The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien

Abstract
         Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is that narrator in this story. He is telling the lives of soldiers during the Vietnam War. He explains what everyone carries and why. Henry Dobbins was a big man and he carried extra rations of food. Dave Jensen carried personal hygiene items. Ted Lavender carried tranquilizers like dope. Norman Bowker carried a diary and Kiowa carried a Bible. There were many others things that these men all had to carry that didn't differ between each other, but the things listed above were some things that differed depending on the person. Jimmy Cross always carried pictures of Martha and her letters. He would read them ever night. Whenever Jimmy was at war he would find himself day dreaming about Martha. This cost him a man on day. He wasn't paying attention and Ted Lavender was coming back from the bathroom and was shot down. This was a wake up call for Jimmy and he realized he couldn't dream about Martha any longer.


Response
           The character’s names in the story “The Things They Carried” are representative of their attitudes and what they carried with them in war. Another thing to look at is the significance of the title throughout the story. When looking at facts about Tim O’Brien I found that he served in the Vietnam War. I can evaluate this story on these things pointed out above and how they all have symbols in the story.

            The character that stuck out to me the most was Ted Lavender. Lavender is known to be a scent that is calming and relaxing. This idea is also represented by the things that Ted Lavender carries with him while are war. He carries dope and other tranquilizers. This is just like relaxing and calming him down so he feels no emotion or pain. So as you can see Ted Lavender’s name represents what he is carrying.

            Another name I found that represents what they’re carrying is Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. As Jimmy explains in the story is that he loves Martha, who is a junior at Mount Sebastian. While he is at war he finds himself day dreaming about Martha, and not focusing on his job. This is why I think Tim O’Brien named him Jimmy Cross because he’s crossed between war and someone he loves. He is trying to do two things at once, but it’s not working because one of his soldiers dies.

The title “The Things They Carried” makes you think it’s just going to be a story about people who carried some kind of object. In this story the people are soldiers at war and they are carrying guns, ammunition, food, and things to stay alive. But not only did they pack these things they had personal belongings that represented them as a person. One guy carried a bible because he was deep into his religion. One guy carried extra food because he was large in size. It wasn’t just objects and material things they carried, but also memories and mental blocks. They carried memories of people who had died that they had seen, but got to the point that they could block it out. They also carried the thought to duck and run anytime they heard a gunshot. These men were trained to do this and they carried that training with them to fight and stay safe.

All the experiences found in this book we so surreal. It made you think that you were actually in the war while reading the story. Tim O’Brien was able to make this story so real because he fought in the Vietnam War, which this book was written about. I think that the characters and the events that took place within this story are modeled after what Tim saw. I’m guessing that all the characters were his friends and were in his troop.