Soldiers In The Things They Carried Essay

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In the short story, “The Things They Carried”, the soldiers portrayed in the story carry a colossal amount of tangible and intangible weight on their mission. They carry the basic essentials and the least amount of stuff possible to live, it all depends on the soldier. As well as the physical weight, the men also carry things like fear, grief, love and thought, which is the main focal point of the story. Although these men are soldiers in battle, everyone carries a similar emotional weight along them. “Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol” (O’Brien) and letters from a girl named Martha who he is in love with. Throughout the story, O’Brien constantly brings up Martha and how Lieutenant …show more content…
These men have so much fear because they don’t know what could happen next. They are away from home and death could be right around the corner. These mementos help the soldiers stay sane.
Although these men haul the load of battle on their backs, O’Brien shows us that they also tote hope along with them. All the men fear death, especially Lavender (that's why he has his premium dope and tranquilizers), but that little shed of light at the end of the tunnel that just maybe everything will end up okay at the end of the day. The constant backing from each ally grants them the ability to push on instead of giving up.
Physical and emotional concerns was a clear-cut theme in the narrative, “The Things They Carried.” It is filled with many forms of which the soldiers of the Vietnam War had to experience. There weren’t only countless physical baggage that each man had to bear with them, but contrasting psychological hardships came up as well. Although we all carry some sort of physical and emotional weight on our backs like many of these soldiers, it can never compare to what they had to experience. All these strains made the environment for the soldiers almost impractical to
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