the things they carried by tim o'brien

the author first began to describe the tangible things in the story. he recounted how terrible the war was, how the men arduosly walked through savage forests, and the things men had inside their pockets and their backpacks. looking at those things the men carried, one would know what they needed for the time being. some men carried extra rations. slowly the author went beyond the vestige and wrote of the issues the men truly faced. everything they carried, from things that could be touched to those that could only be felt, was ingrained in them by the war. i think what they carried literally are reflections of what they carried inside. jimmy cross, for example, had letters from and picture of his beloved martha. and every night he would peruse those things and constantly think of martha. this is an indication of a very intense feeling he was keeping within himself. he longed to be next to her. another man also carried a bible. what that man carried inside was faith. he turned to it at a time where despair seemed inevitable.

i think this story was able to show how war ravages not just nations but more importantly the people who are involved in it. the war deeply affected the soldiers. they suffered physical and emotional injuries. they had to bear the brunt of having countless blisters and gunshots while simultaneously dealing with personal issues. they really had numerous issues. i can assume they were forced to risk their lives, for who in his right mind would lovingly leave his home to live in makeshift houses, not knowing if he will still be alive tomorrow? they had lives before the war, and they made an untimely departure from those. they had dreams which they couldn't fulfill with the aid of guns, murky water and cold ground to cushion their backs at night. and every single day they put their lives on the line. at night all they ever thought about was uncertainty. they also mulled over the past and wished of better possibilities for the future. but what was most prevalent was the issue of manhood. there was this fear of blushing. and as the author aptly put it, men killed and died because they were embarrassed not to. the story exposed to the readers what it was like to be part of a homogenous unit and the internal conflicts that arose within those who were part of one. this story is yet another testament to what people generally believe : that the pride of men is somewhat indestructible. i don't say i believe that... i'm just stating what the general public perceive.