Tim O'Brien is the main character in "The Things They Carried". He is a 43 year old writer, who is a Veteran of the Vietnam War. Tim is an intelligent, and independent man. One way he is independent is by trying to cope with what he saw in the war by himself. "For more than 20 years I've had to live with it... by putting the facts down on paper, I'm hoping to relieve at least some of the pressure on my dreams." (O'Brien 37) Holding the stories inside tells the reader he wants to fix it himself, indirectly characterizing him as independent.

Main Characters

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Rat Kiley is one of Tim's squad mates. He is a funny, caring, and intelligent person. One time, Tim gets shot, and Rat comes to help." '... Easy does it,' he told me. 'Just a side wound, no problem unless you're pregnant' "(180). Rat says this to help keep Tim calm. It indirectly characterizes Rat as intelligent, yet a comedic person at the same time.

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The setting created for the entire story demonstrates the feelings of O'Brien for most of the book. "I sit at this typewriter and stare through my words and watch Kiowa sinking into the deep muck... and as I write about these things, the remembering is turned into a kind of rehappening."(33) This description helps the reader imagine how Tim feels, and helps to set up the plot of the story.

Setting

The exposition in "The Things They Carried" is very early in the story. It begins with Tim having troubles in his life because of his experiences in life. He finds that writing the stories helps him deal with his troubles, and that he feels better.

Exposition

Throughout the book, stories of war are told. Tim writes down his life, and continues to remember many different things that happened to him. He writes, and becomes more in need of a solution to his problem.

Rising Action

The climax of the book happens when Tim realizes that through all he as experienced in his life, he is still the same person he was before. Tim writes a story from when he was young, and realized that his life then was the same as it was after fighting in Vietnam.

Climax

Tim realizes that through all of his writing, he is writing the story of the same person, even after everything that happened to him. He finishes writing his stories, and knows that he was and will be the same person he always was before the war.

Falling Action/ Resolution

Pleased as Punch- Feeling of great pride.

A village near the soldiers has just been bombed, and the soldiers go to see the aftermath. They find a body, and the soldiers shake his hand. " 'Pleased as punch,' said Henry Dobbins"(214). This happens when Tim is a very inexperienced soldier, and doesn't understand how it can be funny for his squadmates.

Idiom

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