The Things They Carried: A Literary Analysis

As a college student, it is necessary to grasp an understanding of the work behind literature. Whether it be poetry or short stories, the readings included in a literary course allow students to gain insight on authors and their work, furthering their ability to succeed in school. Professors are limited in the amount of work they can cover, and while the stories in our current curriculum should sufficiently knowledge its students, there are some other stories that if added, provide their own benefits. One that should be considered is author and former veteran Tim O’Brien’s story, “The Things They Carried,” which carries both similarities and drastic differences from previous authors that were discussed. Rather than focusing primarily on the

Gaining historical background helps sharpen a student’s understanding of the Vietnam War, which ameliorates their ability to properly interpret the story. Larry Berman and Jason Newman, author of “The Vietnam War and Its Impact,” wrote about the history of the Vietnam War and how America got involved, stating “… the commitment of marines in March 1965, and the deployment of other troops all before June 1965” (Berman and Newman) was when America started to get involved as a permanent party in the war. Thus, it creates a sense of reality in O’Brien’s story. In addition, the Vietnam war “produced libraries full of memoirs, novels, and poetry” (The Vietnam War and American Popular Culture) by former veterans, such as O’Brien. Like O’Brien, these former veterans have written their stories in the hopes of making sense and coming to terms with their experiences to themselves and to others. Students would greatly benefit from reading his story because they are able to tread the same cognitive map shared by O’Brien and his story’s

Similar to Hemingway’s stories, O’Brien tends to describe the surroundings. However, instead of placing significance in the environmental setting, O’Brien steers the focal point on the actual objects and emotions that his characters carry. According to Linda Wells, author of “The Things They Carried: Character, Narrative, and the Liberal Arts,” O’Brien is suggesting that “each soldier carried into this landscape of fear, danger, boredom, horror, and beauty a self already to some extent” (Wells 2). The allure of this is in what they are carrying, which exposes how the soldiers felt while on duty. (-- removed HTML --) The Things They Carried enables students to relate to the universal emotional baggage these soldiers have been accumulating throughout the war, which is every basic emotion from happy to sad to scared. Wells forms many parallel connections between the soldiers in O’Brien’s story to university students, which makes it even more credible for it to be covered in a literature course. Wells writes, “Just as the soldiers carried with them their past, affording them some measure of comfort with its memories of love and family, students coming to the university arrive in a strange “land” and face an uncertain future” (Wells 3). Both the students and soldiers carry with them a feeling of familiarity, even