Title

"The Things They Carried" - This title is almost misleading especially after reading the first few pages of the novel. "The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among the necessitites or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, MIlitary Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water" (pg 2) After reading this sentnce i thought great, this book is going to be all about the different tangible things soldiers carried with them while in war. But its more than that. This book was about things that weren't tangible- and some that were. It was about the wounds, the deaths, the heat, the memories, the fear, the love, the pictures, and stockings, the jokes, the silence, and so much more. It's about the guilt for a friend's death or the sadness of a lost love. Overall, I liked the novel because I liked what it stood for. It wasnt just a war story, it was like a tell-all from a dozen soldiers. It described all the secret things they carried with them during the war.

Linda

The final chapter really stood apart from the whole book in my opinion. The whole time I was reading this book I felt as if I was getting whiplash the way the story went back and forth from one time period to another and from one story to the other. This last chapter was exactly the same- except the author took his audience back even further- to his childhood. I really loved the innocence in the character Linda. I guess the way O'Brien tied Linda in with the rest of the story was through the fact that she was dead. My favorite line in this final chapter is one where Linda describes what it is like to be dead by stating it is like being inside a book. "...You're safe and everything, but the book hasn't been checked out for a long, long time. All you can do is wait. Just hope somebody'll pick it up and start reading" (pg 232). I think O'Brien relates this and the story of Linda to all the soldiers he knew who passed. Although they are gone, the memories of them live on through stories like this one.

Motivation

Though it was funny in a way, I still thought chapter 20, Ghost Soldiers, was sort of creul. This time O'Brien depicts himself as revenge seeking pyscho. In this chapter O'Brien seeks revenge on Jorgenson for failing to help him properly after being shot. He sets up a detailled prank along with his friend Azar in order to scare Jorgenson. O'Brien admits completely that it was wrong- he even admits to having second thoughts about the whole idea. But he had the motivation- which caused him to make his move. "In the end, all i felt was that coldness down inside my chest. Number one: the guy had almost killed me. Number two: there had to be consequences" (pg 191). The motivation behind his plan was that Jorgenson had failed him in his time of need. Although Jorgenson may have deserved some sort of retaliation or anger from O'Brien, I really thought what O'Brien and Azar did was over the top.

Understatement vs Exaggeration

In chapter 20 I was able to discover an example of an understatement as well as an exaggeration. The understatement I found was after the author has been shot he hears the nurses discussing his injury. "Diaper rash, the nurses called it" (pg 182). O'Brien follows their statement by saying that their comment only makes him hate Jorgenson even more (Jorgenson is the doctor that wasnt able to treat him correctly after he was shot).
On the other end of the spectrum, in the next paragraph of this chapter the author exaggerates when describing danger. "You could still die of course- once a month we'd get hit with mortar fire- but you could also die in the bleachers at Met Stadium in Minneapolis, bases loaded, Harmon Killebrew coming to the plate" (pg 183). Although i suppose it is possible to die at Met Stadium, it is highly unlikely. The author uses this exaggeration to relate the sense of safety the soldiers had where he was now stationed (after being shot twice) to the sense of safety people have just about anywhere they go. No matter where a person goes there is always a possibitlity of danger. I chose to blog about these two examples because I found it interesting that O'Brien was able to use two opposite techniques so close together.

Stories

I love writing. Okay- maybe not required writing (like this right here, im not so enthused about it, sorry). But in general, writing for me is an outlet. It's a way to get things off my mind and off my chest. It helps me breathe a little lighter. I believe that O'Brien feels almost the exact opposite. on pg 172 he says "What Stories can do, I guess, is make things present. I can look at things I never looked at. I can attach faces to grief and love and pity and God. I can be brave. I can make myself feel again." What i gather from this is that O'Brien writes to relive the past. Unlike myself, O'Brien writes to revisit all the feelings. I find that kind of odd though because his stories are about the war- and for me atleast, I think it would be hard to revisit some of the memories he has captured in this story. O'Brien even sates on pg 171 "I want you to feel what I felt." Which makes me wonder if he writes these stories for himself or for his readers.. but really i think its a combination of both.

Metaphor

"A lost ball, he thought. Tired players searchign through the rouguh, sweeping back and forth in long systematic patterns" (pg 160). This metaphor is found in chapter17 as Lt Cross' men are searching for the lost body of their friend Kiowa. As the soldiers wade through a muddy field knee-deep in water, Lt. Cross imagines they are like golfers searching for their ball in the rough. This metaphor is really effective because it portrays the idea of hopelessness and longing to accomplish the impossible. An unending and annoying requirement of golf- which may be the reason why I'm not so fond of the sport. Similar to finding a needle in a haystack. But in the end, the soldiers are able to do just that. They find the body of Kiowa (or atleast what was left of it). It was really sad how O'Brien described the way that the search became less about finding Kiowa and more about being able to get out of that field. I think this metaphor helped me understand how the soldiers were feeling; aggrevated, tired, and doubtful just as a losing golfer would feel as he searches for his lost ball.

Mood

"It had been a hard night. Maube the worst ever. The rains had fallen without stop, and the Song Tra Bong had overglowed its banks, and the much had now risen thigh-deep in the field along the river. A low, gray mist hovered over the land. Off to the west there was thinder, soft little moaning sounds, and the monsoons seemed to be a loasting element of the war. The eighteen soldiers moved in silence" (pg 155). Through these few sentences, O'Brien effectively sets the mood for this chapter. Chapter 17 is one of the most negative and depressing chapters within the novel. It describes the death of Kiowa and the recovering of his mangled body. I think the way the author introduces this chapter really sets the reader up for the rest of its contents. Usually I dont feel too empathetic when reading books or watching movies; however, this book was different for me because it was real. Even more than that, the person telling the story was there. War doesn't seem real to me because i have never experienced it- so when O'Brien describes every detail about the weather and physical stress and every other negative aspect of the war, it catches my attention. When O'Brien sets a mood with all of his detail it makes the story come to life. Not only does it help me envision the events taking place, but it also helps me get into the mindset of what is happening.