The Things They Carried Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
نص القصة المصورة
EXAMPLES
STORIES
THE MAN I KILLED
THE FIELD WHERE KIOWA DIES
O'Brien talks about how telling his stories is cathartic. Telling war stories makes them come out from the past and into the present, and their purpose is to join the past to the future. It keeps his memories, his friends, and even his mistakes alive.
This man seems to be one of the bigger things that O'Brien still carries and is a ghost in the stories. He describes the man in detail, then makes a connection with the man, even though he is unclear whether or not he killed him.
Kiowa, injured, sinks into the field after it's attacked and Bowker lets go of his boot. Bowker says he could have won the Silver Star if it hadn’t been for the smell. O’Brien reveals that it wasn’t Bowker who lost his nerve and the Silver Star that night; it was him.