The Intangible Burdens

       In The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien, describes the things that a group of American soldiers are each carrying in the Vietnam War. He also includes the weights of each of these objects to emphasize the heaviness of these physical burdens. However, throughout the whole story, O'Brien implies the message that the intangible burdens of the soldiers are much heavier than the materials that they carry. For example, Jimmy Cross has a fanatical love for a girl named Martha, and his sexual desires for Martha distract him from the war. Additionally, as the leader of the platoon, Cross carries with him the responsibility of the lives of all the men, along with the sense of guilt he feels after Ted Lavender dies.
     Ted Lavender is also an excellent example that portrays the intensity of the emotional and mental burdens during a war. Lavender carries around tranquilizers and drugs because of his fear of getting killed. Although he carries a relatively light weight, the burden from his guilt is extremely heavy and eventually leads him to his death. On the other hand, Henry Dobbins, a big, masculine soldier, carries the biggest weapons and a lot of ammunition, thus, carrying the heaviest physical weight of all. However, he is free from the emotional and mental burdens that Cross and Lavender possess, which helps him stay focused on the war, and carry the heaviest physical burden of all.
    Lastly, one of the biggest reasons why I thought Tim O'Brien was trying to exemplify the intensity of the   intangible burdens of the war was because of something that almost every soldier possessed: A "unnecessity" or a superstitious object. Dave Jensen carries toiletries, Lavender carries drugs, Scholl carries foot powder, Kiley carries comic books, and Kiowa carries the New Testament, Dobbins carries his girlfriend's underwear, and Sanders carried around a real thumb. The reason why I put quotations around "unnecessity" is because these objects aren't needed for war, but they are things that the men have to carry for their own emotional and mental comfort.