"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

In the part of the text we get to read the narrator describes each man. He doesn’t necessarily go through and say, “…and he is six foot with brown hair, hazel eyes…” Rather he lets the reader connect with him. Sure, it is helpful to know what a person looks like, but when you think about the person you know best you don’t (at least I don’t think so) think of their physical features unless, maybe, it is something that affects their personality; a person is not his/her weight, height, or hair color. Instead that person can be described by the things they do, the way they act. Personality reigns over aesthetics when it comes to know a person.

In this particular text, we get to know each man by what he carried with him. The fearful man carried tranquilizers, the hygienic man carried soap, and the lovesick man carried letters from a girl. The list goes on, but in each of these snapshots we learn a little more about the personality of that man. We learn their weaknesses, their fears, their hopes, dreams, and desires. These things are what we really connect with as the readers. While it may be a sad story, it is one we can relate to. There are happy moments, sometimes small celebrations like not being chosen to crawl through the tunnels, or sometimes major successes like making it out of the warzone alive. Even in the midst of a war that isn’t fully supported from back home, these men still find comedy and pleasure. Even the camaraderie is seen as a positive light. They may have occasional spats, but in the end they know that there is still going to be somebody to share the load with, somebody to pass along a word of encouragement.

If these men can find joy in the middle of a life-threatening battle, surely we as Christians and well-fed Americans can find something to be happy with. Things may seem tragic on the outside, but dig deeper, you will find even in the darkest moments there is still a ray of sunshine.