The Things They Carried

1
The Things They Carried

• Tim OBrien

2
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 OBriens
  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.

3
On the Rainy River

• 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.

4
On the Rainy River

• The war was fought in a country whose history,
  culture, religions, and values were quite
  different from ours
• The wars 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

5
On the Rainy River

• 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

6
The Things They Carried and Platoon

• Character parallels
• TTTC Platoon
• OBrien Taylor
• Lt. Cross Lt. Wolfe
• Kiowa King
• Lavendar Gardner
• Rat Kiley Rhah
• Azar Bunny
• Henry Dobbins Big Harold

7
The Things They Carried

• 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

8
The Things They Carried

• 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
• Total 15 to 20 pounds, depending on the man

9
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 lifes
  inconsistencies.

10
The Things They Carried

• The notion that people carry heavy emotional
  burdens is a universal one OBrien 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.

11
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 dont know if what Cross has asked
  OBrien to leave out of the story is in there or
  not.

12
Love

• At the end of the Love chapter, Jimmy Cross
  says, Dont mention anything about but is
  cut off by OBrien. What two questions does this
  create for the reader about the story and about
  OBrien?
• Is what he wanted to be left out actually in
  there or not?
• Regardless, is OBrien a reliable narrator?
• The ambiguous ending reflects veterans
  difficulty in articulating traumatic experiences
  a task storytelling can address.

13
Spin

• The unconnected anecdotes here echo the
  fragmentation of the war experience.
• War has no winners or losers, unlike Dobbins and
  Bowkers game of checkers.
• OBriens relationship with his daughter,
  Kathleen, reveals the importance of storytelling
  to deliver the past into the future, for giving
  perspective and understanding.

14
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. Thats 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.

15
Enemies/Friends

• OBrien 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 Jensens
  jackknife.

16
Enemies/Friends

• However, the fight is more personal and emotional
  than the war Strunks 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.

17
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?