What might a person carry throughout their daily routine? A woman may carry her purse and a man may carry his wallet and phone. These objects are physical items which a person can carry, however, one may not think of the emotional or psychological burdens a person carries throughout their daily life. The stress of paying the bills is what someone can figuratively carry. So as the day goes by, in the back of their head they are thinking of the long hours they need to work in order to pay their monthly rent. Mostly everyone carries something and in The Things They Carried, Tim O' Brien constantly describes the physical items the young soldiers carried throughout their time in the Vietnam war. However, not only does O' Brien describes each
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For instance, Ted Lavender carried tranquilizers, more than 20 pounds of ammunition, and six to seven ounces of marijuana. The reader can infer that Lavender cannot handle the war and is fearful, since he takes drugs and carries more ammunition than an average soldier. O' Brien repeatedly brought up Ted Lavender and constantly mentioned how Lavender carried drugs and extra ammunition. It seems that O' Brien did this to portray how Ted Lavender as a representation of fear which is a consistent theme mentioned throughout the book. Although Lavender was not afraid to show his fear of war, since the soldiers knew that taking drugs was a way for Lavender to deal with war, he is still the representation of fear because he fears the war which is why he takes the drugs and carries the extra ammunition. However, when the soldiers carry fear, they carry the fear of embarrassment. So “some carried themselves with a sort of wistful resignation, others with pride or stiff soldierly discipline or good humor or macho zeal. They were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it” (19). In this case the word carry means to behave or comport oneself. The soldiers feared that if they showed any traits of weakness such as cowardice, sympathy, or terror then they would not meet the ideal image of the soldier who is characterize as brave, heroic, and
For instance, Ted Lavender carried tranquilizers, more than 20 pounds of ammunition, and six to seven ounces of marijuana. The reader can infer that Lavender cannot handle the war and is fearful, since he takes drugs and carries more ammunition than an average soldier. O' Brien repeatedly brought up Ted Lavender and constantly mentioned how Lavender carried drugs and extra ammunition. It seems that O' Brien did this to portray how Ted Lavender as a representation of fear which is a consistent theme mentioned throughout the book. Although Lavender was not afraid to show his fear of war, since the soldiers knew that taking drugs was a way for Lavender to deal with war, he is still the representation of fear because he fears the war which is why he takes the drugs and carries the extra ammunition. However, when the soldiers carry fear, they carry the fear of embarrassment. So “some carried themselves with a sort of wistful resignation, others with pride or stiff soldierly discipline or good humor or macho zeal. They were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it” (19). In this case the word carry means to behave or comport oneself. The soldiers feared that if they showed any traits of weakness such as cowardice, sympathy, or terror then they would not meet the ideal image of the soldier who is characterize as brave, heroic, and