The many themes in The Things They Carried start to unfold within the first two chapters. Tim O’Brien begins the first chapter, The Things They Carried, by naming physical items throughout the chapter of what the soldiers carried. However, no matter how heavy the load of the physical items, the weight could never outshine the emotional heaviness that each of the soldiers had. Along with the necessities O’Brien lists, each soldier is also defined with a certain item. Henry Dobbins carried his “girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck” symbolized as a sign of comfort, and love for Henry’s girlfriend. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried a pebble within his mouth, from Martha. Jimmy fantasizes and longs for Martha to love him, yet knows that love is far from what Martha feels for Jimmy. Martha writes Jimmy notes throughout his time in the war, and once wrote of the pebble. Within the letter, Martha explains how the pebble was acquired where the land and the sea “came together, but separated” much like the relationship between Martha and Jimmy. Through the letters, Martha and Jimmy are together. In Jimmy’s mind, Martha and himself are together. And in Jimmy’s heart, the two are together. However, Jimmy being at war and Martha being miles away from him, the two are apart. The two are also apart in the fact that Martha doesn’t love Jimmy like he desires.
Death is an evident occurrence in wars, and death is bound to happen. After Ted Lavender’s death, Jimmy Cross puts the blame entirely upon himself. Martha being engulfed in Jimmy’s brain, all of his focus was put upon her instead of the protection of the men. After Ted Lavender was shot in the head, Jimmy blames himself for not being focused on the wellbeing of his fellow soldiers. Jimmy knows erasing Martha from his mind is all he can do. Jimmy began burning Martha’s letters and photographs the morning after Ted Lavender’s death. Tim O’Brien writes of “a steady rain falling” on the morning that Martha’s items were being burned. Symbolization of the rain is that Jimmy is freeing himself of the heavy burden he’s carrying; purifying himself of Martha and the sin of being responsible for Ted Lavender’s death.
In the chapter Love, the reader uncovers that Tim O’Brien is not only the author of the story, but is also the main character within the story. O’Brien is writing of his occurrences in the war, and writes of his friends, feelings, and experiences. Love opens up where Lieutenant Cross is conversing with O’Brien. The subject of Martha comes up, and Cross explains how he saw her at a reunion, and discovered that she “never got married, and probably never would” which obfuscated Cross. Cross recites of how he shared with Martha his feelings for her from over the years, yet Martha shows no sign of interest or love in return. In the end of the chapter, O’Brien asks Cross’s permission as to if it’s okay if O’Brien writes a story of some of the occurrences they’ve experienced. Cross agrees as long as O’Brien doesn’t “mention anything about…” and the reader is left hovering about that thought. So did Tim O’Brien ever put in the story what Cross told him not to? Or did O’Brien write about it anyways, and go against his promise to Cross? Later on in the story the reader may find out, or maybe that’s a “thing the [reader] will carry.”
Along with the symbolism and themes, O’Brien paints brilliant imagery within the story. As O’Brien speaks of the feelings he encounters as to whether he should run away or go to war, O’Brien “wants you to actually feel it” which is exactly what he accomplishes. The “terrible squeezing pressure in his chest” and being only “twenty one years old” facing the pressure of giving up your dreams to be forced into war. Asking himself and the reader questions of “would you feel pity for yourself? Would you think about your family and childhood and your dreams and all you’re leaving behind? Would you cry?” What would you do if you were being forced to go into war? The trepidation and reluctance that O’Brien felt is put into words explicitly as to the emotions that O’Brien endured.
