Analysis: the things they carried - Essay Example

Teacher’s The Great Power of Things The Vietnam War that occurred during the later years of the twentieth century completely changed the lives of millions forever. Innocent civilians were separated from their families. A lot lost their possessions and belongings, and most lost their families and loved ones. The damages of the war on the citizens of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are evident in literature until today. Their sufferings and tragic experiences are always heard and read about. However, the damage it inflicted on the soldiers who fought the war themselves is less called attention to.

Relatively few books have been written about the effects the battles they faced had on their psychological state of mind. One of the most well-known of these books is “The Things They Carried,” a collection of different but related short stories written by Tim O’Brien that explores the things that the American soldiers carried with them to the battlefield, which on the surface are only material things, but when closely looked into symbolize things far greater and more important.The title of the book emphasizes the things that the soldiers carried with them.

Once read, it is clear that the “things” that are referred to in the title do not just pertain to the physical object themselves, but are symbolic of the personal emotions and connections that are attached to them. These things, as is seen and read later on in the story, play a great role in the way they think and perceive the world. For example, Lt. Jimmy Cross carries with him a picture of a woman back in his hometown named Martha. He seems to show quite an obsession with her. In the beginning of the first chapter, it illustrates him constantly thinking about her.

At the same time, it also illustrates how the feelings are unrequited. Cross’s love for Martha has a big impact on his thoughts and actions later on in the story. Lost in fantasies of Martha, Cross accidentally wounds the back of Lavender’s head, and kills him. It is seen that this emotional burden and feeling of guilt remains with him many years after the incidents of the war. Another example of the physical load that greatly affects the character in the story is that of Henry Dobbins. He carries with him the pantyhose of his girlfriend, which is a very important symbol of home, love, and peace back at home, which is absent in the war he is in.

As the sole object that represents love and peace, the things, which he longs for the most in the time of distress, chaos and death all around him, it becomes for him a sort of amulet. He wears it around his neck in the battlefield, and he somehow comes out of it without major wounds and injuries. Though the stockings itself clearly does nothing to physically protect him from the harsh battles of the Vietnam War, it does great to encourage him and give him a sense of hope and faith to remain strong and healthy while he is out fighting the war as a soldier.

Because of this, the stocking that he carries affects his mindset and perception about fighting that even the thinnest and most fragile of things offer him the courage and strength to fight the war and come out of it healthy and strong.All of the American soldiers in the time of war indeed clung to objects for comfort and peace in the middle of all the disturbance and chaos surrounding them. With it, they somehow found a sense of home, love, happiness, and a normal life, as little as they might be.

For a time, it might have helped them ease the pain and grief of the death that was surrounding them for years. For some, it helped them find hope in the hopeless, and courage in the time of fear, however for many, like all other things, these objects blurred their perception of reality and truth.BibliographyOBrien, T. (1991). The Things They Carried. London: Flamingo.