The Things They Carried
Tim O’Brien
“On The Rainy River”
Explores the role of shame in war and
embarrassment as a motivating factor.
 This story is a most obvious example of
O’Brien’s fiction-as-truth: Its point is to
convey an emotional truth, not facts.
 He clearly puts the reader in his position
as a young, naïve person facing a difficult
decision.
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“On the Rainy River”
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How the Vietnam War differed from other wars
Average age of soldier: 19 (WW II: 26)
In Vietnam War, many went to college to avoid war
Men had to explain why they served: not serving was
acceptable
Soldiers served a tour of duty
In combat, there was no safety in the rear – there was no
rear in Vietnam
There was little support for either the soldier or the war
from the general population of the U.S.
Vietnam had not directly threatened the U.S.
“On the Rainy River”
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The war was fought in a country whose history, culture,
religions, and values were quite different from ours
The war’s goal was unclear: There was never a clear
indication that America would do whatever was
necessary to win
The officers in charge were often inexperienced and/or
inconsistent. Fragging occurred
Fighting casualties exceeded those in WW II
Territory was taken, lost, and taken repeatedly
There were no clear combat zones; there was no front
No emotional support was offered returning soldiers
“On the Rainy River”
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All of the soldiers did not return home at the same
time
No war since the Civil War caused such a split in
U.S. public opinion, leading to social unrest and
violence
Vietnam was the first war the U.S. lost
The war was broadcast on TV daily
Drug use was part of the combat scene; problems in
the military included financial corruption, racism, low
morale, theft, murder, and suicide
“The Things They Carried” and
“Platoon”
Character parallels
TTTC
O’Brien
Lt. Cross
Kiowa
Lavendar
Rat Kiley
Azar
Henry Dobbins
Platoon
Taylor
Lt. Wolfe
King
Gardner
Rhah
Bunny
Big Harold
“The Things They Carried”
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Hand grenades
smoke bombs
M-16 assault rifle (7.5 pounds, unloaded
with 8.5 to 14 pounds of ammunition)
M-16 maintenance gear: 1 pound
Hatchet (7 pounds)
flashlight (2 pounds)
Poncho (2 pounds)
Steel helmet (5 pounds)
Flak jacket (7 pounds)
jungle boots (7 pounds)
M-60 (23 pounds, unloaded: 10-17 pounds of ammo)
PRC-25 radio (26 pounds)
Medic gear: 20 pounds
M-79 grenade launcher: 6 pounds; 50 pounds of ammo
“The Things They Carried”
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C-rations: 2 lbs
P-38 can openers
Pocket knife: 1 lb
Heat tabs
Watch
Dog tags
Insect repellent
Gum/candy
Cigarettes/lighters
salt tablets
Iodine tablets
Kool-Aid packets
Sterno/matches
Sewing kits
2 or 3 canteens of water
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Total: 15 to 20 pounds, depending on the man
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The Things They Carried
The Things They
(and we) Carry
The metaphor of
carrying gives weight
to the idea that the
things we carry —
whether physical or
emotional —enable
us to navigate life’s
inconsistencies.
The Things They Carried
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The notion that people carry heavy emotional
burdens is a universal one: O’Brien switching
between first-person narrative and third-person
throughout the book reflects his belief that by
telling his own story, he is telling the story of
many.
“Love”
Lt. Cross shows how repression of
painful memories can be essential for
survival.
 The feelings behind the story are the
investment for the reader, rather than
what is truth and fiction.
 In a twist, we don’t know if what Cross
has asked O’Brien to leave out of the
story is in there or not.
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“Love”
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At the end of the “Love” chapter, Jimmy Cross
says, “Don’t mention anything about – ” but is
cut off by O’Brien. What two questions does this
create for the reader about the story and about
O’Brien?
Is what he wanted to be left out actually in there
or not?
Regardless, is O’Brien a reliable narrator?
The ambiguous ending reflects veterans’
difficulty in articulating traumatic experiences: a
task storytelling can address.
“Spin”
The unconnected anecdotes here echo
the fragmentation of the war experience.
 War has no winners or losers, unlike
Dobbins and Bowker’s game of checkers.
 O’Brien’s relationship with his daughter,
Kathleen, reveals the importance of
storytelling: to deliver the past into the
future, for giving perspective and
understanding.
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“Spin”
Jot down these important quotes:
As a writer, “You take your material where you
find it, which is in your life, at the intersection of
past and present.”
“Remembering leads to a story, which makes it
forever. That’s what stories are for. Stories are
for joining the past to the future. Stories are for
eternity, when memory is erased, when there is
nothing to remember except the story.”
“Enemies/Friends”
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O’Brien presents a fight within a war: a
microcosm to the macrocosm of Vietnam.
The meaninglessness of the fight: It was over a
stolen jackknife.
This is a metaphor for the meaninglessness the
men feel over the war itself.
This is seen when Strunk laughs when Jensen
breaks his own nose: After all, Strunk thinks
Jensen was justified in his fight with Strunk,
because Strunk does admit he stole Jensen’s
jackknife.
“Enemies/Friends”
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However, the fight is more personal and
emotional than the war: Strunk’s nose is broken
because his “enemy” relentlessly beats him and
crushes his nose.
Strunk loses his leg for no reason other than
where he stepped. He could not have known or
prevented it.
So in the fight between the two men, the enemy
is visible and is physical. Conversely, the war
often lacks a visible opponent.
“Enemies/Friends”
“Friends” ends with Jensen violating his
original pledge and not killing Strunk.
 Does this make Jensen more or less
trustworthy as a friend?
 Would he have been a murderer if he
carried out the pledge he and Strunk
made?
 What would you do in that situation?
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