The Things They Carried: Intangibles

I’ve learned and reflected on so much history of the Vietnam war that The Things They Carried had a profound effect on me. It immediately had me immersed in the setting, the characters, and their stories. However, there is a lesson in these sentences that brought me back to the story, which led me to reflect on the entire period of time (the timeline of the war) again. I found these sentences to be strong tellers of what the story was about, but also carriers of something new to learn in their individuality.<br> Throughout the story, Tim O’Brien details what the group of soldiers carries. Every item had a deeper effect on each character and a back-story. Some tangible, and others intangible. However, the group lacked something they carried that brought them together, until this sentence; “They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried”. First, the sentence highlights how the characters had to over-exert themselves in order to survive and live through difficult events. They carried “all they could bear”, telling readers of their strenuous journeys, “and then some” only indicating their struggles further. For example, following the death of Ted Lavender, not only did they have to deal with the death of a comrade but also what he had carried, his tranquilizers and so forth. In that sense “and then some” could not only be meant to extend the weight of their struggles but how the weight of what they carry accumulates. It would have made sense to leave “and then some” out, but I interpret it as an intentional bridge to see that the characters had carried a bit off one another, amounting to an incredibly heart-rending ethos.<br> The next part of the sentence shows that the is group aware of how each of them carries a heavy, intangible weight. In addition, the phrase provokes me to think about the soldiers’ past actions, and how their futures have been permanently altered. For example, the word choice of a “silent awe” leads me to believe that their understanding and interpretations of all that they have carried is mutual. As the characters become numb, some more than others, they are connected in that common understanding. The life-changing realization that they are alone in this conflict between peoples, seems more tangible when they see others in the same position. Everyone seeks a further understanding of “things” and the group found that in themselves and each other. <br> Finally, the “terrible power” of what they carried seems to be a show of the way war can change a soldier’s mind. I can’t help but think about Norman Bowker’s thumb that he carries; such a bizarre and gruesome tangible to carry, but it meant something to him. “Terrible” in this setting gives me a feeling of “something bad has happened, what now?”. That said, this sentence is a strong example of the hardships the characters when through, but also provides readers a complex foundation to interpret the soldiers’ experiences. <br>