The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis

Informal 4 In the first story, “The Things They Carried,” there was an abundance of repetition. O’Brien consistently mentions different weights and things the men carry around with him throughout the war. O’Brien says, “In addition to the three standard weapons—the M-60, M-16, and M-79—they carried whatever presented itself, or whatever seemed appropriate as a means of killing or staying alive (7).” This is only one example of the many things the men had to carry. All of this is leading up to the fact the heaviest things they carry are emotions. Repetition is seen throughout the entire novel. It is O’Brien’s way of telling his stories. I believe he uses this method to illustrate how consistent soldiers think about their times overseas. From a psychological view, talking it all out may be his way of recalling information he repressed and each story brings about new information. …show more content…
It is extremely overwhelming. They have to literally carry around a lot of supplies, but they are also struggling with emotional heaviness as well. Not only during war, but after as well. This is why repetition is such a big theme throughout this text. The emotional stress during war causes effects post war and is unforgettable. Hence, why he is retelling stories so many times—a soldier can never forget these memories. The terrible things that the soldier witnessed while in Vietnam that they cannot forget tells us how awful things were over there. They probably saw/ had to do some very inhumane