You got a really good sense of how hard it had to be to be marching with all that equipment. But as I continued to read, I think the mental baggage that they carried with them weighed so much more! This baggage doesn’t get any lighter either as the war goes on and even years after the war is over. That weight is still with them.
For example, Brien wrote, “Taking turns, they carried the big PRC-77 scrambler radio, which weighed 30 pounds with its battery. They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak. They carried infections.
No two people will react the same to life’s challenges. The weight they carried really did not compare to the internal impact they felt. The author emphasized more on the emotional views. As the Lieutenant, Jim Cross carried more of the weight because he had more to carry. Tim O’Brien mentioned he carried the lives of all the other men.
For example, the narrator repeatedly describes the weight of weight during the soldiers arduous journey: “Among the necessities or near necessities were R-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellants, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets...2-3 canteens of water. Together these items weighted between 15-20 pounds” (O'Brien 470). Subsequently, the narrator and his companions embark on a perilous journey all while facing
In the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, the author describes a platoon marching through Vietnam at the time of the Vietnamese War. He does so by describing in detail the items that each of the men carry with them during their march. The things that the soldiers carry with them are not only tangible but intangible items as well, and what these things are depend fully upon each individual soldier. They carry Military Payment Certificates, the basic "necessities" for survival along with the bare minimum to make life as livable as possible during the time of war. The men decided on the items they wished to carry with them depending completely on their habits and rate of metabolism.
Emotionally dragging people down one by one, war brings sweat, tears, and blood. Although soldiers do carry many physical items, each individual also carries responsibilities which are not visible, but tend to weigh one down immensely, such as the lives of men. In the novel The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, he describes the items which the soldiers carried such as “taking up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak. They carried infections.
The Things They Carried, is a lot about what all of the men carried and what it all meant to each one of them. The author describing the material things wants to give a sense of the physical burden, but the guilt of men lost and the weight of responsibility was what truly weighed them down mentally and physically through the war. The author allows the reader to realize how each of the characters dealt with their time within the war and how they coped giving them a sense of hope to survive, and how they traveled through Vietnam carrying the weight of physical burdens and the weight of responsibility, loss and guilt and the memories they will carry for the rest of their lives.
The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, illustrates the experiences of a man and his comrades throughout the war in Vietnam. Tim O’Brien actually served in the war, so he had a phenomenal background when it came to telling the true story about the war. In his novel, Tim O’Brien uses imagery to portray every necessary detail about the war and provide the reader with a true depiction of the war in Vietnam. O’Brien starts out the book by describing everything he and his comrades carry around with them during the war. Immediately once the book starts, so does his use of imagery.
The author was writing the story “The Things They Carried” expressed so many thoughts and feelings about what the soldiers had faced, they showed their feelings and duties, life or death, and overall fear and dedication. This story shows the theme of the physical and emotional burdens that everyone is going through in the war. By showing his readers what the soldier’s daily thoughts are and how they handle what is going on around them. Tim O’Brien expresses this theme by using characterization, symbolism, and tone continuously. In the story, physical and emotional burdens plagued several characters as they all had baggage weighing them down.
The things men carried inside.” (par. 6) In conclusion, the characters in “The Things They Carried” can be better understood through a closer look at the objects they brought with them. “They carried all they could bear, and then some, . . . “ (par 2).
Peter Matsumoto AP English Literature Mrs. Nellon 9/15/15 The Things They Carried Analysis Question 4 The buffalo incident is perhaps one of the, if not the, most memorable sequence of events in the entirety of the novel, as its inhumanely grotesque and uncomfortably relatable style of storytelling highlights the questions of loss, truth, and morality inherent throughout the book, condensing into three short pages the strongest argument the novel has to offer: the nature of truth. According to O’Brien, “A true war story is never moral” (65).
The author only states the physical weights of what they carried in war but later talks about the emotional burden that these soldiers carried. This motif of weight or heaviness burden is carried throughout this novel. I could connect this to a camp I went to when I was in 5th grade. Just like the soldiers in the novel, I gathered almost every essential item there was to be safe and survive in the wilderness. Spin “Step out of line, hit a mine; follow the dink,
“They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak”. Soldier’s risk their lives daily, fighting for their country. Many are unaware of the challenges that are faced upon them.
It lists a variety of things that the soldier brought on their mission. For example, some of the things were intangible, such as sickness, guilt, and the atmosphere. Other soldiers were carrying physical objects, including P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wrist-watches, dog tags and etc. as listed in (O 'Brien). Throughout the plot of the story O 'Brien seem to focus on the things that were not important versus the things that 's were, and at the end, he was faced with a big consequence.
Learning diary summary Before starting the module ‘The Local and the Global: IR in Practice’, I had only a vague conception of what it might entail. It was unclear to me how IR could be put into ‘practice’, partly due to my prior perception of IR which had always seemed out of personal reach. Also, I had several reservations about what activities would be involved – for instance, I had little experience with the practical side of research, and was more comfortable with working independently rather than within a group. Yet looking back, while some parts were challenging, there were several aspects that I found interesting and helpful. Through critical analysis, it is clear that many of my initial views and perceptions – both of the topic and
