The Things They Carried

"The Things They Carried," by Tim O'Brien, is, in my mind, the best short story we've read so far. Not only because it was written in a way that grabs my attention and makes me feel every pound added onto the soldiers' body and minds, but also because the genre (for lack of a better word) greatly appeals to me. That doesn't mean war novels in general, but rather those that can fall under the category of realism. The gritty details, mannerisms, and nuances of the individual soldier combined with such detail that "makes you want to dodge the bullets" are some of the qualities that help to make such stories truly great in my mind. Of course, "The Things They Carried" is not strictly fall under the realism category, but also under the category of psychological realism. In fact, this might indeed be a more appropriate classification for this story, as the point of the story is not necessarily the physical weight they carry, rather the weight of the psychological burden they carry.

Obviously, the focus of the story lies on First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross's psychological progression concerning his love for and thoughts on Martha. The story is split up into different sections, dealing in turn with the dual meaning of the title: first focusing on the details of the things they carry, as well as the actual events that take place, then on the thoughts and revelations of Jimmy with regard to his love. By doing this, O'Brien lends emphasis to what is said of the physical weight and what is not said about the psychological weight. The juxtaposition of the mental and actual weight allows the reader to get an actual feel of Jimmy's mental stress as if it were an actual weight on their shoulders.

Jimmy's focus is constantly slipping away from his current situation, flying across the ocean to join the woman he loves. He knows, or at least suspects, that she does not love him in return, but he allows himself to indulge in thoughts of her nonetheless. Even when he really should be concentrating on the safety of Lee Strunk in the title, he drops back into his sanctuary that is his reveries. But as soon as Lavender is killed, everything changes.

Lavender's death is not necessarily Jimmy's fault. But in Jimmy's mind, Lavender's death took place when Jimmy wasn't doing his job. Because of this, Jimmy creates a correlation between Lavender's death and his inattention, thereby placing the blame square on his already burdened shoulders. It's as if the added weight is just too much. His once precious love is now tainted by this travesty, and the fact that Martha has no love for Jimmy becomes the main focus of his thoughts. He attacks and digs at the earth, as if to create a crypt in which to bury his love, as dead as if the shot had pierced it along with Lavender.

The psychological weight of war is a very real thing, as any veteran will tell you. Those of us who have not experienced it can only view a shadow of it through the stories those veterans describe, or for the mass public the films that Hollywood produces. Granted, some of these allow the public to experience some form of what soldiers go through (good movie examples include Jarhead and Saving Private Ryan, according to those veterans I know who have watched it), but an account made by a vet has so much more meaning, so much more value, because it is made by someone who has experienced that same weight. Though I shouldn't say "same," that implies that every soldier experiences the same thing in war. Just like the physical weights for each soldier is different, depending on any lucky charms they carry, the equipment, or extra ammunition, so is the weight that each soldier feels bearing down on his psyche. (652)