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The Things They Carried
By Tim OBrien
What is the definition of necessity? According to Websters New World Dictionary a necessity is a great need. In reality, necessity is a rather difficult concept to describe. As children in a sheltered environment there may be emotional attachments to parents, a blanket or stuffed toy. To a small, healthy child these are probably the only other necessities he requires other than food, beverages, and the ever-demanding diaper change. Similarly, in The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien what a person requires for his or her survival may vary with the particular situation they are in and also the time element involved. These needs may become distorted when one finds himself in a situation that is unfamiliar or dangerous. In the case of this story, the situation is the Viet Nam War. In these circumstances a person would experience an extreme feeling of vulnerability and may want to hold on to all that he can, anything that will give him comfort. This is not totally unlike a childs instinct to hold onto a blanket for comfort when he/she feels threatened. Even though these necessary items or ideas may impair or even threaten to destroy the person, it may be impossible for the individual to release them.
The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien exhibits necessity from both destructive and constructive viewpoints. The story looks at the burdens the soldiers must bear and the effects the burdens have on someone in a life-threatening situation. When these burdens are looked at closely, the author makes the reader question whether these necessities the soldiers carry both physically and mentally keep them alive or lead to their destruction. OBrien examines the many angles of the how necessary certain items really were.
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One doesnt often consider what necessities a soldier must have to keep them alive. After reading the story it became all too clear that these were very easy to underestimate, particularly the ones that will keep them physically alive. It is hard to imagine a grunt would have to carry such large loads of weaponry, food, and clothing. OBrien lists these items first in the story, I believe, to show their importance. The things they carried were largely determined by necessity, he states on page 706, and goes on to talk about rations, water, defensive clothing, and necessary sleep gear (707). But, also listed in the same paragraph were items such as Rat Kileys comic books, Kiowas Bible, and Ted Lavenders six or seven ounces of premium dope. Although comic books and premium dope are not necessary for physical survival, to the soldiers they provided a sense of comfort. Perhaps the loneliness and isolation they men felt drove them to cling to their mental and other vices because it filled an emotional void which was a byproduct of terrible violence they faced in the war. Lieutenant Crosss fixation on Martha may have anchored him to a time of innocence that is indeed a great contrast to what he was experiencing in the conflict in Viet Nam.
It is also important to note the detailed list of military supplies. OBrien goes on and on about the weaponry the soldiers were responsible for carrying. First he lists the standard issue weapons such as rifles, grenades, flak jackets and helmets (708). Then the extra weapons the soldiers carried ranging from fragmentation grenades to brass knuckles to Kiowas hatchet (70 are discussed. Lee Strunk also carried and slingshot - a most primitive weapon compared to modern warfare weapons. They were ready to kill with a variety of weaponry. It is difficult to imagine the physical strength they needed to hump all of the equipment. OBrien emphasizes how great the weight really was when Ted Lavender is shot and the weight he was carrying made him fall like a big sandbag or something - just boom, then down (70). Another statement by OBrien - they carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power for the things they carried,” (70) reminds one of how great their burdens must truly have been.
These burdens - the supplies the men carried to stay physically alive - are placed on the same level in terms of description as the objects carried that provided emotional support to the platoon.
“They carried USO stationary and pencils and pens. They carried Sterno, safety pins, trip flares . . .hot chow in green mermite cans . . .Black Flag insecticide . . . the weight of memory. . . each other . . . lice and ringworm. . .the land itself . . .the sky . . . the whole atmosphere . . . the carried gravity. They moved like mules.”
Note the last sentence’s reference to mules � beasts of burden. OBriens writing style shows no differentiation between the subjects of food, weapons, reminders of home and good luck charms. They are all necessary burdens in his platoons eyes and they all had to be humped.
Another example of emotional nourishment is found in OBriens description on Lieutenant Crosss attachment to Martha. He carries her letters and reads them daily, and his love for her keeps him going and gives his life meaning. He also carries her photographs, and the pebble she sends him that constantly remind him of her. In the end, all of these necessities become a burden to heavy to bear for Lieutenant Cross. These possessions he holds so dearly bring back memories such as the night at the movies when Martha would not kiss him back as well as initiate fantasies about Martha, such as when Lee Strunk was in the tunnel.
Lieutenant Cross gazed at the tunnel. But he was not there. He was buried with Martha under the white sand at the Jersey shore. They were pressed together, and the pebble in his mouth was her tongue.”
Lieutenant Cross has a difficult time staying in touch with what is happening around him, perhaps because the fantasy world he retreats to so often is much more tolerable. This is evident by the way O’Brien skillfully moves between Cross’ thoughts between Martha and what is happening in his platoon. When Ted Lavender dies, Cross feels that it is his fault because he was thinking of Martha more than he was thinking of his men.
Even though there was nothing Lieutenant Cross could have done to prevent Lavenders death it is no consolation to Cross. Cross thoughts of Martha had nothing to do with Lavenders death, but for some reason Cross chooses to link to two together. It makes one wonder what other burdens cross is carrying that would lead to this intense feeling of guilt. Maybe it is a response to the horrific events he has witnessed in the war such as the cutting of the VC corpse and thinking about Martha’s innocence, which are in direct opposition to each other. In the end, Cross must leave the burden of his love behind, as he realizes it is not sustaining him, but destroying him. The love is simply too much for him to bear, so he burns Martha’s letters and gets rid of the pebble she sent him. This scene is faintly representative of Christ at Gesthemane, because Cross is alone and suffering a great amount of anxiety as his friends sleep. One can see the similarity of the guilt Cross carries and the guilt that Christ bore on his shoulders for the redemption of mankind. It is at this point of the story that O’Brien reveals the symbolism of Cross’ name. Cross then realizes the enormity of the burdens that the men carry. “It was very sad, he though. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do” (718). Cross’ name obviously symbolizes his own burdens that he thought of as “necessary”, as well as those of his platoon.
Probably the greatest burden that the men felt the necessity to carry was the load of dignity. There was an unspoken need to stay tough, to maintain composure and not let the terror or anxiety they experienced through the horrors of war get the best of them. At some of the most dangerous times they may have panicked but it didnt last for long awkwardly, the men would reassemble themselves, first in private, then in groups, becoming soldiers again (715). They would cover their fear with humor; they used a hard vocabulary to contain the terrible softness… as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself (715).
O’Brien shows the meaning of this burden when he states, “they carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died because they were embarrassed not to” (716). This was the fear that weighed the men down the most, because it was hidden internally. They would only allow themselves to dream of freedom, because those that took the easy way out by wounding themselves were looked down upon, even though inside the soldier’s felt envy. This description gives the impression that the internal burdens that the men carried were keeping them alive, and were indeed necessary.
O’Brien writes from a soldier’s point of view but in the non-participant manner. He sees into the mind of Lieutenant Cross and relates to us probably what were extremely typical emotions both Cross and the rest of the platoon must have been feeling during the war. To deal with the turmoil and the ugliness of war, as well as the vulnerability they felt, the soldiers clung to what might be considered their “security blankets” � anything familiar, comforting, and reminiscent of home and the innocence they left behind. O’Brien’s reliable point of view, thought written through the thoughts of Lieutenant Cross add validity to the story since he experienced the burdens of war first hand in Viet Nam.
Although O’Brien writes of mostly flat characters in the story, two round characters stand out above them � Martha and Lieutenant Cross. Cross knew quite a lot about Martha � basic demographics
“She was a virgin, he was almost sure. She was an English major at Mount Sebastian, and she wrote beautifully about her professors and roommates and midterm exams, about her respect for Chaucer and great affection for Virginia Woolf. She often quote lines of poetry; she never mentioned the war, except to say, Jimmy, take care of yourself.”
But Cross never would know if Martha loved him the way he loved her. “More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her, but the letters were mostly chatty, elusive on the matter of love” (706).
Even though we don’t know much about Cross’s physical attributes, he is seen from more than one side. His very thoughts, feelings, and perceptions are quite obvious by the end of the story. The finality of his metamorphosis is realized when he lets the memory of Martha go. This change throughout the story leads to the final rounding of his character. It is evident at this time that it is not necessary to know anything more about Cross � his thoughts create a great amount of the action and understanding of his character.
Tim O’Brien writes effectively from Cross’ (a soldier’s) point of view to put the reader in the driver’s seat. Through his thorough descriptions of “the things they carried” one can only mentally experience the weight the platoon had to physically and mentally endure.
In “The Things They Carried” O’Brien explores all of the many objects and emotions that lead to death and destruction. Ted Lavender is dropped to death by a bullet, as well as by the supplies on his back and his dreadful fear of the situation has been put into. Ted falls when he could carry his burdens no more. Lavender was so burdened by the things he needed to stay alive, that they finally caused his downfall and death.
In closing, O’Brien explores the idea of necessity from every angle, and finally brings one to the conclusion that the things men believe they need may become too much to bear. He not only examines the great physical demand that is placed on his men that is placed on the men as they carry their supplies, but the mental and emotional strain that weighs them down immensely. His portrayals of Ted Lavender and Lieutenant Cross are excellent examples of these burdens Ted through the description of his less-than-desirable lifestyle and his demise, and Cross through his deep love and agony that he feels about Martha. By allowing Ted to die and Cross to live, O’Brien perhaps was saying that to survive a horrible situation sometimes one must let go of the things he feels he needs to fill the voids in his own life. O’Brien makes the reader question what we feel we really need and what part these things play in our lives.
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