"The Things They Carried" - Tim O'Brien

This was a remarkable story. Anytime I read about war, it always makes me so grateful to live in America, shielded from any real contact with violence and pain. The soldiers that were in Vietnam were amazing men - to go through all the horrors they faced takes a lot of good, old-fashioned guts. But they did it, and many of them even lived through it.

This story gave a very different way of looking at the war, and the soldiers specifically. By considering the "things they carried," we can learn so much about each man as an individual, and also the more general impressions of what being a soldier is like.

As far as writing style, this is actually similar to Joyce's story - the way dialogue is dealt with, etc. But this is so much more interesting! The quick changes from serious action to a simple listing and describing of the weapons they carry is very effective. Those breaks between the story do not lose our attention, but actually capture it more. I find it all very well written.

Some favorite quotes:

"They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack."

"He carried a strobe light, and the responsibility for the lives of his men."

"The typical load was 25 rounds. But Ted Lavendar, who was scared, carried 34 rounds. . . "

"They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried."

"Vaguely, he was aware of how quiet the day was, the sullen paddies, yet he could not bring himself to worry about matters of security. He was beyond that. He was just a kid at war, in love. he was twenty-four years old. He couldn't help it."

"They shared the weight of memory. They took up what the other could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak."

". . . and for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainity that they would never be at a loss for things to carry."

"After a moment Norman Bowker sat up in the dark. What the hell, he said. You want to talk, talk. Tell it to me. Forget it. No, man, go on. One thing I hate, it's a silent Indian."

"There were numerous such poses. 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 were even more afraid to show it."

"It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do."

"He might just shrug and say, Carry on, and then they would saddle up and form into a column and move out toward the villages west of Than Khe."

This final sentence is not only talking about the group of soldiers, and where they will go physically in the coming weeks. It also refers to Lt. Cross, and what he is going to have to do the rest of his life - tell himself to "Carry on" and continue to move away from Than Khe. This burden is one he will carry for the rest of his life.