Reading Response

Lucy Zhao

Fiction Reading Response:
The Things They Carried
by Tim O’Brien

Though at a glance this story may seem overly descriptive, I really enjoyed reading The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. It is true that there is a plethora of description in the writing—mainly about, as the title suggests, the items that the characters carry with them in wartime; however, I find that these descriptions really tell a lot of about the characters.

The object choices that each soldier has made gives the reader insight into what kind of person he really is. For example, the protagonist, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, carries a letter: memorabilia from a woman he lusted after in his recent past. This item that Lieutenant Cross carries expresses the sensitive nature of his personality: it gives him an air of sentiment. The fact that his love for Martha is vaguely unrequited tells us even more about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, for he must be a patient man if after so long he still clings onto a mere letter, let alone one that gives no indication of any feelings beyond just friendship (albeit for a hazy “Love, Martha” signed cordially at the end).

While it may be that there are a lot of figures and weight classifications thrown in, I don’t believe that these were placed as fillers or unnecessary clauses. On the contrary, I feel that Tim O’Brien included these calculated, seemingly objective figures to lend a melancholy air of subjectivity to the overall story; repetition is merely a tool he utilizes for emphasizing a feeling. The fact that these soldiers—barely even men—have to carry so much weight really lets the reader delve into their misery.
Nevertheless, after having the notion of all his heavy weight instilled upon the reader, the fact that these men still carry their own personal memorabilia expresses how important these items must be to each individual. The repetitive mentions of all this “necessary” weight—armor, shoes, guns and artillery—is a great juxtaposition against what each character carries that he feels is necessary to owe to themselves.

Because there is not much internal narration in the story, O’Brien has to be creative in his methods in order to express the character’s feelings and sentiments regarding their current situation as well as their lives. While on the surface this story may seem like a monotonous book, I feel that The Things They Carried is quite an insightful piece of writing into each individual character’s psyche.