The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried overall is an interesting and different kind of book from other books. Throughout the entire book it would go back and fourth between the present and past. Also, O'Brien shares random stories that happened in the war. I was really going with it and I thought that most of them was true, maybe with some exaggeration to it, but I really did think that the stories he is sharing in this book was true, until he told us that it wasn't. Most of the stories and pretty much this entire book is made up, which really disappoints me. It changes my point of view on this book. I mean it's still an okay book, but it just makes me upset how it's not non-fiction. Although, Tim O'Brien is a pretty good author and the creative way and style he wrote this book in was pretty cool.

Tim O'Brien wrote this book in a way that's also pretty easy to analyze. There was many kinds of symbolism throughout the entire book. I think the main kind of symbolism was at the beginning of the book where he describes the items each of the soldiers carried, because that represented something precious to each one of them and something they don't want to lose or ever forget. Also, at the last chapter he talks about the girl Linda who was his crush when he was a kid, which I think is also symbolism in this book. Her spirit and the connect he had with her helps him get over and not take the deaths of the other soldiers, people and his close friends too hard. The fact that he was there when she died made him stronger in this war and helped him keep moving on after a experience of a person's death. There was another kind of irony in this book which was at the end. In the chapter "The Ghost Soldiers," him and Jorgenson got in this fight and Tim decided to do payback on him, which I think was kind of stupid and unnecessary. It surprised me though on how he decided to that, because that's unlikely of his character. The irony of that chapter was that Tim says how he doesn't want to be in the war, is sick of it and can't wait to be done, but yet he gets jealous of Jorgenson taking his position. It upsets him and he feels left out just like he shares in the book when he says, "A funny thing, but I felt betrayed" (O'Brien 198).

I'm glad I choose to read this book, even though it was kind of boring. The fact that it's not true makes me upset, but the way he wrote the book, the creativeness and style of it made up for it.

By,

Anastasia Ditter

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Book, 1990. Print.