The Things They Carried

The title says it all really. Tim O'Brien was very successful in comparing what the soldiers were actually carrying and what they were carrying emotionally and psychologically. In a way, Tim was trying to tell us that the soldiers did have the burden of carrying heavy equipment and worrying about dying, but the underlying theme was that each and every soldier has an important story to tell, and just showing what they did and what they carried does not do anything for somebody who wants to know how the soldiers truly felt after what they experienced. He does this by listing the many different items they have to carry. He tells us the exact weights and descriptions of every little piece of equipment, but this is like any old war story right? He then goes on to describing how the men also carried a heavy heart, that had to weigh the most, and how all of their thoughts are heavy as well. These comparisons of physical weight compared to mental and emotional weight help us relate how unimportant the rest of the world is when all you can feel is the weight of your own feelings. How can we look back at a war and read about the battle tactics and how the United States lost because we implemented the wrong strategy, when all we need to do is feel the weight of the war through a soldier's eyes. I guess all we can really do is look back and say 'Oh.'