Sydney Postma Dr. Jennifer Gross Composition and Reading 23 February 2023 The Things They Carried Essay To advance the interests of the country, the government compels people to reject their personal convictions. Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Thing They Carried, helps the reader fully comprehend all the different aspects dealt with during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War fabricated multiple different viewpoints, ranging all the way from the government to regular soldiers. Furthermore, the contrasting opinions created a mental war within a physical war. Depending on the situation, there is a difference between what the government seems ethically moral and what the average soldier seems ethically moral. Therefore, this essay will explore ethical …show more content…
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong when looking at the outcomes. It believes that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Consequentialism is found in utilitarianism; consequentialism is largely thought about during war. When you fight for your life in war, you end up taking another person's life. While this may be good for your country, it is hurting a different country. “Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the number of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness)” (Act and Rule Utilitarianism). The future is unknown. So there is no way to tell the outcome of choices being made, whether good or bad, one believes that it’s done to have a positive effect. In The Things They Carried Jimmy Cross, the leader of the platoon, has a guilty conscience since the time he learned that Ted Lavender died. Assuming that the death was a result of his distracted mind, he burns the letters in hopes that only good can come from it. Tim O’Brien states, “He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid. Lavender was dead. You couldn’t burn the blame” (22). Tim O’Brien is hinting that he was going through something, similar to what Act and Rule Utilitarianism says. Jimmy is decreasing the number of things that he could use as a distraction so he could start focusing on the war
After Ted Lavender died, Jimmy burned Martha’s letters and photos and promised himself never to get distracted again. Jimmy realize that he was living a fantasy and that it was time for him
He often talks about a girl named Martha who wrote him letters and although they were not romantic letters, he wanted them to be. This obsession with Martha was distracting and Cross considered this distraction to be the cause of Ted Lavender’s death, this is shown when Cross burns the letters and pictures of Martha. Ted Lavender is characterized by physical appearance, thoughts, and feelings. He contributes to the stereotype that soldiers need to do drugs to help numb the pain of war when the author states that “Ted Lavender carried 6 or 7 ounces of premium dope, which for him was a necessity”. This was a necessity for him because he needed it so he didn’t think about the war.
In the book, The Things They Carried written by Tim O’brien, after effects of war are one of the main themes. Not everyone makes it out of war alive and most who do come home never go back to who they were. The Things They Carried is a novel about the Vietnam war. This novel shows different soldiers' experiences but is narrated by Tim O’Brien and mainly talks about his experience with the war. In this novel, it touches the effect war has on soldiers during the war and how death was dealt with differently.
In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, who also narrates through the perspective of Lt’ Cross’s state of mind, describes what it is like to endure the trials of the Vietnam War. Tim receives his draft notice in June of 1968, and contemplates crossing the Canadian border to escape fighting in a war he does not believe in. Guilt and fear took over Tim and he decided he has no choice but to go back to Minnesota and then later to Vietnam. He is but one of many different characters with many different thoughts, motives, and feelings, but also have one thing in common; they all carried with them something that held value to them. For some it was a physical object that the can hold or see, and for others it might have been a mental state of mind, a belief or even a superstition;
Jimmy Cross longs to reunite with Martha during the war , and consequently, his mind remains infatuated by her and the fantasies he wishes he could experience with her. When Ted Lavender died, O'Brien says, “He [Jimmy Cross] felt shame. He hated himself. ”(16). This is because Jimmy Cross feels guilty for always thinking about Martha and letting a death of one of his soldier slip through his hands.
In The Things They Carried, O'Brien explores how shame can be shown in different ways for soldiers, including shame over their own actions, shame over their weaknesses, and shame over their inability to connect with or help others. One of the most notable examples of shame in the novel is the character of Jimmy Cross, who feels intense shame and guilt over the death of one of his men, Ted Lavender. Cross blames himself for Lavender's death, feeling that he was too distracted by his own thoughts of Martha to properly lead his army. This shame continues to trouble Cross long after the incident, even after he has left Vietnam.
The Things They Carried is a story about wartime Vietnam during the 1960s. The Vietnam War is arguably one of the most controversial wars that the United States has been involved in. Many people were against the United States' involvement in Vietnam and believed it wasn’t America’s fight. While many were against the war, the men involved in fighting this war drastically change because of their traumatic experiences during the war. The characters in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien were by no means different from real soldiers and their lives change profoundly by the physical things they carried with them during the war and the emotional burdens that soldiers carried with them for many years to follow their combat.
"The Things They Carried" is a powerful novel by Tim O'Brien that tells the story of a group of soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. The title of the novel refers to the physical and emotional burdens that the soldiers carried with them throughout their experiences in the war. These burdens included not only the gear and weapons they carried, but also the memories and traumas that stayed with them long after the war was over. The novel is a meditation on the nature of war and its impact on the human psyche.
Cross comes to his senses and believes it is his fault lavender was killed because he was too busy obsessing over a girl that didn’t even romantically love him. He decides to burn the
War is an event that can have an effect on even the strongest-willed soldier. One of the major themes was morality and the nature of morality. In “The Things They Carried”, there were so many traumatic events that happened throughout the novel. Over time, the soldiers were physically, mentally, and emotionally affected by the events that happened to themselves and each other. Being exposed to these horrific events, one will see how the soldiers’ morality goes back and forth with what’s right and what’s wrong.
He was embarrassed about being shamed by the people he knew for going against his morals. Tim O’Brien knew he wasn't just carrying the faith and hope of others to fight in the war, but he was also carrying his intrusive thoughts and discomfort. The soldiers didn't just carry their bag of weapons, but “they carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried” (O'Brien 3). Digging deeper into the book's literal and figurative language, It tells us clearly what the soldiers carried weapons but even everyone’s problems, including Tim O'brien. O'brien carried the bundle of burdens that included the physical and emotional view of grief, love, and dread.
From their perspectives we learn that Jimmy could burn his mementos from Martha, but he “could not burn the blame” for not being more alert before Lavender’s death. All of the soldier’s notice him crying the night it happened, but they notice how he accepts responsibility for the death the next morning and how he promises to take better care of the platoon from there on out. In Piedmont-Marton’s critical essay she discusses how Jimmy is reacting to the loss, “His alienation from the group now derives from his understanding that “you could die of carelessness and gross stupidity,” and that he is responsible for the others. He experiences this choice between Martha and his duty as a loss: “It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside.
The Things They Carried is a book written by Tim O’Brien. Ultimately, it is a fictitious story about the intricate lives of the members of a platoon that fought in the Vietnam War. The members of Alpha Company, the platoon, are all vastly different, yet they are bound together by an unbreakable bond that comes with fighting side by side with one another. Throughout the novel, they each experience life changing events, which often alters their sense of self and results in a reconstructed personality. In the end, The Things They Carried is a wonderful narrative that shows its readers the complexity of personal identity, and how things like love, the values of society, and politics can all play a part in the shaping of one’s character.
Throughout the text, Cross “could not stop thinking about [Martha]” (p. 116), unable to concentrate on the war or the men he is charged with leading. Consequently, Cross’ distraction and inadequate leadership result in Lavender’s death. Cross finds himself accountable because “he loved [Martha] more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” (p.
The Vietnam War leaves a legacy of moral confusion with each and every soldier who serves. Soldiers are fighting for a cause they do not necessarily believe in, killing people who do not necessarily deserve it, and watching their brothers die beside them. Tim O’Briens’ book, The Things They Carried, illustrates the soldiers struggle to define morality throughout the confusion of the war. On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien faces what he feels is his moral obligation to answer his country’s call and fight in Vietnam, and a personal moral issue with the reason for the war.