The Things They Carried | Techniques
The theme of illusion versus reality continues in the technique of the story itself. Throughout the story, the reader is led through a series of dreamlike musings by Lieutenant Cross, passing seamlessly from the endless hump through Vietnam to visions of kissing Martha and touching her knee. Then, when Lee Strunk disappears into the tunnel to investigate a VC hiding place, images of Martha and Cross making love cause two worlds to merge and then separate, just as Martha imagines as she finds the pebble she eventually sends to Cross. This technique, labeled by some as magic realism, aids...
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