Literary and symbolism Analysis
The Things They carried by Tim o'brien
The first chapter of The Things They Carried depicts the experiences of troops in the war in great detail, bringing focus to small details others wouldn't consider a factor to troops such as the weight of certain equipment and just how much soldiers actually have to carry at any given time. On top of all that, society which perceives American soldiers as nothing more than troops, has been countered by several remarks in this book. The troops that are sent to Vietnam are being separated from their families which the soldiers have to think about on a daily basis. Many soldiers described in the book are said to have been forced to abandon their families for this, and so they still have that holding them back because their true beliefs were in America and being home. This comes unacknowledged to citizens within the boundaries of America yet is such a significant impact on the conditions that the soldiers are burdened to deal with every day they remain on Vietnamese turf. The troops deal with heavy equipment loads, personal conflicts, and blistering heat in a jungle environment and this is a difficult task for them to cope with while being deployed.
The difficulties and challenges presented impacted the overall campaign against Vietnam as far more difficult. They knew little about the circumstances they were dealing with and could only prepare with what they thought they would need, and yet they never felt true purpose behind what they were doing like the Vietcong. The Vietcong were defending their own homeland and trying to create a united nation which showed a clearly defined purpose with particular goals towards reaching it. The soldiers of the U.S. army didn't have that level of commitment, and some of the actions taken such as Lieutenant Jimmy Cross' burning of an innocent village were seen as outlandish and inhuman. It went against everything they stood for, and yet they were forced to go through it, when they would rather just be home with their families. Overall, this war as depicted in this book was depleting their desires and creating a situation where many soldiers didn't believe in what they were doing anymore. These military campaigns hurt the soldiers by creating this complex situation where they forced the soldiers to fight from the draft without ever truly believing in what they were doing, while the Vietcong did. |
American "death card" Symbol
Many Vietcong feared these cards, as they were placed on the bodies of their fallen comrades during and after a battle. Some Vietcong actually feared these cards so much that they ran away from the very sight of them. These cards were designed with the intent of fear to avoid as much confrontation as possible during the push for anti-communist policies in Vietnam. They were highly effective in this goal because no Vietcong desired to advance knowing the meaning behind these cards was that all Vietcong opposition was to be killed. While the Vietcong did have commitment to protecting their homeland from the invading Americans, they also desired to preserve their own lives. Knowing these people were being made a sign out of was scarier than them simply dying, because their life was basically being made a mockery of by the Americans and everything about them was being lost. Therefore, this was very beneficial for U.S. interests in the military campaign in Vietnam regarding the containment of communism because it acted as a tool of fear which resulted in some people running. With less people to oppose the United States, the more likely it was that U.S. advancement to protect South Vietnam interests would be secured.