The things they carried by Tim O’Brien


The first chapter is about the things the soldiers from America carried during the war in Vietnam. The title is continuously repeated throughout the chapter the first chapter. O’Brien does this to make me as the reader focus on what they carry and also question myself what these things they are carrying mean? And why are they carrying them?


I Am from South Africa and I’m currently studying in the USA in Iowa. I am an alien to America and I carry the burden of being judged and seen as a stranger to the native people of American, even the African-Americans see me as strange. And these are the things that I carry. Whilst reading through the chapter I realized that I was ‘Vietnam’ and the soldiers were the natives of America in my year group. In the text, O’Brien writes about how the soldiers had to invade villages in Vietnam and they sometimes had to kill the innocent people because they weren’t sure who was on their true enemy. I do not have an American accent, therefore the Americans tend to not listen to me because they cannot understand me. Therefore I carry this burden, a burden I cannot change or throw away, and a burden that I have to live with and accept.


The things they carried has different meanings and this is the second one that I perceived when I read through the book one more time. O’Brien uses descriptive language to make it easier for the reader to visualize the imagery. He brought life to the still pictures that ‘Jimmy Cross’ carried of ‘Martha’. Relating the text to myself, as I was flying from South Africa to the United States of America, I was looking out the window and I never shut my eyes. I wanted to see each and every detail of the journey. I did not want to miss anything. Being able to visualize images that you cannot see is kept me intrigued and I couldn't take my eyes away from the book.  

Reference
  • O'Brien, T. (1990) . The Things They Carried. New York, NY: Houghton. M.

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