Mental Load
In Tim O´ Brien´s “The Things They Carried” soldiers carry plenty of physical weight depending on necessity; however, mental stresses are heavier. The fear of death is a burden that the characters carry as well as nostalgia for their love ones. The heavy war equipment that they carry for survival, Kiowa´s trauma of Ted Lavender´s death and Lieutenant Cross concern of another tragedy happening are all signs of their fear of death. Equally, materialistic memories, reminiscence and Lieutenant Cross’ obvious obsession for Martha are all signs of a burden of nostalgia.
To begin with, the most noticeable burden is fear of death; it is heavier on their shoulders than any other thing. In her literary criticism on the story, Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton writes “Ted Lavender, the narrator notes, ‘went down under an exceptional burden’ when he …show more content…
The war equipment that they carry creates a stress in their bodies that they accept for the illusion of safety and surviving another day. As the narrator states “28-pound mine detector, the equipment was a stress on their lower back and shoulders, often useless because of the shrapnel in the earth, but they carried it anyway, partly for safety, partly for the illusion of safety” (372). This text suggests how fear acts on them and how they would prefer any physical exhaustion to avoid death. Which is around the corner. Death surround the soldiers, having one of their mates kill, and they experience how their fear could turn into reality in a matter of seconds. Just as soldier Kiowa had it deeply rooted in his mind. The narrator describes how “[Kiowa] tried not to think about Ted Lavender, but then he was thinking how fast it was, no drama, down dead.” (378). Terrorize by death, Kiowa instead of falling into a state of sadness like Lieutenant Cross, he feels joy for not being him the misfortune one. There is a certain irony on Ted Lavenders’ death; the soldier who
In Tim O´ Brien´s “The Things They Carried” soldiers carry plenty of physical weight depending on necessity; however, mental stresses are heavier. The fear of death is a burden that the characters carry as well as nostalgia for their love ones. The heavy war equipment that they carry for survival, Kiowa´s trauma of Ted Lavender´s death and Lieutenant Cross concern of another tragedy happening are all signs of their fear of death. Equally, materialistic memories, reminiscence and Lieutenant Cross’ obvious obsession for Martha are all signs of a burden of nostalgia.
To begin with, the most noticeable burden is fear of death; it is heavier on their shoulders than any other thing. In her literary criticism on the story, Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton writes “Ted Lavender, the narrator notes, ‘went down under an exceptional burden’ when he …show more content…
The war equipment that they carry creates a stress in their bodies that they accept for the illusion of safety and surviving another day. As the narrator states “28-pound mine detector, the equipment was a stress on their lower back and shoulders, often useless because of the shrapnel in the earth, but they carried it anyway, partly for safety, partly for the illusion of safety” (372). This text suggests how fear acts on them and how they would prefer any physical exhaustion to avoid death. Which is around the corner. Death surround the soldiers, having one of their mates kill, and they experience how their fear could turn into reality in a matter of seconds. Just as soldier Kiowa had it deeply rooted in his mind. The narrator describes how “[Kiowa] tried not to think about Ted Lavender, but then he was thinking how fast it was, no drama, down dead.” (378). Terrorize by death, Kiowa instead of falling into a state of sadness like Lieutenant Cross, he feels joy for not being him the misfortune one. There is a certain irony on Ted Lavenders’ death; the soldier who