Independent Book Assignment (QUARTER 3) The Things They Carried by Tim Obrien

The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried is about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his men during the Vietnam War. The book first focuses on the variety of things the soldiers had to carry during their stay in Vietnam. Many carried personal belongings that allowed them to reminisce about their family and loved ones, and all of them carried items, such as weaponry and other useful tools, which were needed for the war. The book then focuses on Jimmy Cross’s crush on Martha, a college student from Mount Sebastian College. Later on, Jimmy Cross gets a feeling that his love towards Martha interferes with his responsibility of keeping his men alive, because Ted Lavender, one of the soldiers in the book, gets shot in the head.

This novel clearly demonstrates the effects of war. The Vietnam War causes the protagonist, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, to feel irresponsible because of the death of one of his men. Jimmy Cross believes that it is his duty and responsibility to protect the lives of each and every man he is assigned to fight with. He eventually becomes uncertain whether or not he is really the leader of the group after Ted Lavender gets shot. This also causes him to question his love for Martha; whether it is interfering with the battles he is facing and whether it is the key reason why he is losing his abilities in saving his men’s lives. Later on, Jimmy Cross burns the pictures and letters of Martha. “Lavender was dead. You couldn’t burn the blame.”

Tim O’Brien uses a gloomy and at times, chaotic tone. The Things They Carried is about the Vietnam War and Jimmy Cross and his men are depicted as men who are afraid to die in the battlefield. With men carrying certain items that remind them of their lives back in America, they are all waiting for the end of the Vietnam War.
“They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.”
The characters in this story were forced to go to war, and if they did not, they would have been seen as cowards.

I personally thought that this book was one of the best books that I have ever read. It shows sympathy to the characters and the difficult times they face throughout the war, being sent to Vietnam away from their homeland. People can relate to and understand those who have fought and seen the horrors of war.Many of Tim O’Brien’s books are related to his experiences in the Vietnam War. His novels include If I Die in a Combat Zone, Going After Cacciato, and Tomcat in Love.