“They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in
many respects this was the heaviest burden of all” (Tim O’Brien, 262).
many respects this was the heaviest burden of all” (Tim O’Brien, 262).
“It was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards”
(Tim O’Brien, 262).
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story about a squadron where it describes all that the
soldiers carry and shows how devastating a war can be. While there are some things that they carry that
are the same, other things are unique to each person.
Saying that “the object was not valor” in a short story about war is showing that going to war is not
something that should be praised. While we hear and see people eager to join the army and excited to
fight, that is not what military service is like. By using the phrase “they” these sentences are showing
that there is a communal aspect to the military. None of them wanted to be seen as cowards and so
instead of them seeing it as bravery, they see it as they are more afraid of being afraid than they are of
being in the war. It is similar to doing something you don’t want to because you are afraid to challenge
the system.
Additionally, throughout the story we see the main character constantly giving us the exact weights
of the items that they have to carry and it adds up to dozens of pounds, but then he says that the secret
cowardice is “in many respects… the heaviest burden of all”. When somebody is going through
many different things emotionally, then people would say that they are under a lot of pressure. The
fact that someone in the army would admit that something in the mind can weigh more than something
that they have to physically carry shows just how potent emotions are and how burdensome negative
emotions can be, not only on a person’s emotional state, but on their physical well-being.
This short story does not paint the picture of war being full of battle and glory. The picture some
people believe it to be. The soldiers are actually real people and they carry things that they believe they
need. Sometimes they actually need to carry an object because it pertains to a certain mission or task
they have to complete like all of the weapons they carry, but other things like candy, a bible, pictures,
and the finger from a dead kid, they think they need. Since we don’t know them and since it’s a story,
we can only analyze why they might need such an object, but the actual value of that object isn’t
known. It’s easy to see everyone in the army as bad or if they aren’t bad, to not see them as individuals,
but from these sentences and the short story we can see that they are regular people who at the end of
the day, have to deal with some of the same issues as others. Furthermore, it’s not like they enjoy killing
people or they enjoy being in the war, rather “they were too frightened to be cowards.” That being
said, “The Things They Carried” is showing that not everybody in the army is all gung-ho, and they
still feel emotions like everyone else. Just because they carry weapons of mass destruction, doesn’t
mean they don’t carry the doubt, fear, and other emotions that plague all of humanity.
(Tim O’Brien, 262).
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story about a squadron where it describes all that the
soldiers carry and shows how devastating a war can be. While there are some things that they carry that
are the same, other things are unique to each person.
Saying that “the object was not valor” in a short story about war is showing that going to war is not
something that should be praised. While we hear and see people eager to join the army and excited to
fight, that is not what military service is like. By using the phrase “they” these sentences are showing
that there is a communal aspect to the military. None of them wanted to be seen as cowards and so
instead of them seeing it as bravery, they see it as they are more afraid of being afraid than they are of
being in the war. It is similar to doing something you don’t want to because you are afraid to challenge
the system.
Additionally, throughout the story we see the main character constantly giving us the exact weights
of the items that they have to carry and it adds up to dozens of pounds, but then he says that the secret
cowardice is “in many respects… the heaviest burden of all”. When somebody is going through
many different things emotionally, then people would say that they are under a lot of pressure. The
fact that someone in the army would admit that something in the mind can weigh more than something
that they have to physically carry shows just how potent emotions are and how burdensome negative
emotions can be, not only on a person’s emotional state, but on their physical well-being.
This short story does not paint the picture of war being full of battle and glory. The picture some
people believe it to be. The soldiers are actually real people and they carry things that they believe they
need. Sometimes they actually need to carry an object because it pertains to a certain mission or task
they have to complete like all of the weapons they carry, but other things like candy, a bible, pictures,
and the finger from a dead kid, they think they need. Since we don’t know them and since it’s a story,
we can only analyze why they might need such an object, but the actual value of that object isn’t
known. It’s easy to see everyone in the army as bad or if they aren’t bad, to not see them as individuals,
but from these sentences and the short story we can see that they are regular people who at the end of
the day, have to deal with some of the same issues as others. Furthermore, it’s not like they enjoy killing
people or they enjoy being in the war, rather “they were too frightened to be cowards.” That being
said, “The Things They Carried” is showing that not everybody in the army is all gung-ho, and they
still feel emotions like everyone else. Just because they carry weapons of mass destruction, doesn’t
mean they don’t carry the doubt, fear, and other emotions that plague all of humanity.
