A Brief Review Of Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

During World War II Winston Churchill once said “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” The soldiers in World War II suffered many psychological and physical tolls during the war and even after the war ended. When Winston sent his troops he offered their blood, sweat and tears of the men. Sometimes the memories never leave. Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried shows many physical and psychological effects that soldiers went through during the Vietnam War. The soldiers in World War II went through physical and mental situations regarding war, and the things they saw were very similar to the experiences depicted in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Ted Dzeipak, a soldier during World War II, went through many

While the soldiers were in basic training the majority of the soldiers went through a process called “emotional numbing” which helped the men learn to suppress the feelings they generate. The men lived in fear, which is the most common emotion associated with war. While the soldiers were fighting they were surrounded by death and fear because leaves knowing that they could die or their friends could die at any second really took a toll on them. War just didn’t end when they physically left, war never the mind of the men. When the soldiers returned home many suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it. Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include recurring memories or nightmares of the event(s), sleeplessness, loss of interest, or feeling numb, anger, and irritability, but there are many ways PTSD can impact your everyday life. Sometimes these symptoms don’t surface for months or years after the event or returning from deployment. They may also come and go, which makes it really hard for the soldiers to adjust mentally. This Disorder made it hard for many soldiers to find work and be able to just live a normal daily

Every day and night they we’re getting shot and bombed at, sometimes not even knowing where it was coming from. The soldiers could never let their guard down or get distracted because in a second your life or someone else’s could be gone just like that. Hugh Gorman, a soldier in World War II suffered a horrendous injury his 12th day at combat. While Gorman was on his stomach using a Browning automatic rifle he was shot in right side of his head. "I felt a sharp thud to the right side of my head and I thought that my gun had accidentally fired and the butt had hit me in the jaw. I put my hand up to my face and I could touch my teeth. The right side of my cheek was hanging down on my neck. My shoulder and chest felt real warm from the blood.” It took Gorman 14 surgeries and 2 years at the hospital to get his jaw to properly work again. Despite the injury he continued to stay positive because that’s what kept him alive. As Gorman said, "I learned to have a lot of consideration for other people, and learned it was important to survive as best you could under tough circumstances. “I feel like I did my part," Gorman said. "I went through a lot that a lot of guys didn't go through, with the serious injury. But I have no regrets. Many people who were injured ended up physically and mentally scarred for