Things They Carried
... Lila Lisa Canizales English 1302-203 19 April 2002 Fear to Show Fear The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien’s short story was published in 1990. ... The first part of the story is filled with specific detail of the physical things they carried. Towards the end, he presents the intangible things they carried like shame, humiliation, horror and fear. Obviously, these previous things outweigh the physical things but something that stands out is the fear of the soldiers. ... During the beginning half of the story, O’Brien mentions in full detail all the things that they carried that were part of their responsibility as infantrymen. ... The things they carried varied by necessity, rank, mission, or superstition (O’Brien 710). ... The narrator describes in full detail what the things were, “As PFCs or Spec 4s, most of them were common grunts and carried the standard M-16 gas-operated assault rifle. ... Probably what O’Brien wants the reader to get across is that even though these physical things were quite heavy enough to tire them down to the extent of just dropping to the ground, these latter intangible things like fear, grief, horror, and shame outweigh the physical things more. ... The things these men did were incredible to fight or ease the fear they all felt inside them, the fear and horror that the war created. ... “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. ... “They carried the soldier’s greatest fears, which was the fear of blushing” (O’Brien 716). ... We clearly note how O’Brien wants the reader to comprehend how the intangible things they carried outweighed the physical things by listing all the physical things and then the intangible things. ... In the end, Jimmy decides he must act like a man, accepts all the blame for Ted, hates Martha accepting that she will never love him, and straightens things out in the platoon. ... The things men do because they cannot show fear, cannot cry, must be cold-hearted, and strong are so sad. ... “The Things They Carried.