The Things I Carry Rhetorical Analysis

Rationale: The Things I Carry In part 4: Critical study, we have examined the text The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, I have attempted to replicate a passage from his work to exemplify both the physical and the abstract things I carry with me on a daily basis. Through my written task, “The Things I Carry”, I have attempted to capture an honest introspection of a girl of indomitable spirit despite all the ordeals in her life by mimicking Tim O’ Brien’s writing style.

I mirrored O’ Brien’s writing style in how I structured my essay. I begin with discussing seemingly ordinary body parts that everyone “carries”; suggesting that I am a human just like anybody else. I then transition into discussing intangible objects I carry, like “the weight of my own regrets” and various kinds of “weight and guilt” to show

The Written Task: The Things I Carry I carry my XX chromosomes, blood, my veins, and my organs. I carry my bones, my joints, my skin and my curly, black hair. I carry my abnormal beating heart and the sound it makes letting everyone around me and myself to know that… I’m still very much alive.

I carry the shallow weight of my own regrets, guilt and sorrows. I carry the guilt of my father who felt he could’ve done more for my grandmother. Nights spent, teary-eyed phone calls at 5 am in the morning. I carry the glasses of my father. I carry the knowledge of the thousands of pages that he reads every night. I carry the soil that he left for my better future. I carry his faith that beams in his hazel eyes for both of his daughters. I carry the sarees that my mother wears interchangeably everyday. I carry the indebted hardwork she has put into the efforts towards explaining the same problem 10 times and staying up every night when I am