The Things They Carried ~ Tim O

1
The Things They Carried Tim OBrien

• Symbolism
• Dead Vietnamese Soldier guilt inside the basic
  nature of mankind
• The Young Water Buffalo end of innocence
• Linda looking at the past maintaining
  faith/sanity through storytelling

2
Major Themes

• Burdens (the things we carry)
• Emotional
• Physical
• The Ultimate Motivator Shame
• What compels each of us to avoid shame?
• Subjectivity of Truth
• Is there truly any objectivity?

3
Motifs recurrent literary structures

• Loneliness and Isolation
• How does this affect the characters? You?
• Storytelling
• Is everything really just another story?
• Situational Morality
• How do we get to the point of it depends?

4
Storytelling

• From Notes pp. 157-158
• Telling stories seemed a natural, inevitable
  process, like clearing the throat. Partly
  catharsis, partly communication, it was a way of
  grabbing people by the shirt and explaining
  exactly what had happened to me.
• By telling stories, you objectify your own
  experience. You separate it from yourself. You
  pin down certain truths. You make up others
• What is the connection between
• storytelling and dreams?

5
Paired Discussion

• What is a Burden?
• Consider How do physical burdens differ from
  emotional ones?
• How do we acquire burdens?
• How do we escape our burdens?