The Things They Carried Memory Analysis

Memory is a crucial concept in "The Things They Carried." While being a conventional ability, it is apparent that it contains its own misconstruction. Memory, which is the act of encoding and retrieving information, is vital in everyday life, while allowing individuals to recall both the positive and negative aspects. The readers are a witness to how memory is highlighted throughout the novel and are shown how memory is indeed significant. This novel provides the reader with an insight to the raw emotion and the instinctive capability of memory at war. Not only do weapons keep you protected, but they can also can kill you, memory itself does the same. Tim O’Brien, both the narrator and author uses stories to express his memories onto paper …show more content…
Jimmy Cross was sent a pebble from Martha along with letters. Here from these tangible objects he began to let his mind wander, having difficulty paying "attention to the war." Both objects symbolize this emotional tie, he has, which he inevitability obliterates. Although these memories allow him to escape the war and diminish trauma, they also become too powerful allowing his mind to slip away at any given moment. This is why he burns the letters, and supposedly disposes of the pebble. Henry Dobbins, another solider, also carried an object that projected his emotions and memories. He carried his girl-friend 's pantyhose. This "eccentricity," was considered a good luck charm, providing him with peace. "He liked the memories this inspired," as stated in the novel, showing the direct correlation between the symbol of the pantyhose, the revival of memories, to the recollection of prior events. These two instances show the disposition of memory and how its significance is both favourable and …show more content…
The interrelated short stories allow for O’Brien to express his perspectives on events relative to his life. When doing so he is building the story based on his memories.

In relation to stories, the truth in "The Things They Carried," is not always regarded as being felicitous. Rather, it is the untruth and misconception of truth which leads us to the main concepts of the story. Though the fluidity of truth is what sets it apart from the thought provoking nature of the misconception of truth. Norman Bowker is one soldier who faces the harsh reality of truth. He was unable to save a fellow soldier, making the memory and the truth remain constant in his mind until he could not bear it anymore.

However, the fictional truth that O 'Brien displays shows the idea that memories do not always suffice as evidence. They can alter, change and no matter the circumstance they do not justify a whole event, as they are not a copy of experience by rather reconstructions. He shows that false memories prevail while at war, specifically as mentioned in the Man I