burning of Jimmy’s hopes that Martha would love him truly. By burning the letters he tries to get rid of her memories. Although he tries hard to do so, he is not successful, and the thoughts of Martha keep coming to his mind. The letters are symbolic of Martha. Whenever Jimmy looked at those letters, he always felt that Martha was with him. But now with the burning of those letters that hope, is also lost. But even if he has burnt those letters, he continues to think of Martha and in addition to the burden of her memories; he also carries the burden of guilt of the death of Lavender. Jimmy decides that he will perform his duties honestly and he will be very strict with other soldiers and take good care of them. The literary device of ‘symbolism’ has a great impact on the narrative of “Things they carried”. Tim O’Brien has shown the dark side of the Vietnam War in this book. Although we are just introduced to the characters in this story in the first chapter, we get an idea of what their fate is going to be, towards the end of the book. It mainly deals about the tragedy of soldiers, but O’Brien is also successful in creating humor by describing the funny sides of the personalities of soldiers in a symbolic way. They are shown to carry things, which sound very funny to the readers. So while thinking seriously about the story, the readers also get a chance to laugh in some places. It is so effective that a reader can visualize all the incidents as the real ones. Whenever the soldiers are described to carry the burden, the readers actually experience the burden. The technique is so powerful that it makes the readers involve with all the characters and share their experiences. So, although it is told to us that it is a work of fiction we start considering it to be a real life experience. And that is the success of this book. Source cited – Book – “The Things they carried” by Tim O’Brien. Read More