O'Brien uses the word “things” in the title because the soldiers do not only carry equipment and supplies, but also emotions of love, terror, grief, and longing. Throughout the book, O'Brien includes many themes and motifs to inform the reader that the physical burdens underscore the emotional. These themes and motifs include: A fear of shame as motivation, an ambiguous morality, and loneliness.

Burdens During the War

Throughout the book, O'Brien tells how the men figuratively carry the weight of their reputations because of the presence of stress, strangeness, youth, and immaturity. However, at times O'Brien tells a specific story about a specific character and their emotional burden that weighs them down throughout the war. For example, in the first story of the book, titled “The Things They Carried”, O'Brien talks about Lt. Jimmy Cross and his burdens of responsibility, the longing for love, and deciding which is more important. Another example is the story “stockings”. In this story, O'Brien talks about Henry Dobbins's longing for love and comfort. To help himself with this emotional burden, Dobbins wears his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck. By doing this, Dobbin's comforts himself with the superstition that the pantyhose are a good luck charm, and he also satisfies his longing for love by being able to smell the scent of his girlfriend when he wears the pantyhose around his neck. O'Brien shares these stories in order to show the reader that there's more than meets the eye when judging how tough one's burdens are during the war.

Emotional burdens after war's end

Not only does O'Brien share burden stories during the war, but he also shares stories about emotional burdens that continue to define characters after they are released from duty. For example, in O'Brien's story “Love” (which occurred in a post war setting), he informs us of lt. Cross's longing for the love of Martha which hasn't diminished. O'Brien also shares the story of Norman Bowker's post war struggle with guilt in “Speaking of Courage”, and follows up with his eventual suicide in “Notes”. O'Brien shares stories of emotional struggle in various settings to show the readers that war is not a one-time thing, because the emotional burdens may last forever, even when the physical burdens are dropped.

Shame as Motivation

In "The Things They Carried", O'Brien shares the theme of fearing shame as a motivation. This theme is expressed throughout the book in terms of men wanting social acceptance. A good example is when Curt Lemon wants to avoid a negative social status by having a perfectly good tooth pulled. Besides the events in war, the theme of fearing shame as motivation shines in O'Brien's story, “On the Rainy River”. In this story, O'Brien's beliefs put him in the position of either choosing to flee to Canada, and avoiding something he thinks is unjust, or give in to his fear of being labeled as a coward by his community and fight. O'Brien decides to fight, motivated by his fear of shame. This story is meant to show the reader how heavy of an emotion burden this theme truly is.

Morality Issues

Often times, O'Brien shows that the ugliness of war, combined with personal issues and immaturity, can lead to the men practicing an ambiguous morality. That is, the men's sense of right and wrong bend. For example, Cross's sense of morality is absent when he burns an entire village to get even whit what he's done. Also, Rat Riley tortures an animal to death because of the loss of a friend. O'Brien even becomes morally confused when he shares a story of wanting revenge when war is already ugly enough. He wants the reader to ask him “where is the morality and sense in making more enemies than you need to?” O'Brien's exposure of this motif is meant to show the irony of morality in war…there are no morals.

Motif of Loneliness

Another motif O'Brien shares is the motif of loneliness. Often times during a post-war setting, men can become emotionally lost and feel alone. In “Speaking of Courage”, Bowker drives around aimlessly because he feels there is nothing to live life for, not even himself. Also, Lt. Cross's longing for Martha causes him to obsess and, in turn, put himself in an isolated and lonely state of mind. Once again, O'Brien shows that even after the equipment is put down, the emotional burdens live on.

Conclusion

The Things They Carried was an excellent display of true burdens. The themes and motifs O'Brien provided showed the true power emotional longings have on one's thinking, feelings, and beliefs. O'Brien's stories not only educate a reader about alters in psychology, but they also prove the thesis of physical burdens underscoring the virtually impossible emotional burdens.

Nick as a Dynamic Character

One reason that many critics of this novel believe that Nick, not Gatsby, is the hero of this book is because nick is the only dynamic character in the story. Although many would argue that Gatsby was the hero, by the end of the book Gatsby's outlook on life was exactly the same. Gatsby still believed that he could change the past and died thinking he had. Nick, on the other hand, changed throughout the book. His entire viewpoint on the American Dream was changed by the end of the novel. He realized that the moral decay of the east had destroyed the American Dream and he had to move back west to keep that dream alive. He also realized that you “can” repeat the past. His mindset is changed and he realized that the past is doomed to repeat itself, whether it is good or bad.

Nick as the Protagonist

The second reason why many say that Nick is the hero of this book is because he is considered the protagonist. Although Gatsby comes in a close second, Nick is the most prevalent character of the book. The novel not only starts and ends with Nick, Nick, himself, is the narrator of The Great Gatsby. Nick told this story from his point of view sometime after the events had taken place and he had been able to bring all of the facts together. Because of his involvement in the story, and his narration of the story, it proves that he is the protagonist of the book. Further proving the point is Nick's antagonist, society. Society's pull tries to change Nick. The moral decay of the East during this time period is the main antagonist of the book and the character it quarrels with the most, is, without a doubt, Nick. By the end of this novel, Nick is forced to overcome society's moral decay and move back west where life is simple and morals are present.

Nick as the Main Initiator of Action

Finally, it is easy to see that Nick initiates most of the action in the book. Without Nick's connection to all of the main characters in the novel, many of the conflicts that arose would never have happened. Nick's friendship with Gatsby, and family ties with Daisy made it possible for them to reconnect. Gatsby may never have had the courage to meet with Daisy and tell her he still loved her if Nick hadn't have been there for support and to help with the planning. Nick also wraps up many of the stories in the book. Through Nick's actions and thought, Gatsby's, and many other characters', true colors are revealed and a lot can be learned about them. Nick is the main imitator of action in the story and can be exclusively linked to almost every major occurrence in the novel.

Conclusion

Nick, not Gatsby, is the hero of this novel. The critics who believe this are right in their thinking for many reasons. It is easy to see that Nick is the protagonist of The Great Gatsby, it is a fact that he is a dynamic character, and he is essential to almost every action that takes place in the novel. Nick is the hero of The Great Gatsby.

Examples

There are several examples that support that Montag is a revolutionary in the book. In the beginning of part II: The Sieve in the Sand, he begins to think for himself while talking to his wife. He says to her, “Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same insane mistakes! I don't hear those idiots in your parlor talking about it. Millie, don't you see?” (65).

He learns that there is a lot to be learned in the books of the world and reading them just might help to solve some of the worlds problems. Another example is when Montag visits Faber, an old ex-professor who collects books. Montag and Faber come up with a plan to revolutionize the world by planting books in the firefighters houses. With the help of the war, they may be able to convince other people to revolutionize. It is evident that they are serious with this plan when Montag ctually puts a book in one of the firefighter chief's house.

The final great example of him being a revolutionary is when he kills Captain Beaty, destroys the Mechanical Hound that attacked him, and escapes the city. After seeing his house burn and the fear that Faber will be caught, he is given the push to kill Beaty and destroy the Hound. This also kick starts his plan with Faber to plant books in the firefighters' houses.

Conclusion

It is obvious that Guy Montag was a revolutionary. He realized society wasn't right and planned to change it. Through revolutionaries like Montag and Faber, the future in Fahrenheit 451 looks promising.

Arthur “Boo” Radley

At first, Scout believed that the mysterious Author “Boo” Radley was an insane man who snuck around at night and looked in people's windows, attacked his parents, and desperately wanted to get out of the house which he had been trapped in all of his life. As Scout grew older and wiser, and due to the influence of father, Atticus, and her brother, Jem, Scout realizes that Mr. Radley doesn't want to escape the house he has spent most of his life in and that he actually couldn't live any other lifestyle for he wouldn't know what to do out in a free world. At one point Scout puts herself in Boo Radley's position and find out how juvenile it had been for her to bother Boo the way that she did.

The Jury in Tom Robinson's shoes

Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The jury, who failed to put themselves in Tom's shoes, convicted him to death even though the only person that should have been prosecuted for doing any damage to Mayella was Bob Ewell. All the evidence pointed to Tom having sexual relations with Mayella but never raping her. At the same time, other townsfolk expressed the ability to put themselves in Tom's shoes. Judge Taylor specifically appointed Atticus as Mr. Robinson's attorney. Mr. Taylor knew Atticus was the only person in Maycomb that stood a chance of actually providing a defense, which had a slight chance of persuading some of the jurors to argue that Tom Robinson was not guilty of rape. Ms. Maudie even told Jem that “…I thought, Atticus Finch won't win, he can't win, but he's the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.” (216).

The Mob in Atticus' position

Another example of how Harper Lee puts the characters into other people's shoes is when the mob came to kill Tom Robinson. At first, it looked like a violent scuffle was going to breakout, but Scout, not even realizing it, puts the mob in Atticus' position. They could never harm Atticus in front of his own children, especially when the children knew some of the people in the mob. The morning after the mob visited Atticus and threatened the life of Tom Robinson, Atticus described to Jem why no one attacked him that night. He said, “…a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children…you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough.” (157).

Helen Robinson

Many people are put into Helen Robinson's shoes. After Tom's arrest many people rose to the occasion to help her and her children out. Helen couldn't get a job and with her husband in jail, no money was coming into the family. While visiting Calpurnia's church, Reverend Sykes had a collection for Helen. When the reverend didn't think there was enough money to get her through the week, he closed the doors of the church and said no one was leaving until Helen had enough money to support her family. Slowly but surely, money came in from the church goes and finally everyone was able to leave. Another example is when Link Deas stands up for Helen. First, since her husband died, he hired Helen. Although he didn't need her to work for him he felt it was the right thing to do. Mr. Deas also stands up for Helen. Bob Ewell started following her to work everyday and whispering profanities under his breath to her. When she told Link Deas he yelled at Mr. Ewell saying, “…stay away from my cook or I'll have you up for assault…You don't have to touch her, all you have to do is make her afraid, an' if assault ain't enough to keep you locked up awhile, I'll get you in on the Ladies' Law, so get outa my sight!” (249). From then on, Mr. Ewell never said another word to Mrs. Robinson.

Jem in Bob Ewell's Shoes

After the trial, Bob Ewell spits on Atticus and tells him he's going to get him back for defending Tom. Jem is scared that Bob Ewell is true to his word even though his father is not affected by it and believes that he will not follow through. He told Jem, “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does.” (218). Atticus says that Mr. Ewell did what he had to do and if it saved Mayella one beating, he would gladly take it.

Conclusion

Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, uses the motif of putting people in other character's shoes to gain further knowledge on the actions of the characters. This motif is clearly seen in many of the characters including Helen and Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Atticus and Scout, and many other people living in Maycomb County. Without this aspect of the story, it would be hard to understand the feelings of individuals and the people living in Maycomb.