He loved her so much. On the march, through the hot days of early April, he carried the pebble in his mouth, turning it with his tongue, tasting sea salt and moisture. His mind wandered. He had difficulty keeping his attention on the war. On occasion he would yell at his men to spread out the column, to keep their eyes open, but then he would slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey Shore, with Martha, carrying nothing. He would feel himself rising. Sun and waves and gentle winds, all love and lightness. (O’Brien 8)
This is an excerpt from Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” I chose this quote because it’s from a story where O’Brien practices a fair amount of discipline in his writing. Some of O’Brien’s writing is emotional and overstated, but this story in particular is very precise, understated, and almost clinical. Yet this makes the emotion underneath the story have that much more impact. It is interesting that when O’Brien talks matter-of-factly about the weight of a full magazine (5), I feel more of an emotional connection to his experience then when he talks about being in a boat off the shore of Canada crying, seemingly with the weight of the world on his shoulders (53-57). The beauty of his writing in this story is that he shows restraint; He doesn’t talk overtly about his feelings and struggle so that it feels like you’re being smothered with it. In fact, he seldom talks about feelings at all during this story. The feelings are implied, however, and stronger felt for that.
In the story, O’Brien describes the weight of every item that is carried by soldiers during their tours. At first, this makes for some rather dry reading. However, as the list of the items they are burdened with continues, the reader is forced to contemplate the weight of these items emotionally. Almost each item that they carry is a reminder either of their own proximity to a gruesome death, or their role to carry out such a gruesome death to someone else. They are in Vietnam to kill or be killed, and they are aware of it every second of every day because of all the things they carry with them. A 60-pound backpack is not light, but how much more heavy for them when it carries that much emotional baggage? This passage makes an impact because in it O’Brien expresses the desire that they all secretly share. The desire is not for Martha, or the Jersey Shore, but simply to lay their burdens down and enjoy the feeling of “carrying nothing.”
Here is a link about the power of an understated writing style
Works Cited
O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." The Things They Carried. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
O'Brien, Tim. "On the Rainy River." The Things They Carried. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
Image:
Lawrie, Lee and Chambellan, Rene Paul. Atlas. Image found at:http://www.brorson.com/M4Bus/NYPL.html
Lani H Said:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the passage you choose; I agree that it is a smoother passage than much of his work. “The Things They Carried” is a powerful work, because it is a simple and direct story of way the young soldiers felt about the time they spent in Vietnam. I really think you hit the nail on its head, when you point out that the thing they carried not only had weight but also had an emotional burden. It is the deepest desire of any soldier to “lay his or her burdens down.” Nice job.
Also, as a photographer, I really enjoyed the “look” of your site. It is very nice.
I really enjoyed your post and the passage you choose. Now I have a better understanding of the passage. I liked where you wrote “they desire to lay their burdens and enjoy the feeling of carrying nothing.” I think most of us felted a connection with his experience “On the Rainy Rive” because in one point your life you just feel a need to runaway. Once again, I liked your post.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is very great section in this book. I thought it was pretty much the best depiction of a scene in a book that I've read. Very good post and very thorough.
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