Lit Anal # 4

The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
General -

1.This story follows O'Brien throughout different parts of his life. It mainly follows events of his experience in the Vietnam war. It is also important to note that the novel states it is a work of fiction by Tim O'Brien, that the exact events of this novel didn't really happen. O'Brien describes the daily life of Alpha Company in great detail. He mentions the little things like what each man carried with him when they went out on patrol. O'Brien then tells us of the first death in Alpha Company. Ted Lavender a low ranking soldier was shot on his way back from the bathroom. The book describes him as just dropping dead like a sand bag hitting the ground. The leader of the group, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross takes personal responsibility for Ted's death, blaming himself for not being more focused on the task at hand. Next, O'Brien tells us of his back round and how he ended up in the war. He was a normal person, living a normal life, when he got his letter saying he was drafted. He was confused and afraid, he didn't want to go to war, yet he didn't want to be a coward. He ran away and made it to the boarder of Canada where he stayed at a lodge called Tip Top Lodge. While he was there he became overwhelmed with his guilt that he decides to go home and to war. O'Brien tells us of another death, this time of Curt Lemon. Lemon stepped on a rigged mortar round which killed him and sent his remains all over the tree he was under. Another death happened when Lee Strunk stepped on a land mine and his legs were blown off. Strunk and Jensen made a pact to kill one another if the other was severely injured. However, Strunk begged not to die and Jensen didn't kill him. Strunk died before he got treatment. The final death in Vietnam of the company was that of Kiowa. He was a beloved member of the company and close friends with Tim and Norman Bowker. Kiowa died when a mortar shell struck the ground near him when Alpha Company was marching through a "shit field". The mortar caused a collapse in the field creating a hole which suck Kiowa head first under the muck. O'Brien explains that he dealt with the lost while Bowker never got over it. Tim goes on to tell us a short story of Bowker trying to figure out how to live his life back in the USA. We are told later that he committed suicide. With all of this death happening in Alpha Company, Tim recounts his first kill. It was misty and he was sitting in his fox hole with three grenades lined up for easy access. He saw a man run around the bend with a Ak-47, so he threw a grenade at him. Tim explains in great detail the kill and how he just stared at the man after it happened.
Lastly Tim explains how he was able to cope with all the death easier than everyone else. He tells us that his fourth-grade love died of cancer and that because of this he could deal with the deaths of his company.

2. A major theme in this novel is that of burdens, both physical and mental. The physical burdens of what the physically carried with them. In the first chapter, when Tim is describing the things they carried, he gives the weight of each individual item as well. The mental burdens are that of the deaths of friends and comrades in arms. How each one of them had to cope with the deaths and keep their emotions in line else they will die too.

3. The tone is very grim, dark, and straight to the point.
"The things they carried was largely determined by necessity. Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between 12 and 18 pounds, depending upon a man's habits or rate of metabolism."

"and there was a puff of dust and smoke- a small white puff- and the young man seemed to jerk upward as if pulled by invisible wires. He fell on his back. His rubber sandals had been blown off. He lay at the center of the trail, his right leg bent beneath him, his one eye shut, his other eye a huge star-shaped hole."

"I watched Lemon turn sideways. He laughed and said something to Rat Kiley. Then he took a peculiar half step, moving from the shade into the bright sunlight., and the booby-trapped 105 round blew him into a tree. The parts were just hanging there, so Dave Jensen and I were ordered to shinny up and peel him off. I remember the white bone of an arm. I remember pieces of skin and something wet and yellow that must have been his intestines. The gore was horrible, and stays with me. But what wakes me up twenty years later is Dave Jensen singing "Lemon Tree" as we threw down the parts."

4. Syntax-O'Brien writes in a very matter of fact type style but he adds more descriptions and detail.
"On the third day, Curt Lemon stepped on a booby-trapped 105 round. He was playing catch with Rat Kiley, laughing and then he was dead. The trees were thick; took nearly an hour to cut an LZ for dustoff."
Diction-O'Brien uses military language and words in the novel
Mood-the novel is grim and dark, as well as, morbid.
Structure-the novel is a first person narrative, also, it is a fiction auto-biography.
Symbolism-The "things" that the men carried were not only their physical burdens but the emotional and mental burdens, this ties in with the main theme.

Characterization-

1.Indirect characterization- “He would look them in the eyes, keeping his chin level, and he would issue the new SOP's in a calm, impersonal tone of voice, an officer's voice, leaving no room for argument or discussion"

This shows what kind of a leader Cross was. It shows that he was heartbroken by the loss of one of his men.

Direct characterization- The story uses direct characterization when it explains how characters feel about other characters.

2. The book is a first person narrative. He tells the story from his point of view. His diction doesn't really change because he always views them the same way. He changes the way they talk depending on who the character is or where they came from to help us get a feel for the different characters.

3. He tells his story as if it already happened. So he is static, however in the events that he tells about, he is dynamic. There is a part where he throws a grenade and blows a guy up. He becomes depressed at that point and it changes his character.

4. I felt like I met a person because it was the story of his life, so I felt like I really got to know him and his emotions.