Mental Illness in "The Things They Carried"

Q: Is “The Things They Carried” a story about mental health.

 A:

Yes, “The Things They Carried”  is a story that details the tragic reality behind the Vietnam war. One of the most important ideas in the story is the idea of weight. Of course, there is the Physical weight of the literal things they carried, like the heavy ammunition of the grenade launcher or the radio. This weight is emphasized thoroughly and shows the hardship of day-to-day life in the war. Even the term for carrying things--” humping”--is one that seems to suggest the arduous task of traveling with all these things. But the heavier burden, in my opinion, is the mental one. For example, the story states that “they all carried ghosts.” This references two things. The first is the looming shadow of their fallen comrades, a persistent horror and harsh reality. The entire story is centered around Ted Lavender, their fallen comrade’s death and their struggle to accept it. Also, there are the “ghosts” of those who they have killed haunting them. To kill a person is a scarring thing, and these mental scars are quite “heavy.” Out of this comes the “Silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.” They have killed with their weapons and as such they’re terrified of the idea of their weapons, having the power to kill so easily.

Another important theme is the lists of the things they carried. These lists are juxtaposed with heavily emotional scenes, which seems odd because of their more literal, calculating manner. One can see this juxtaposition as a manifestation of mental illness. The one that most comes to mind is PTSD. If one views the whole story as a flashback, or even a therapy session, the gradual burn of the logical in favor of the emotional and the inevitable snap back to logic that comes with the lists shows the need for the narrator to ground themselves, as they are immersing themselves in a heavily traumatic experience. This might also be why it is spoken as a third person narrator. Perhaps the story is actually Cross explaining his experience to a therapist. Another mental affliction that could be suggested by these lists is anxiety. Even though Ted Lavender was the person “ who was scared,” I would argue that they are all scared, and as such these lists are essential as a ground to reality as well as a reassurance of preparedness are essential to even somewhat maintaining their mental state while wandering through the jungle, always on high alert, humping equipment which weighs many pounds.

Another sign of “The Things They Carried” being about mental health is the emphasis on Ted Lavender and his fear. The first and second times they introduce his character, they describe him as “scared.” This quality of  being “scared” plays into the idea of the soldiers’ PTSD and Anxiety, and in order to cope with this, Ted Lavender does drugs. Its mentioned multiple times that he uses tranquilizers and dope, which most likely refers to Ketamine and Cannabis. These are both relaxants, and as such can get his mind off of his fear, and release the “weight” he carries. After he dies, the rest of the squad smokes his dope too, showing that it wasn’t only him that was scared, he just showed it more than the rest, as there was a toxic culture of preying on those who showed emotion.

The final form of mental corrosion apparent in the story is the death of the soldiers’ humanity. One example is the Character Lieutenant Cross. He tied himself to the outside world through his intense love for Martha, and throughout the story, one can see just how intense it is, with him often fantasizing about her virginity and the fact that he kept a pebble she sent him in his mouth for a long time. But even his immense capacity for love is destroyed by war, he tells himself that he cannot think of her anymore and that “imagination was a killer.” Another example is the soldiers’ reaction after they put Ted’s body on the chopper; “Cross led his men into the village of Than Khe. They burned everything. They shot chickens and dogs, they trashed the village well, they called in artillery and watched the wreckage.” They rampage, going through in a mindless rage and completely destroy and desecrate the village, all for their rage. In both of these scenarios, they lose the base human emotions of love, imagination, and empathy.