In order to create a solid short story or tale you must develop a good structure and theme and this is exactly what Tim O’Brien did in “The Things They Carried”.  As Tim O’Brien began his story he scripted his main character, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, to have many burdens holding him down; physically and emotionally. Lieutenant Jimmy had an army of soldiers to guard and watch over, yet his love for a girl named Martha constantly conquered his need for protection over his people. In the physical sense, it is affirmed that being a soldier in the army is tough since you partake in carrying heavy guns and other weaponries and artilleries. When talking about his emotional loads, he refers to them as micro to macro and contrary in the physical sense. By looking at the structure and theme in the story, we can see that the use of micro and macro structures and quotes creates a strong imagery in the battle between Jimmy’s love and hate for Martha and his physical and emotional struggles.

Tim O’Brien made his theme very vivid as it is even in his title “The Things They Carried”. O’Brien portrayed physical and emotional struggles that a man in love and a lieutenant in charge would have to overcome on a daily basis. While they are continuously forced to carry heavy loads of physical entities like “M-14s and CAR-15 and Swedish Ks and grease guns…and blackjacks and bayonets and C-4 plastic explosives” (pg. 331, Tim O’Brien), they are also obligated to carry the burden of their countries safety and even personal emotions that a regular civilian would have as stated on page 331; “He pictured Martha’s smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men…because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” and “They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.” Although Lieutenant Jimmy had an army of soldiers to look over, his love for Martha continued to overpower his entirety and remained his number one priority. It was stronger than his desire to keep his men safe. As a result of Jimmy’s love for Martha, his mind was constantly wandering and eventually led to the death of one of his soldiers. When Ted Lavender died, the feeling of grief overpowered his love for Martha and he then sensed hate for her. Some emotions are stronger than others; in this case hate stronger than love. 

O’Brien had a unique structure in his work. When talking about the Lieutenant’s physical struggles, he referred to them as macro to micro. In the beginning of this short story, the references to the literal weight that the soldiers carried were very long sentences and they seemed to be “never ending” until you reached the end of the story and they were very lightly referred to. On the other side of the spectrum, the emotional struggles that he had to endure were at first very abrupt “He loved her so much.” (page 332, Tim O’Brien). He did not emphasize how heavily they controlled Lieutenant Jimmy’s actions and how he thought about them endlessly until you reached the closing and it completely consumed all of his thoughts and activities. “For the most part, they carried themselves with poise, a kind of dignity…and made stupid promises to themselves and to God and to their mothers and fathers, hoping not to die” (page 337, Tim O’Brien) Even in the midst of war, Jimmy only thought about Martha, “His mind wandered. He had difficulty keeping his attention on the war… nothing.” (page 332, Tim O’Brien) He thought about how much he loved her and whether or not she loved him back. He thought about if she was a virgin and if she signed her letters to him with the emotion of love or if it was only a literal gesture. Once she became the motive for Ted Lavender’s fatality, Jimmy was filled with hatred towards Martha. “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead… but it was mostly for Martha, and for himself, because she belonged to the world… and because he realized she did not love him and never would.” (page 336, Tim O’Brien) Lieutenant Jimmy would not allow himself to think of Martha in any way while he was in command over his men. He knew that Tim Lavender was dead as a consequence so he cut her off from his mental and physical actions. Physically, Jimmy was carrying large amounts of weight. He carried guns and artillery yet they were nothing compared to his love and his hate for Martha. They were nothing compared to the weight of the world on his shoulders as he led an army to protect their country. 

After comparing Tim O’Brien’s depiction of “The Things They Carried” by separating the physical things versus the intangible things that were explained, it is evident that the emotional complications were much deeper than the literal. Lieutenant Jimmy’s love for Martha was always a heavier burden than the actual items he was required to carry for the army. He incorporated the theme into the title of his work. Tim O’Brien’s structure complimented the theme because it stressed how much each illustration meant to them individually. Mental always overpowers physical. The power of grief, love and guilt remained more dominant than the weaponries they carried. 