In this story, O"Brien writes about the intangible things that the soldiers carry with them such as memories and fears and also the actual material things that they carried. ... The intangible things are not easily thrown away but are rather endured over a long period of time. ... The things that they carried defined what kind of person that they were as well as their status or position in the army. These material things that they carried showed the reality of the war. ... The characters in this story have to deal with it and O"Brien shows the many different ways that they do deal wit...

• Word Count: 459
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The Things They Carried is not only a book about fighting and brotherhood, but a book about the internal secrets and conflicts of men at war. ... Jimmy Cross" change in character is just the beginning of The Things They Carried. ... The Things They Carried is in many ways different from other classic war tales. ... The Things They Carried was also a way for O"Brien to bring back to life his dead comrades. ... This is not so in The Things They Carried. ...

• Word Count: 982
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

How does death affect the behavior of people? ... This is the reason that causes the characters in a book called, The Things They Carried, by Tim O"Brien to have to change due to their situation. ... He makes jokes, he knows its not funny, but he makes jokes. He makes jokes not for others, but for himself. ... In order to handle the war, the men had to ease the anxiety of death, they had to feature certain actions to do that. ...

• Word Count: 1194
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Here we live in a world where money is the most important thing to everyone, where as honor and how you carry the family name are important to the characters in the book. ... It takes a toll on everyone involved; it is like when the person sick is not doing so well, that everyone else around them is feeling the same. ... But even though they live in the same culture they do three totally different things. ... Throughout the entire story, all the characters are faced with honor. ... We find that the lifestyles in which they lived in are based on things other cultures don't believe in. ...

• Word Count: 825
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School