Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (Part 2)

    Before I did the next part of the reading, I thought to myself...what do I see when I think about the Vietnam War.


This is the first image that comes to mind. This is a famous photograph taken after a napalm attack. This image of cruelty and violence is what I see.

The next thing I think of is a personal connection, my dad was drafted but intentionally failed the mental health standards so didn't have to fight. However, many of his friends were drafted and died while fighting. So I think of protests and resistance against the war.



They carried weapons, I visual machine guns and lots of ammo. I recall the weight of lifting a rifle at a shooting range, I could barely lift it with both hands. I imagine how physically straining carrying 3 weapons would be.

On 607, I feel the weightlessness of the small pebble Martha gave Jim. I imagine a balance scale that has the weight Jim carries on one side and the weight that Martha carries on the other. Jim carries the weight of his life, his men's lives, and a responsibility to his country. Martha carries a love of poetry, and college life. 

"Imagination was a killer." (p 608) This line leads me to predict that Jim's imagination was going to get him in a serious situation.

When Jim has to stand watch on a tunnel mission, his mind wanders and he day dreams of Martha. "he was not there." (p 608) His mind is far away, thinking of Martha and where he should be, with her. He cannot handle all the weight he has been given to carry. "He was just a kid at war, in love." ( p 609) I thought of the contrast of love and war and how love was the message of peace which is the opposite of war. I thought this is a powerful line that really explains the emotional condition of Jim.



1 comment:

  1. Great pics and interesting interpretation of the story. I think you know the story well and help me to better understand it.

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