The Things They Carried

"The Things They Carried," by Tim O'Brien, describes the weight of the things the soldiers of the Vietnam War carried through their journey. The story's tone is set by the weight of what these men "humped" on their backs. The lists of "the things they carried" extend the transformation from burdensome objects into heavy emotions of desire, confusion and grief. The story revolves around the death of one of the soldiers, Ted Lavender. Ted Lavender …

…realize that this is a life-and-death matter. "They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." The weight of what the soldiers carried moves expansively. Ted Lavender's death leaves Lieutenant Cross with a sense of direct personal failure. Although the story is all fiction, O'Brien is able to show, by contrasting truth and fiction, that the truth cannot always communicate human emotion.