Category: The Things They Carried

Introduction

Vietnam War was among the most dramatic, polarizing, and controversial events of the second half of the 20th century for the United States. Many people believed that the war was the representation of America’s greatness and power as a country; on the contrary, many others considered it to be the violation of human rights, pointless waste of national resources (both economic and human ones), and the greatest tragedy of the current generation. These polarizing opinions and debates are still present in the contemporary scholarly literature, political discourses, and ordinary conversations.

However, it is essential to precisely state the fact that the most crucial aspect of any war is the personal tragedy of an individual, the collision of a person’s dreams and hopes with the reality of a military conflict. One of the better means of expressing this aspect is fictional literature. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the short story by Tim O’Brien, which is entitled The Things They Carried, to explore its uniqueness, to discuss techniques and arguments which are employed by the author, and to define the importance of the chosen literary piece to retrieve a profound conclusion.

The Uniqueness of the Chosen Literary Work

Brief Characteristic of the Author

First of all, it is important to briefly touch upon the personality of the author to offer a more in-depth context for the further analysis of the literary piece. Tim O’Brien was born on October 1, 1946, in Austin, Minnesota and was drafted for military service in Vietnam in 1968 (Stowell 3). After returning from the army, he studied in Harvard and worked as a reporter for different periodicals (Stowell 3). However, he is most recognized for his literary works, which he began to publish since 1973. It is possible to say that the author significantly contributed to the development of the comprehension of the Vietnam War in the American literature. The literary piece under consideration, The Things They Carried, was published in 1990, and in this story, O’Brien continued to explore the settings of the war and numerous issues which are related to it. The following sections will explore various aspects of the literary work.

Core Literary Features of the Story

Furthermore, it is possible to observe the unique characteristics of the short story under discussion in general before dwelling upon the particular aspects more thoroughly and profoundly. In other words, this section serves as an outline for the further developing of this paper.

The following questions will guide the development of the paper: (1) what techniques does the author uses, and (2) what arguments are central to his literary work. These are two principal areas of inquiry for conducting the analysis. First of all, the aspect of technique should be observed to retrieve the most significant features to dwell upon. It is possible to notice one of the critical literary devices that author uses is the word “carry” as a metaphor. This word is present in the title of the story, and it is used throughout the narration in various meanings. Also, the other characteristics of the literary work, such as the composition of the text, use of vivid vocabulary, and narrative approach, will be analyzed as well.

Secondly, after building an analytical basis for the technical aspect of the O’Brien’s writing, it would be possible to investigate his arguments. In other words, the principal ideas, which were implied by the author, will be analyzed in the context of broader notions, such as psychological trauma, affection, duty, leadership, etc. The efficiency of these arguments and ideas along with the uniqueness of the author’s representation of them also will be discussed. In overall effect, the results of studying O’Brien’s techniques and arguments will provide an opportunity to conclude how these characteristics help to define The Things They Carried as the literature of importance.

Techniques Used by the Author

The Central Metaphor of the Story

As it was already mentioned, it appears that O’Brien has put immense emphasis on the word “carry.” Its use throughout the story represents one of the central author’s ideas, which he wanted to translate through the literary piece under discussion, but this aspect will be discussed later. In this section, the word “carry” be analyzed solely as a literary device.

It is evident that “carry” is a metaphor, but it is interesting to explore how is this metaphor built. The use of this word is repetitive; it is prevalent throughout the story. It is argued that polysemy is used as a principle means of constructing the complex metaphor. Firstly, at the beginning of the literary piece, “carry” is used in its common sense of bearing some weight since the author describe various equipment which is carried by the soldiers (O’Brien 482-483). However, as the story progresses, O’Brien starts to interchange the use of the word in its conventional sense with its application to non-material things (for example, the narrator tells that “they carried themselves with dignity”), and that is how the metaphor is constructed (492). Also, there is a very peculiar transitional point between the direct and metaphorical use of the word “carry”, when O’Brien writes about the material things which were carried by the characters (for example, Jimmy Cross’ good-luck pebble from Martha), but he describes the emotional attachment to these things which every soldier had. Therefore, it is possible to notice that the author shows excellence in constructing an elaborate metaphor which serves as the basis for narration.

Storytelling Technique

Further, the storytelling aspect of the literary work should be analyzed since it also represents the author’s unique approach to describing the war. This section is vastly based on the research by Sadie Williams, in which he studies several literary works by O’Brien, including The Things They Carried. The author’s major assumption is that O’Brien’s storytelling technique can be efficiently compared to Freud’s theory of dreams (Williams 4). Synthesizing Freud’s views on the dream-formation process, Williams states that recalling information from the past in order to share an experience with other individual (which is the definition of storytelling, as a matter of fact) is the process which is similar to the formation of a dream to a significantly vast extent (3).

Further, the author argues that O’Brien’s writings are vastly based on his personal experiences (which was also mentioned in the previous section). Therefore, when he writes a literary piece, he recalls his memories and manipulates them, much like a dream is constructed from the real-life situations, experienced by an individual. It is evident that The Things They Carried does not follow a conventional linear structure of the literary work development. Instead, according to Williams, O’Brien utilizes dreamlike, “non-cohesive and seemingly confusing fashion” to create a story of his war experience, and this story only lacks cohesion on the surface level (4). The following section will discuss the ideas which are principal to the understanding of O’Brien’s work.

Arguments and Ideas Developed in the Story

Furthermore, it is essential to determine and discuss the most important ideas and arguments which are presented in The Things They Carried. In the first section of this paper, several possible areas of inquiry were identified, and it is possible to restate them before dwelling upon each one in particular: (1) an immense psychological burden resulted in mental trauma, (2) the disruption of affection, and (3) the notion of a real leader. These three topics create an interrelated and profound description of the war’s influence on the life of any involved individual. The following subsections will discuss each of the mentioned aspects in particular.

War Experience as a Psychological Trauma

One of the previous subsections was dedicated to the analysis of the use of metaphor in the literary piece by O’Brien. In this context, it is possible to start with the statement that the concept of a burden is implied by the author by the constant use of the word “carry.” Also, another detail should be mentioned: the author always precisely states the weight of the parts of equipment carried by the soldiers. Therefore, given that “carry” serves as a metaphor in the short story, it is possible to conclude that author also implies that the war put an immense psychological burden on an individual. In the course of time, that individual could not bear this burden any longer, and he or she breaks down, obtaining a mental trauma which might severely affect his or her life even after the war. It could be suggested that the final meaning of the literary work’s title is that the soldiers carry these burdens and traumas out of war into the peaceful life, where they can not adapt. It was the explanation of the central metaphor of O’Brien’s story, and the following subsections will discuss more particular arguments and ideas.

Correlation and Contradiction between Female Affection and War

The second notional component of the story in importance is Jimmy Cross’ affection for a girl named Martha. This aspect is also consistent throughout the story, and it also represents a highly significant argument, implied by the author. Moreover, in the Lieutenant Cross’ perception, his love for Martha is the reason why the soldier under his command was killed. The author creates highly vivid imagery to engage his readers emotionally.

It is spectacular how O’Brien interlaces love with death in one of the final episodes of the story under consideration. At the very moment when he supposed to be in active control of his military squad, he was thinking about Martha. Thus, after the soldier is killed, Jimmy Cross feels a deep emotional pain for losing his friend and colleague (O’Brien 494). However, he also loses his affection for Martha, claiming that there is no more place for such feelings in his life. He also concludes that “his obligation was not to be loved but to lead.” This statement translates the discussion to next topic of leadership.

However, it is also of high interest to touch upon the study by Joseph Patrick Weil, which explores female representations in the contemporary literature, dedicated to the depiction of war. He approaches this question from the standpoint of feminist theory, which is fascinating perspective, especially for the literary work such as The Things They Carried. The author argues that women representations are used as “tools of modern catharsis” (Weil 3). He asserts that the females characters in the prose of O’Brien are translated through unconsciously masculine language, which has a particular rhetorical impact on the narration. The core conclusion by Weil is that O’Brien uses “women as stylistic and rhetorical tools,” which sometimes results in flat characterizations (65).

The Concept of Leadership

Finally, it is possible to dwell upon the third core idea which is expressed in The Things They Carried. It is not given as much space in the story as two previous arguments; however, it is still a highly relevant aspect of the literary piece that should be discussed. First of all, it should be noted that the topic under discussion is inserted into the narration as a part of a conflict between Jimmy Cross’ passionate love for a girl and his military duty, determined by his Lieutenant rank. After one of his soldiers dies, Cross feels his responsibility for this death. He willingly decides that there is no more place for affection and love in his life (O’Brien 495). It could be assumed that this decision is the representation of actual leadership in the opinion of Tim O’Brien. This concept could be described as the superiority of duty, which is the necessity to carry out the responsibility for other people, over the personal feeling and affections of a person. However, it is also evident that this decision is significantly hard for nearly every person because, in the example of Jimmy Cross, it is apparent that had to reject a vital part of his life.

Conclusion

Since the literary piece under consideration was analyzed, it is possible to come to several conclusion. Weil calls O’Brien’s work “a cultural touchstone for the tradition of the American war novel, and a canonical piece whose language is as accessible to its national readership” (20). Therefore, it is evident that the piece under discussion could be defined as the literature of importance. The issues of psychological trauma, affection, and leadership along with the employed techniques were also discussed, and it is evident from the discussion that O’Brien created his work masterly.

Works Cited

O’Brien, Tim. “The Things They Carried.” Reading Literature and Writing Argument, edited by James, Missy, et al., 6th ed., Pearson, pp. 482-495.

Stowell, Jim. “Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried: Play Guide.”History Theater, Web.

Weil, Joseph Patrick. Female representations in contemporary postmodern war novels of Spain and the United States: Women as tools of modern catharsis in the works of Javier Cercas and Tim O’Brien. Dissertation, University of South Carolina, 2015.

Williams, Sadie. An Analysis of Tim O’Brien’s Storytelling Techniques in Going After Cacciato, The Things They Carried and In the Lake of the Woods Using Sigmund Freud’s Dream Theory from On Dreams. Dissertation, Ohio Dominican University, 2016.

Introduction

The collection of short stories by American writer Tim O’Brien “The Things They Carried,” published in 1990, is a holistic narrative about the Vietnam War and its participants. The book combines the horrible depiction of war with reflections on the impact the war has. Written in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the work conveys the brutality and bloodthirstiness of military actions as well as the mental state of soldiers. The book, portraying the grave consequences of the war and its huge imprint on people’s minds, serves to show the psychological aspects of military actions and states that wars are conducive to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder in people actively engaged in them.

Horrors of War and Their Impact on the Psyche

Being an active participant in the Vietnam War, O’Brien vividly portrays military actions from the perspective of young men who find themselves in the center of war, unable to question the “heroic ideals” of the army service. In the collection’s title story, apart from the things soldiers carry, the author portrays the feelings and memories they take with them through Vietnam. Thus, O’Brien writes: “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing − these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight” (3). This endless list depicts the unbearable emotional and psychological burden of their situation, exacerbated by adverse weather conditions when soldiers have to make their way to the area through swamp mud and rice fields waist-deep in water. O’Brien vividly portrays the soldiers’ difficulties to show why post-traumatic stress disorder is formed. Moreover, the author makes his characters engage in actions hardly compatible with general human values such as compassion and mercy but which align with the orders of the army commandment.

Indeed, the stories are based on real events, and the evidence of the brutality and dehumanization of war efforts in Vietnam can be found in the descriptions of military actions by those people who took part in them. Relying on the evidence from the National Vietnam War Longitudinal Study, Dohrenwend et al. describe the prevailing attitudes in the army and vividly depict the atmosphere that reigned in it. Thus, they state the Vietnamese were hardly seen as human by the US military commandment, and soldiers were encouraged to call them different names such as “dinks, gooks, slopes, slants” and others (Dohrenwend et al., 16). Moreover, “there was a striking contrast between the formal instruction to kill only military adversaries and the informal message (given loud and clear) to kill just about everyone” (Dohrenwend et al., 17). Such attitude resulted in many episodes of burning civilian villages and killing people, including women and children, who had nothing to do with military efforts. One such episode finds its portrayal in the story “Style,” where the readers see a girl dancing in the background of a burned village where all her family died.

The brutality and cruelty of war where no one was spared could not but tell on the soldiers’ psyche. Thus, in the story “Ghost Soldiers,” combatants begin to hallucinate and believe in the supernatural, while in other episodes, they cannot get rid of the feeling of guilt for their actions. In the story “The Man I Killed,” the readers see the author’s moral torments at what he did to kill a man (O’Brien). Indeed, in this tale, O’Brien is so focused on the feeling of guilt that his presence as a protagonist and narrator fades into the background. Confusion and a sense of hopelessness are reflected in the narrator’s fantasy. Thus, the author says, “He was not a fighter. His health was poor, his body small and frail. He liked books. He wanted someday to be a teacher of mathematics”, not able to get rid of the feeling that what he did was wrong (O’Brien, 87)

Dohrenwend et al. state that in war, soldiers are prone to experiencing harmful and destructive feelings unparallel to anything they feel in civilian life (150-165). Indeed, anger, despair, and rage soldiers experience often serve to cover the fear they feel deep inside. Many acts of aggression have terror as an underlying cause that pushes soldiers to commit them (Dohrenwend et al., 168-174). The readers see how this fear drives soldiers to commit reckless actions, kill and torture people and animals, and earn post-traumatic syndrome in its most severe and incurable form.

The author’s personal story is woven into the intricate fabric of madness, grotesque, and despair portrayed in the narrative. In the story “On the Rainy River,” O’Brien recalls how he tried to escape from the draft to Canada. In describing his feelings, he is mercilessly accurate. On the one hand, he is unwilling to take part in military actions and risk his life in the war, the aims of which he does not understand, and, on the other, he is ashamed not to fight for his country. The author compares his condition with schizophrenia: inside, two voices are saying that it’s scary to go to war and more terrifying still to flee to Canada, where he will have to forget about his family, friends, and old life forever (O’Brian, 37). This comparison is not accidental. Kang et al. state that apart from the horrors that the soldiers experience in war efforts, thinking about the justice and moral side of military actions and the soldiers’ own role in them may be conducive to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (528-537). Thus, the moral choice the author faces is in itself suggestive of the experiences ahead.

After-War Life and the Development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

It is widely known that people who lived through military experience may have difficulties adapting to everyday life. O’Brien vividly portrays this in the story “The Man I Killed,” describing his personal feelings. Even twenty years after the war finished, he can still recall the man in minute details and continues brooding over whether it was possible to avoid the killing. Boscarino et al. state that the inability to get rid of painful memories is often a part of post-traumatic stress disorder that manifests itself through obsessive thoughts and memories, repeated “experience” of the situation, panic attacks, and anxiety as well as outbursts of anger and aggression (757-765). Moreover, PTSD patients, unwittingly, constantly return to the traumatic episode in their thoughts, and see nightmares and stroboscopic flashbacks (Boscarino et al., 757-760). Sometimes these reactions are triggered by the outer environment, at least remotely resembling the circumstances of injury but such memory reactions can also occur spontaneously.

However, the ability of a person to overcome his or her traumatic experience largely depends on the post-deployment support he or she gets. (Boscarino et al., 757-760). Boscarino et al. have found that in cases where people get high support from family and friends, they are more likely to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder than in cases when there is no one to share their experience with. This observation is well portrayed in O’Brian’s story. The author makes it clear that his daughter’s support and understanding helped him to cope with the emotional impact the military actions he took part in made on his psyche.

However, not all people can overcome the traumatic experience they have lived through, and, in such cases, post-traumatic stress disorder may assume its most severe forms. The readers see a vivid example of it in the story “Speaking of Courage.”The main character of this story, Norman Bowker, returns to his hometown to find no one waiting for him: his father and best friend are dead, and his girlfriend has been married for a long time. The only joy he has is that he has met his late father’s expectations and brought seven medals from the war. However, awards cannot help Bowker cope with the post-traumatic stress disorder he experiences, and again and again, in his memories, he returns to the events of the Vietnam War.

Bowker remembers the death of his friend Kiowa during a mortar attack. Just as Norman keeps driving around the lake without realizing it, the thoughts in his head revolve around the themes of war and death. It is reasonable to assume that the lake around which he drives reflects in his memory the field where Kiowa drowned. The field, which resembled quicksand, in this context, is metaphorical, representing the image of death that took the lives of young soldiers. The comparison can be extended further to say that the lake, in turn, takes away Norman’s sanity and ability to adequately assess the current situation.

As Boscarino et al. state, “the prevalence of mental disorders among veterans would be higher among those who experienced negative homecoming experiences” (757). This idea finds its reflection in the story “Speaking of Courage,” where O’Brien describes the symptoms of a mental illness slowly setting in. The metaphor the author uses helps to make a picture clearer. Thus, O’Brian says about Norman’s driving, “On his twelfth revolution, the sky went crazy with color” (105). The choice of words in this sentence is deeply suggestive. Among other comorbidities of post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers name depression and suicidal thoughts that can affect as much as 7% of war veterans (Bullman et al.). Such a high percentage is explained by negative homecoming experiences and the inability to adapt to a peaceful environment.

Conclusion

Tim O’Brien’s work is a psychological echo of the Vietnam War in which he portrays how military actions affect soldiers who participate in them. The author states that the atrocities of war and its cruelty are not easily forgotten unless people get a positive homecoming experience. Even then, it takes time to forget the war. The idea is supported by many researchers who have examined the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder development and found military actions responsible for many cases of it. Vividly portraying war and its consequences, O’Brian warns against unleashing military actions no matter how tempting the idea may seem to various political powers.

Works Cited

Boscarino, Joseph A., et al. “Mental Health Impact of Homecoming Experience Among 1730 Formerly Deployed Veterans from The Vietnam War to Current Conflicts: Results from The Veterans’ Health Study.” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease vol. 206, no. 10, 2018, pp. 757-765. Web.

Bullman, Tim, Aaron Schneiderman, and Jaimie Gradus. “Relative Importance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in Predicting Risk of Suicide Among a Cohort of Vietnam Veterans.” Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior vol 49, no. 3, 2019, pp. 838-845. Web.

Dohrenwend, Bruce P., et al. Surviving Vietnam: Psychological Consequences of the War for US veterans. Oxford University Press, 2018. Web.

Kang, Bada, Hanzhong Xu, and Eleanor S. McConnell. “Neurocognitive and Psychiatric Comorbidities of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Older Veterans: A Systematic Review.” International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry vol. 34, no. 4, 2019, pp. 522-538. Web.

O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Web.