The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a story that takes place during the Vietnam war. As the reader, we’re shown how the physical items a soldier carries can weigh them down. Yet, we’re shown that mental struggles will almost always outweigh the physical struggles because they can’t be put down. The author uses specific stories, details, diction and the setting to make the story effective and keep the reader’s attention. As the reader, we use these details and context clues to form a conclusion about how war impacts a soldier. The narrator begins the story by describing multiple soldiers and the items they carry with them. Additionally, he adds how much each item weighs. For example, “On their feet they carried jungle boots-2.1 pounds-and Dave Jensen carried three pairs of socks” (389). The reference to the socks allows the reader to make a connection to a common item the soldier carries. Also, throughout the story the author chooses to add the weights of the items, like he does when he describes the boots. This affects the reader because we can see how the items are piling up on the soldiers. By describing how much the items weigh, we’re shown how carrying various items and weights can …show more content…
They carried lice and ringworm and leeches and paddy algae and various rots and molds. They carried the land itself--Vietnam, the place, the soil--a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues and faces” (395). These details show the rawness of war and it impacts the reader because we feel empathy for them, if they’re contracting vulgar diseases. It also provides a mental image of their unsanitary living conditions and the land of Vietnam. From this statement we learn about where they’re fighting and the sicknesses present in Vietnam. It also shows how the setting is important to the story. If they weren’t in Vietnam, there wouldn’t be a story because there wouldn’t be a