“ The Things They Carried ," is indisputably one of the outstanding, thrilling, exciting and sensational war story that was published in 1990 by Houghton Mifflin. The story was authored by Tim O’Brien who infuses himself as a character or a protagonist in the story. It is a unique type of style used by O’Brien to bring out the best ideas and content out of his story by including himself as one of the main characters. Additionally, the story is entirely based on the author’s experiences in the American Vietnam wars. The creation of a fictional protagonist by O’Brien in his narration gives the story an interesting and complicated aspect which has contributed to the success of his book. O’Brien authored the story has a special dedication to the fictional war veterans of the Alpha platoon who served in the American army and had participated actively in the American-Vietnam wars. This paper will critically analyze the literal aspects used by the author as he narrates his story. Additionally, this essay aims at addressing the conflict expressed author through various characters such as Lieutenant Jimmy Cross.
At the beginning of the story, the author commences his narration by describing different objects carried by the soldiers. Some of which were essential for their survival in the battles in Vietnam and others which acted as their source of physical and psychological strength during the war. O’Brien explains that “on ambush, or other night missions, they carried peculiar little odds and ends. Kiowa always took along his New Testament and a pair of moccasins for silence. Dave Jensen carried night sight vitamins high in carotene. Lee Strung brought his slingshot; ammo, he claimed, would never be a problem." (O'Brien, 1990).
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O’Brien narrative is mainly based on the theme of memory and imagination. Likewise, the story is occupied by memories and imagination of various characters in the story. Lieutenant Cross can be described as the main character who has been preoccupied with substantial thoughts and memories of his girlfriend, Martha. The lieutenant finds himself in deep thoughts that remind him of Martha and the moments they shared while he was at home. Similar to the other group members who have carried various objects, Lieutenant Cross carries a picture shot of Martha in his shirt pocket which constantly invokes the thoughts and imagination in his mind ( O’Brien, 2008).
The most common conflict in the story “ The Things They Carried " is the Vietnam War. O'Brien story mainly revolves around the battles in Vietnam between the American troops and the resilient Vietnam militia. Every single component of the story which includes the characters, the plot and the setting of the story gyrates around the Vietnam Wars. Nevertheless, besides the physical conflict experienced by the Alpha team, they also suffered psychological conflict seemed to be more dangerous and hectic as compared to the actual physical battles they were involved at in Vietnam. The author explicitly describes how the Vietnam’s terrain caused conflict amongst the troop members. The ambiguous situation in Vietnam, especially concerning the uncertainty about the enemies and the future, caused increased tension to the solders as they spent more and more days fighting in Vietnam. O’Brien’s first instance of conflict is identified when he is unsure about whether he should join the other troop members in the war or opt to stay back at home (O’Brien, 1990).
Secondly, another aspect of the conflict in the story is noticed when Tim was transferred to lighter duty from his initial military operations due to the injuries he had suffered from his last visit to Vietnam. Conflict arises when O'Brien is continuously struggling to adapt to normal life as a civilian rather than as a soldier. The conflict of being a soldier versus being civilian sprouts out and haunts the author's consciousness. Immediately his fellow troop members came to visit him in his new station; he felt like he belonged to the military and not as to the civilian class. O'Brien was filled with loss and pain in his heart because he did not understand what was best for him. At one point, he felt that being a civilian was safe since there was no way he could go through what he had experienced in Vietnam. However, the other part of him felt that he belonged to the army since it was like his family ( O’Brien, 2008).
Concisely, it is evident to note that O’Brien style of literature writing is a spectacular technique that has been capable of narrating one of the best war stories ever. The story's main theme of imaginations and memories has been effective towards illustrating the main ideas in the story. The concept of conflict has been widely used by O'Brien to point out the difficulty choices and situation that the members of the military are put through each and every day in their service to protect other civilians.
References
O’Brien, T. (1990). The things they carried. The things they carried , 1-26.
O’Brien, T. (2008). The Things They Carried. Gillespie, Sheena, Tony Pipolo and Terezinha Fonseca. Literature Across Cultures: Fifth Edition. New York: Pearson Education Inc , 484-96.
