The Things They Carried | Characters

The characters in "The Things They Carried" are notable because they do not change throughout the course of the story. The meaninglessness of the war, the lack of moral lesson, the sheer monotony of the "hump" through Vietnam offers no impetus to change or grow. The characters themselves are not so much marked by who they are as by the objects they carry, both physically and emotionally. Thus Henry Dobbins is the machine gunman who also carries his girlfriend's pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter. Rat Kiley is the medic who also carries brandy and M&Ms, and Kiowa is an...

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