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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
The Things They Carried
Explanation and Analysis—Carried Things:
A central motif in the collection's titular story is the act of carrying. Teeming with lists, "The Things They Carried" reads like an itemized chronicle of the tangible and intangible things that the soldiers in Alpha Company carry with them through Vietnam. The tangible items include tools, weapons, rations, bandages, and tokens that have sentimental or superstitious meaning. The intangible items include responsibility, emotional baggage, secrets, fear, and memories. Moreover, the narrator claims that they carry the weather, land, and forces of nature:
They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity. [...] They carried their own lives.
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Explanation and Analysis—Reading and Writing:
Already in the first story, it becomes clear that reading and writing are important to the soldiers in Alpha Company. The power of the written word, both for those writing it and for those reading it, becomes a central motif in the collection.
In "The Things They Carried," the narrator runs through the personal items that individual soldiers consider to be "necessities or near-necessities." For three of the soldiers, these include books:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Norman Bowker carried a diary. Rat Kiley carried comic books. Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Explanation and Analysis—Stage Presence:
Throughout The Things They Carried, the soldiers in Alpha Company—all of whom are men in their late teens and early twenties—banter and joke to introduce levity into difficult situations. The idea of war as a comedy show becomes a motif, as the soldiers repeatedly play with language to emphasize that they are unfazed by the violence and suffering they witness and participate in. As the men joke around, O'Brien suggests that performance is central to gender expression—and that performed masculinity is central to war.
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Explanation and Analysis—Masks of Composure:
At multiple points in The Things They Carried, the narrator discusses the soldiers' fear of showing fear. He sums this up in the collection's first and titular story: "They were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it." The motif of masculine dignity shows up repeatedly throughout the work, as the men mask their vulnerability with toughness. Often, conversations unravel into simple jokes when they are on the verge of turning into heart-to-hearts.
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Spin
Explanation and Analysis—Feminine Care:
Because most of the events recounted in The Things They Carried take place during the Vietnam War, in which American women did not have combat roles, a majority of the stories' main characters are male. Nevertheless, female characters occupy central roles throughout the collection. Both in presence and absence, women are associated with regret, youth, and caretaking. As a motif, women come to represent an alternative to—and relief from—war and masculine duty.
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How to Tell a True War Story
Explanation and Analysis—Into the Light:
In a few of the stories in The Things They Carried, the narrator dwells on the moment just before someone is killed. Two such instances involve the given person stepping out of shade or fog and into the light, before evaporating or being lifted up. Developed alongside visual imagery, the transition from darkness to light—and, in parallel, life to death—becomes a motif in the collection. Although there's technically nothing supernatural going on, the force of the weapons that kill the men is described in almost magical terms. Additionally, O'Brien makes it seem as though time slows down, or even stops.
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Explanation and Analysis—Writing Process:
In The Things They Carried, the reader frequently receives the narrator's meta-commentary on his storytelling. Transparency about the writing process becomes a central motif in the story, as the narrator repeatedly comments on the composition and editing that have gone into the stories. O'Brien is evidently committed to truthful writing and believes that fabrication is occasionally necessary to maximize the truthfulness of storytelling.
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Explanation and Analysis—Music:
In a few of the stories in The Things They Carried, music has a negative connotation. Associated with mystery, danger, and the unknown, the motif of music sheds light on the soldiers' intangible, unspeakable fears. Rather than providing entertainment or relaxation, music becomes the sound of the men's unease. Music is also the sound of Vietnam—a country in which they are intruders. The motif reminds the reader that, in war, fear is a multisensory experience: one is not only horrified by what one sees, but also by what one hears, smells, and feels.
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Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
Explanation and Analysis—Music:
In a few of the stories in The Things They Carried, music has a negative connotation. Associated with mystery, danger, and the unknown, the motif of music sheds light on the soldiers' intangible, unspeakable fears. Rather than providing entertainment or relaxation, music becomes the sound of the men's unease. Music is also the sound of Vietnam—a country in which they are intruders. The motif reminds the reader that, in war, fear is a multisensory experience: one is not only horrified by what one sees, but also by what one hears, smells, and feels.
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Notes
Explanation and Analysis—Masks of Composure:
At multiple points in The Things They Carried, the narrator discusses the soldiers' fear of showing fear. He sums this up in the collection's first and titular story: "They were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it." The motif of masculine dignity shows up repeatedly throughout the work, as the men mask their vulnerability with toughness. Often, conversations unravel into simple jokes when they are on the verge of turning into heart-to-hearts.
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The Ghost Soldiers
Explanation and Analysis—Stage Presence:
Throughout The Things They Carried, the soldiers in Alpha Company—all of whom are men in their late teens and early twenties—banter and joke to introduce levity into difficult situations. The idea of war as a comedy show becomes a motif, as the soldiers repeatedly play with language to emphasize that they are unfazed by the violence and suffering they witness and participate in. As the men joke around, O'Brien suggests that performance is central to gender expression—and that performed masculinity is central to war.
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Related Themes:
Night Life
Explanation and Analysis—Music:
In a few of the stories in The Things They Carried, music has a negative connotation. Associated with mystery, danger, and the unknown, the motif of music sheds light on the soldiers' intangible, unspeakable fears. Rather than providing entertainment or relaxation, music becomes the sound of the men's unease. Music is also the sound of Vietnam—a country in which they are intruders. The motif reminds the reader that, in war, fear is a multisensory experience: one is not only horrified by what one sees, but also by what one hears, smells, and feels.
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