Chapter 1

"The Things They Carried"

Important Sections of the Chapter

1). "The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water." (pg. 2) 

ANALYSIS

This quote belongs to the second paragraph of this first chapter and it is the fragment that explains why Tim O'Brien entitled his novel "The Things They Carried". 

The sentence that initiates it is the same as the title of the novel and through the entire chapter it is constantly repeated. But the doubt lies in the reason for why the author deliberately does this. O'Brien uses the sentence "the things they carried", to inform the audience of the physical items the American soldiers held in their possession while in Vietnam. 

The word they in the expression refers to the American soldiers of the platoon and the word things, comprises the materials each soldier was force to take to war. The fact that the verb carried follows things is just a symbolism that the author uses to say that they were not pleasant possessions to hold, but burdens.

As well, necessities are mentioned as part of "the things they carried" and this is because O'Brien wants the readers to understand what types of equipment soldiers took to war as a manner of prevention. 

2). "Almost everyone humped photographs. In his wallet, Lieutenant Cross carried two photographs of Martha." (pg. 4)

ANALYSIS

In this fragment, photographs are regarded as doors to the soul. They are valuable possessions that as the quote states: "almost everyone humped", because they remind the soldiers of what they have left behind (families, girlfriends, buddies) and incentive them to keep moving forward and with luck, survive the war. 

The fact that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries two photographs of Martha (his everlasting love) in his wallet, reveals the true extent of his passion and love for her; he considers her an important part of his life, an incentive to come back, so important that he needs to have her with him, even in the worst times, as war is.  

3). "...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." (pg. 9)

ANALYSIS 

This quote talks about the Lieutenant's love for Martha. Although she has never written him that she loves him back, Cross fantasizes that she does and it is this made-up love what gives him the strength to continue in the war, to lead his men and return home.

The fact that the Lieutenant's daydreams take place in a beach, next to Martha, where he is carrying "nothing" symbolizes how he desperately wants to be free, how he wants to leave the war and become a free young man again, with no bounds holding him back and with no preoccupation for his life or the lives of others. 

4). "...the equipment was a stress in the lower back and shoulders, awkward to handle, often useless because of the shrapnel of the earth, but they carried it anyway, partly for safety, partly for the illusion of safety..." (pg. 9)

ANALYSIS 

Here, the author is talking about how the things the soldiers carried varied by mission. He gives a brief description of the equipment men found necessary and how, when they knew the place to be bad, they carried everything they could. 

O'Brien makes an interesting reference to a specific type of equipment, a 28-pound mine detector, that was "often useless". He says that the soldiers carried it anyway "partly for safety, partly for the illusion of safety" which shows that these men trusted things that were big and heavy because they believed that they would protect them and it was this illusion, the idea of being safe, that helped them move forward.   

5). "In some respects, though not many, the waiting was worse than the tunnel itself. Imagination was a killer." (pg. 11) 

ANALYSIS 

One of the missions that the soldiers had, was destroying the tunnels built by the Vietnamese. One soldier, chosen out of luck, went inside the tunnel while the others stayed outside as security. 

The essence of this fragment is not how the mission was conducted. The main point is that the author is trying to explain how the worst enemy for any soldier at war was their imagination because it enabled them to consider the more dreadful  environments and scenarios in places like the tunnels or even in the moments of war, which in turn would paralyze them with fear and anguish, and most likely, get them killed.       

6). "...and because he realized she did not love him and never would.." (pg. 17)

ANALYSIS 

This fragment follows the death of Ted Lavender when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross blames himself for it. Here, realization sinks in the Lieutenant's mind and he realizes that Martha will never love him. This triggers his crying which is a manifestation of this man's vulnerability showing that he does care for the men in his platoon. 

Lieutenant Cross also realizes that he needs to be there, both physically and mentally, with his men in order to survive the war and that he cannot afford anymore distractions or daydreams that will never occur. In a sense, this quote is where he losses the ability to dream of hope.    

7). "They were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it." (pg. 20)

ANALYSIS 

This and the quotes following below belong to the climax of this first chapter. They explain the meaning of the phrase "The Things they Carried" and this particular first one deals with the fact that soldiers are children inside, scared and frightened with their surroundings. They fear the sound of the guns, the blood gushing from others,  and death.

However, a soldier's greatest fear is showing that they are afraid of dying because it would make them look vulnerable and weak, poses that soldiers could not manage to afford in war because to their countries, families, nations and the entire world, they were regarded as heroes;  "brave".     

8). "They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing - these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. 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, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture. They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment." (pg. 21) 

ANALYSIS 

The essence or climax of this first chapter is summarized in the phrases above. In them, the true meaning of the sentence "The Things They Carried" is unveiled because they explain that the greatest burden the soldiers carried was not materialistic, but emotional. 

Each held to a feeling that went with him throughout the war (longing, love, fear) that became their greatest burdens since they could never be put down or forgotten. Tim O'Brien makes emphasis on the fact that the greatest burden of a soldier was the "fear of blushing" which is just a mere expression that symbolizes "the fear of what society will say, the fear of being considered a coward". He states that this, in many respects, was the heaviest burden of all, because it accompanied them on their long journeys, at nights, and in their missions; never put down, never mitigated. 

O'Brien also says that this burden was the one that brought all soldiers to the war, which means that even though they didn't want to fight, didn't want to be regarded as heroes and might even disagree with the cruelty of war, they would always agree to be in it because of their fear of embarrassment and because of the fear of what others might think if they decided not to be in it. 

This was the truth of all the members of the platoon and the point of this paragraph is to lead the reader to reflection and make him ask himself: Who is truly a coward? The one who goes to war, not wanting to, but because he's afraid of what others might think of him? Or the one who decides not to fight because he's afraid of dying?