In the short story "The Things They Carried," by Tim O'Brien, we see a group of soldiers in Vietnam, going through the day to day trials of staying alive. They each have their job. With that job come the things they have to carry with them. However, when you look closer, they carry much more than the tangible items that take up space in their packs. They carry with them their thoughts of home and the fears they will never see that home again. They carry with them the ghosts of those who didn't make it out alive and the pictures in their heads of their deaths. For the leader Lieutenant Cross, in particular, he carries the weight of his men's safety and the guilt of those who died under his command because of his lack of focus on his responsibility. O'Brien help us to realize the enormous weight of these intangibles as the men go about their daily duties, trying not to think of what could happen in the next moment.
As we analyze this story through Deconstruction Theory, we realize that another person reading this piece of literature from a different background of understanding may not recognize those intangibles. Through Deconstruction Theory, we begin to see literature from other angles. Every community has their beliefs and systems of language that shape the way they see the world. If a child were to read this piece of literature, they might picture in their minds actual ghosts sitting on the backs of the soldiers working on weighing them down, making their packs heavier. Without the experiences of life behind them, they may not understand that this is a metaphor to help the reader recognize the soldier's fears. Just as a child might not see the same meaning in this language structure, a person from another culture with different language structure might have a hard time coming up with the same interpretation of the text. Deconstruction Theory teaches us that there are many different perspectives to the same texts and interpretation depends on a person's logocentrism.
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As Jeri said, the story focuses on the soldiers and their daily experiences in war, in a foreign land. A definite focus is placed on the soldier's physical burdens, what they carry on a daily basis. But we also learn of their fears, loves, and affections. For example, Lavender was so concerned with his safety that he brought additional weapons, while others brought bibles to keep them sane and happy.
ReplyDeleteAs Jeri said, approaching a text from different cultural aspects will provide a completely different reading experience for each person. For me, I read the piece looking for particular lines and ideas that could have more than one interpretation. I hope I am on the right track, I must admit this section is difficult for me, but I'll just go with it. For example, Jimmy Cross is obsessed with the fact that Martha is a virgin. One could read this as he finds her innocence beautiful and pure (like an angel), or perhaps as a challenge to see if he can get her, or perhaps he finds this to be a flaw of hers, which he is willing to overlook for true love. What does this say about his thought process and the way he perceives her? Another example comes from the fact that Lavender is so afraid to die, and therefore, does just that. In the text, it says the man was "dead weight", a burden to the others. Does this comment on his fear (against the ideology of a man?), does it say he's better off dead?
What about the fact that Cross can't think of anything besides this woman? Are we to see that love kills everything else? Or perhaps that love is more important than anything else in the world?
These were the thoughts I had while reading. It just struck me that one really can read a text in multiple ways, depending on background and personal beliefs. Again, I hope this is somewhere on target...thanks for understanding! :)