What does this book have to do with America?

The things they carried is about the war between America and Vietnam. This has to do with the U.S. because American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam.

Tim O'briens mental state

Tim O'brien was on a mission when he saw a Vietnamese man walking with a weapon, he perceived the man as a threat so out of instinct he pulled the pin from his grenade and threw it at the man. The soldier exploded leaving a star shaped hole in his head and his body looked like ground oats. This event really messed Tim up mentally. Seeing the extremely graphic death of the man gave him really bad PTSD.

Character Spotlights

Character Pictures and Descriptions


Jimmy Cross
"They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack" (1).


Henry Dobbins (left)
"Henry Dobbins, who was a big man, carried extra rations..." (2).


Ted Lavender
"Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers until he was shot in the head..." (2).
"Until he was shot, Ted Lavender carried 6 or 7 ounces of premium dope, which for him was a necessity" (3).


Kiowa
"Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.... Kiowa also carried his grandmother's distrust of the white man..." (3).

Chapter Twelve: The Man I Killed

Chapter Twelve: The Man I Killed

This story describes a fairly intimate aspect of the deceased's life. Where do these details come from? How did Tim O'Brien know them? What happened here?
These details come from Tim's mind. He is creating the life that the person seems to have because he doesn't really understand what happened to him. In this way, Tim will feel more when he realizes the potential this person may have. For example, Tim mentioned various questions about the person and his decision, saying: "He thought, if he couldn't fight with the little boy, how could he be a soldier, using their planes, helicopters and bombs with the United States Fighting? Seems impossible "(O'Brien 121). This is related to Tim's life before the war, because he thought he was not suitable for war, and he did not want to fight for war, because he did not believe in war. This can also be compared to the life of the person before the battle.

Reflection:
The structure of the story no doubt adds to Tim's feelings after killing the man. In this chapter, Tim doesn't talk or respond to Kiowa because Kiowa asks if he is OK or if he wants to be the place of the person he killed. This shows that inner overwhelms any logical reasoning, especially the emotions that he or she may not feel after killing someone after he or she has "planned" to kill it. He had something to do with the person he killed and it didn't help Tim's situation. For example, Tim considers himself to be in this person because he assumes that he is brave when he grows up, and assumes the obligation to participate in war, even if they do not want to participate in the war at first. Although the person was dead, Tim's description of him made him look as if he had not completely died.

Jimmy is like my friend

Tim O'brien reminds me of my old friend named Ian. He idolizes women and is constantly trying to impress them. He misses his "girl friend" but nobody has ever seen her.

Mary Anne

Through the novel, particularly part one; Tim O’Brien juxtaposes the different roles that women played in the setting of the Vietnam War.

Martha, depicted as an innocent American girl.

On one side we have women playing the role of the innocent and unknowing “escapes” for the men from the reality of war, this meaning that they don’t know about the war and are thus ignorant and innocent from the events if the war. Martha and Kathleen both represent this innocent side of femininity as Tim O’Brien portrays them both in this light. We can see an example of Martha ignorance as within “those burnt letters Martha had never mentioned the war” (pg 11). As Martha had never mentioned the war, thus we can assume that to her the war was a faraway thing, almost in a different life to here, and that she had no knowledge of what really happens in war.

The guilt of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross

One of the most impactful parts of the book is the amount of guilt that Jimmy Cross feels after Ted Lavender dies. "He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something that he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war" (16). I feel that this part is very important because it illustrates the emotional impact that many of the soldiers felt during the war, and the relationship between the battlefield and home.

On the Rainy River Debrief

A story that I thought I found really interesting was how the author, Tim O'Brien, tried to flee the country but couldn't bring himself to do it out of shame. It wasn't because he felt it was the moral thing to do but he wouldn't be able to face himself, his family, or friends. Elroy Berdahl never pestered or questioned him about what he was doing because he knew the best thing to do was for him to make his own decisions. He was exactly what Tim needed in that time. Just some time to think over his decision. In the end it wasn't a happy ending. He went to war because he was a coward, afraid to leave his old life behind.

What Would I Carry?

The Things They Carried Blog Post 1- What Would I Carry?

The first story in this book discusses all the things that soldiers carried during the Vietnam War. Among the things they carried- both out of requirement and out of sanity- were, "P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water" (O'Brien 2). Given these items weigh between 12 and 18 pounds, I would personally try not to carry much more; keep it light. To keep up with hygiene I might bring a toothbrush and toothpaste, a bar of soap, baby powder, and maybe a hairbrush. Also, I would probably bring a copy of the New Testament and some kind of pen and paper to keep a diary or write letters. The emotional baggage though? That would take a long time to list off.

The chapter I like most is "Friends" because they had a bad relationship before, Strunk took Jensen's jackknife, Jensen breaks Strunk’s nose, hitting him repeatedly and without mercy. However, Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk learn to trust each other. They resolve that if one gets seriously wounded, the other will kill him to put him out of his misery. In October, Strunk’s lower leg gets blown off by a mortar round. Jensen kneels at his side and Strunk repeatedly begs not to be killed. Strunk is loaded into a helicopter, and later Jensen is relieved to learn that Strunk didn’t survive the trip.

What I imagine Jimmy Cross to be like

This is what I imagine Jimmy Cross to appear. He is a young, religious man that carries a lot of faith with him.
Jimmy Idolizes his Martha, his girl back at home, using her to as motivation to get through the war. One day after he gets so distracted thinking about her, it causes Lavender to get shot. He realizes this and forces himself to burn the letters from her. He is probably a very sad man because so many things go wrong in his life, he is stuck in a war, he lost his girl, and his friend died.

What I would carry in the war

Besides necessary objects like water, food, and clothes, I would carry things that would remind me of home. Things like family pictures, letters, and notes. They would distract me from the horrible circumstances and always leave me with the hope that I will return to see my family again.

 

Things I would carry

This is a list of the things I would carry if I was in the war.
1. Gun. Id always have an automatic rifle on me.
2. Ammo. Id make sure that I had enough ammo to reload and have a couple back up mags.
3. Lighter/matches. Id have something to start a fire in case I was stranded in the woods and needed to warm up or cook food.
4. Survival knife. Id carry a survival knife with a secret compartment in the handle to carry other survival equipment, like a compass, pictures, and other small things to keep dry.
5. Cyanide. Id make sure that I always have a little vile of cyanide in case I was captured by the enemy. It would bring a quick death which is better then being tortured then killed.

Character Jimmy Cross

Tim O'Brien in the Vietnam War