Free Things They Carried Essays: M&Ms :: Things They Carried Essays

M& angstrom unitMs in The Things They Carried   Tim OBrien mathematical functions many interesting literary devices in his collection of short-circuit stories about his experiences in Vietnam. One of the most striking, yet understated, is his fleeting summon to M& angstrom unitMs. OBrien allows them to be seen as something of a mystery, an enigma. OBrien transforms M& angstrom unitMs into a symbol of America deep, powerful, and incredible. OBrien also uses the simple image of a yo-yo to explain the necessity of American GIs to transform their mental attitudes to something different in order to survive the war. M&Ms and yo-yos ar two rattling powerful symbols that OBrien uses to explain the mentality of American soldiers in Vietnam.   As a medic, buns Kiley carried a canvas satchel filled with morphine and plasm and malaria tablets and surgical attach and comic books and all the things a medic must(prenominal) carry, including M&Ms for especially bad wounds, fo r a total clog of nearly 20 pounds. (OBrien 5) The first mention of M&Ms is cryptic. OBrien makes use of a standard list to describe what Rat Kiley carries, until he reaches the M&Ms. M&Ms are separated by a phrase, they are set apart they receive special treatment. OBrien is reservation clear to the reader that M&Ms are not to be included in the normal list of things carried by a medic. M&Ms are above and beyond simple medical gear. M&Ms are for especially bad wounds, they treat something more than bandages and tape can. OBrien allows the reader to understand that M&Ms have significance, and are real important to the soldiers. OBriens brief mention of M&Ms allows us to question if when this magical cure is used. Does Rat Kiley administer M&Ms to Tim when he is shot? Could M&Ms have saved Rat when he goes insane? Are M&Ms something so mystical that they dont even need to be mentioned? OBrien creates M&Ms to be a symbol of everything that the s oldiers leave behind. To Kiowa, M&Ms embody the spirit of his nanna and the faith of his father. To Norman Bowker, M&Ms mean as lots as his medals mean to his father. To OBrien, M&Ms capture the spirit of a kind old man in Minnesota. M&Ms are OBriens alternative symbol for Mom and Apple Pie.   Another symbol that OBrien uses is Mitchell Sanders yo-yo, Sanders is vie with his yo-yo when Curt Lemon is killed.