Trevor McLean

English

D Block

April 16, 2017

The Things They Carried Essay

There are many narrative elements that authors contain in their writing

to enhance and boost the quality of their stories. Some authors focus on just

writing a really good plot or setting the story in a very distinct place. Others

invest their focus in the theme within their stories or really work to develop

their characters. Tim OBrien is an author that focuses on the element of

imagery to tell his story in the best way possible. In the novel, In the Things

They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, the author uses the narrative element of

imagery to effectively tell his story about his time serving in the Vietnam

War, his experience taking his daughter back to where he was fighting, and

explaining his experiences interacting with Rat Kiely.

First, O'Brien uses the narrative element of imagery to effectively tell

his story about his time serving in the Vietnam War. In this novel, the

narrator is fighting as a soldier in Vietnam among many diverse characters.

In an important chunk of the book, the main character and his fellow soldiers

have to encounter a very muddy field. This field is very deep and hard to

maneuver in. OBrien offers a first-hand experience with dealing with this
field. He says, At daybreak, the platoon of eighteen soldiers formed into a

loose rank and began wading side by side through the deep muck of the shit

field" (OBrien p.155). These strong adjectives really make this piece solid

and descriptive. He is explaining his experience in "shit field" by creating a

very bold image and feeling for readers.

Next, the author explaining his experience taking his daughter back to

where he was when serving demonstrates his effective use of imagery. In the

chapter, Field Trip, the narrator in this story takes his daughter back to Shit

Field. While he was serving, one of his friends and soldiers died in in the field

because of how deep and rough it was. Kiowa, the soldier that passed away

was swallowed in the mud and dies. They later have to search to find the

body. 20 years later, when the author goes back to the dry, but once a

marshy field where his friend died, he describes his voice while having the

sight of where this event took place. He says," My voice surprised me. It had

a rough, chalky sound, full of things I did not know were there " (OBrien

p.178). Most commonly, authors use imagery to describe how something

looks. However in this case, OBrien uses imagery that is not seen that often,

describing how his own voice sounds. This is a unique case of imagery.

Finally, his explanation of his experiences interacting with Rat Kiely is

another area where he uses the element of imagery. At one point in the

book, the narrator and his soldiers are going through a tough time after

losing their friend Kiowa. He explains that Rat Kiely, a peer of his, is having a

really rough time. He later goes crazy, shooting himself in the leg. OBrien
describes to us the weather and the mood that is in the air of the camp. He

says, "Always a heavy cloud cover. No moon and no stars. It was the purest

black you could imagine..." (OBrien p.209). This puts a distinct image that

readers can experience just by reading his words. This imagery is really

meant for the reader to feel the mood and get a sense of what the weather is

like. The words are picked out very precisely because it is important for the

author to achieve his goal.

Throughout the story, The Things They Carried, the author Tim O'Brien

effectively uses the narrative element of imagery to tell his story about his

time fighting in the Vietnam War, his experience taking his daughter back to

where he was when serving, and explaining his interactions with Rat Kiely.

Although using many other narrative elements throughout the novel, the

author definitely fulfilled his goal of using imagery to make his story all-

around-better. His syntax and diction made his ideas more effective in the

point of view of the reader. This piece well demonstrates how powerful the

narrative element of imagery can be.