Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a compilation of memories and stories from his character in the book as well as the other soldier’s recollections of the war. These memories and stories come from the fictional soldiers in the Alpha Company that are in Vietnam. They find themselves feeling mixed emotions of guilt, sadness, love, and hopelessness as they continue to fight the war.
The first chapter of the book is directly related to the title of the book. The book starts off with Tim O’Brien telling the audience about what material objects were in each group member’s pack and how heavy burdens their emotions weighed on them, on top of everything else. The soldiers trek through Vietnam, all holding reminders of what is waiting for them at home. O’Brien portrayed to the readers just how much the soldiers carried when he said “They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity” (15). The men of the Alpha Company kept letters and trinkets from loved ones back home, and one soldier even wore his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck. The men carried these reminders to make them remember what home is and how home will still be there waiting for them when they return home. O’Brien makes it seem as though the weight of their emotions are far heavier than any object in their packs. One of the heaviest emotional burdens on the Alpha Company is the fear of being a coward in the war. O’Brien had run away to the Canadian border to avoid going to Vietnam when he was drafted, but felt so ashamed that he returned home. Tim O’Brien says “I would go to the war-I would kill and maybe die-because I was too embarrassed not to” (59). He was ashamed that his family would think he was not brave and too afraid to fight in the war.
One of the major themes in the book is the idea of a hero. O’Brien sees a hero as someone who is willing to sacrifice and overcome the odds. He would not shake the dead Vietnamese man’s hand when the other soldiers were pressuring him to do it. O’Brien was seen as a hero for resisting his fellow soldier’s and setting an example. O’Brien is a hero when he goes to Canada and eventually comes home. He overcame his cowardice and was willing to sacrifice his life to go to war and fight. He knew he was going to let down his family and friends if he ran away and avoided the situation. He was a hero for being brave and facing his problems.
The author ends his story by telling the readers about the death of his childhood love, Linda. O’Brien shows the reader that Linda’s death was innocent and it came naturally. This is unlike the war where death could have been prevented if there was no war at all. Death would have most likely come to the soldier’s because death was surrounding them in Vietnam. O’Brien uses Linda’s death as a way to connect himself back to his past, before the war had changed him. He talks about his comrades that he lost in the war. When he talks about Linda and his friends from war, he seems to bring them back to life and remember them again.
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is a compilation of memories and stories from his character in the book as well as the other soldier’s recollections of the war. These memories and stories come from the fictional soldiers in the Alpha Company that are in Vietnam. They find themselves feeling mixed emotions of guilt, sadness, love, and hopelessness as they continue to fight the war.
ReplyDeleteThe first chapter of the book is directly related to the title of the book. The book starts off with Tim O’Brien telling the audience about what material objects are in each group member’s pack and how heavy the burdens of their emotions are on them, on top of everything else. The soldiers trek through Vietnam, all holding reminders of what is waiting for them at home. O’Brien portrays to the readers just how much the soldiers carry when he says “They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity” (15). The men of the Alpha Company keep letters and trinkets from loved ones back home, and one soldier even wears his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck. The men carry these reminders to make them remember what home is and how home will still be there waiting for them when they return. O’Brien makes it seem as though the weight of their emotions are far heavier than any object in their packs. One of the heaviest emotional burdens on the Alpha Company is the fear of being a coward in the war. O’Brien runs away to the Canadian border to avoid going to Vietnam when he was drafted, but felt so ashamed that he returned home. Tim O’Brien says “I would go to the war-I would kill and maybe die-because I was too embarrassed not to” (59). He is ashamed that his family would think he was not brave and too afraid to fight in the war.
One of the major themes in the book is the idea of a hero. O’Brien sees a hero as someone who is going to stand up for what they believe in and stand by their decisions. To Tim, Elroy is his typical hero. Elroy allows Tim to make his own decisions when he takes him to the Canadian border and waits there for as long as it takes until Tim comes to a conclusion about his future. Elroy also gives O’Brien money and a place to stay for free until Tim can make a decision. He is a hero because he did not pressure Tim or try to persuade his judgment, he just allows him to be who he wants to be. On the contrary, O’Brien does not see himself as a hero because he does not stand up for what he believes in. He says “I was a coward, I went to war” (244). Tim does not stand by his decision to not go to war, which makes him a coward.
The author ends his story when he told the readers about the death of his childhood love, Linda. O’Brien showed the reader that Linda’s death was innocent and it came naturally. This was unlike the war where death could have been prevented if there was no war at all. Death would have most likely come to the soldier’s because death was surrounding them in Vietnam. O’Brien used Linda’s death as a way to connect himself back to his past, before the war had changed him. He talks about his comrades that he lost in the war. When he talks about Linda and his friends from war, he seems to bring them back to life and remember them again.