The Things They Carried Photograph Analysis

The war culture depicted in The Things They Carried greatly incorporates a value of the past. From the start of the story, the soldier’s reliance on the past is made apparent through their nearly unanimous collection of photographs. These photographs serve as a coping mechanism for the soldiers, reminding them of simpler times; however, the way the soldiers react to these photographs reveals a core component of their cultural values while at war. Specifically, Jimmy Cross carried a photo of Martha, and “Whenever he looked at [it], he thought of new things he should’ve done” (O’Brien 5). When looking at this photo, Jimmy Cross could have been struck with any number of hypotheticals. Would they ever get married? What would their family look like? …show more content…
At this instant, Norman came to terms that he viewed Sally as nothing but an abstraction: his idea of her was just that, an idea. Norman Bowker, and many other soldiers after the war, valued the past because it was the only thing they knew. Everything else in their world had changed, and they were so dazed by the transition that they felt the future was hopeless, they felt that “there’s no place to go” (O’Brien 156). This is different from the values I find in my life. In my life, I often find myself looking toward the future, and very little do I dwell on the past. I think that this speaks for many current young people. We are very caught up in our lives, and we know exactly what comes next, and what we need to do to get there, and thus we value the future. These soldiers had no idea what came next, and as a result they valued the past, because it was the only thing that seemed certain to them anymore. Even when these soldiers returned from war, they valued the past because they were lost, unsure of their purpose in a world that seemed to have forgotten about