The Things They Carried Group

Question:

jenny0131
jenny0131
Student
College - Freshman

Does the order in which the physical objects and intangible objects that are carried have significance?

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Posted by jenny0131 on Tuesday October 14, 2008 at 9:21 PM and tagged with listed objects, order, significance, the things they carried.

Answers:


  1. gbeatty Teacher
    College - Freshman

    eNotes Editor

    That's a complicated question, and the answer would have to be, some of them do, but not all. It matters that the story opens with Jimmy carrying Martha's letters. They are the burden that weighs most heavily on him, and he is the main character; this matters, so they are put first. Later, when he burns the pictures and the letters, it is a marker that he has crossed some significant boundary. There too the order matters; it is near the end of the story for a reason. However, some of the order in between is intentionally jumbled up, like the men, and the only meaning is in the chaos. You could, for example, swap the order in which we're told what Mitchell Sanders and Rat Kiley carried and not markedly change the meaning of the story.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/things-they/style
    http://www.enotes.com/things-they/summary
    http://www.enotes.com/things-they/themes

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    Posted by gbeatty on Wednesday October 15, 2008 at 4:39 PM