The book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien exceedingly helped me understand how hard it is to withstand the burdens of grief, love, fear, yearning all while carrying fifty pounds of supplies really is. I couldn’t imagine and don’t really want to what it would be like to carry almost my body weight in gear while being scared, feeling anguish, and never truly knowing if the one you love is staying faithful. It is pretty unreal when you think about. How could someone deal with all that while getting shot at?
The author depicts images of the things that the soldiers carried mostly the items of Lieutenant Cross. Not to mention all the mental baggage he has such as his love for Martha, grief of his dead men, his longing for Martha. Martha has an enormous affect on Lieutenant Cross and his ability to focus on the tasks at hand those being keeping himself and his men alive. After one of Lieutenant Cross’s men is shot and killed he can barely stand the heartache because he feels it was his fault for not paying attention and instead daydreaming about Martha. In reaction, he burns the letters and photos of Martha.
Mr. O’Brien does an excellent job of explaining why men kill and go to war. His explanation is that men are afraid to show that they are scared and that they are terrified of dying. That is the reason they came to war because they are afraid of what people might think of them. In the end, I’m pleased I read this and I’d recommend it to anyone.
More on Tim O'Brien: http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/au-obrien-tim.asp
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