Yo-Yo Knots In the novel The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien there are many different rituals of war and symbols of rituals that are portrayed throughout the story. While many rituals and superstitions are apparent throughout the novel, the ones that will be discussed in this paper will be focused on Mitchell Sanders and his yo-yo. Mitchell Sanders is a steady character throughout the novel and while his yo-yo is only mentioned in one chapter, it can relate to many different stories and parts of the books. The yo-yo that Sanders keeps with him can be seen as a metaphor for life. Sometimes, or even most of the time you are rolled up tight, safe and sound, completely whole, one individual together. But once in a while you like to
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The items that each individual carried were interesting because they all symbolized something for those people. For Mitchell Sanders, he carried a yo-yo which was a symbol of how smooth his own inner yo-yo stayed throughout the war. Everyone resorts to a simpler way of life when they are lost in a scary situation, and in war that kind of situation happens a lot. For Sanders the yo-yo was something that reminded him of home, a toy that is easy and simple to use, but also it kept his inner yo-yo calm and collected as a result which is an impressive thing to have during the war. Throughout the novel we see soldiers reverting to childhood ways and games when they are in times of extremeness. We learn about people and how their lives get tangled in knots via the war. Rat Kiley, Norman Bowker, Tim O’Brien, and many others learned about their inner yo-yo’s throughout the novel and wrestled with the knots inside of them. For some, it is a simple untangle and they continue on with the up and down movement of their yo-yo lives. For others, such as Curt Lemon or Norman Bowker the up and down movement is too much or too radical; That tangle or knot in their string becomes something that continually stalls their life, and they may never overcome it, until it becomes too much and the yo-yo breaks
The items that each individual carried were interesting because they all symbolized something for those people. For Mitchell Sanders, he carried a yo-yo which was a symbol of how smooth his own inner yo-yo stayed throughout the war. Everyone resorts to a simpler way of life when they are lost in a scary situation, and in war that kind of situation happens a lot. For Sanders the yo-yo was something that reminded him of home, a toy that is easy and simple to use, but also it kept his inner yo-yo calm and collected as a result which is an impressive thing to have during the war. Throughout the novel we see soldiers reverting to childhood ways and games when they are in times of extremeness. We learn about people and how their lives get tangled in knots via the war. Rat Kiley, Norman Bowker, Tim O’Brien, and many others learned about their inner yo-yo’s throughout the novel and wrestled with the knots inside of them. For some, it is a simple untangle and they continue on with the up and down movement of their yo-yo lives. For others, such as Curt Lemon or Norman Bowker the up and down movement is too much or too radical; That tangle or knot in their string becomes something that continually stalls their life, and they may never overcome it, until it becomes too much and the yo-yo breaks