Burdens In The Things They Carried

War often creates many burdens for anyone that is involved. In the novel, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien shows the hardships of war through a series of stories. The stories bring up different scenarios from throughout the Vietnam war. The Vietnam war was fought between the Americans and the Vietnamese due to a conflict of power. The Vietnamese believed in a communist party while the Americans believed in a democracy. This conflict quickly turned deadly at the start of the war in 1955. After the war ended in 1975 -- 15 years later -- more than 58 thousand American soldiers died. The war ended with no winner, leaving families of the deceased devastated and now leaving veterans with PSTD caused by the war. In The Things They Carried, Tim

In one scene O’Brien describes all the things the soldiers have to carry, “The things they carried were… heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tabs…”(2). All of the things that soldiers are required to carry proves the physical burdens that war created. Many items are required to carry, including big, small, and even heavy things. This caused a lot of pain for the soldiers throughout the war; Soldiers can be emotionally affected by items that they carry throughout the years. Tim returned to the field where Kiowa died to put his items back: “I reached in with the moccasins and wedged them into the soft bottom, letting them slide away,”(178). Tim has carried many things throughout the war, including Kiowa’s old slippers. The time that it took for Tim to bring the moccasins back to the place of Kiowa’s death shows the amount of time it took for Tim to fully heal emotionally. The moccasins symbolize an emotional burden that Tim for the entire duration of the

In one scene Tim is describing the time when he decided to go to war instead of escape to Canada, “And right then I submitted. I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to,”(57). Tim is often shown to fear war. He never truly thought the war would come to him: When it did it affected his mental health. This quote shows how he is scared of war and that he is willing to give up his life to escape it. The fact he felt this way still haunts him now causing an emotional burden. As well, Soldiers can be affected emotionally by whether or not they receive a medal during the war. Another emotional burden is when Norman is driving around the lake feeling guilty about not getting a medal and about letting his friend die: “I could’ve won the Silver Star for valor,”(140). This shows that even after the war has ended soldiers continue to be affected emotionally by the burdens faced in war. Even after he left the war, Norman continues feeling shameful and guilty about the things he’s done. This shows the emotional toll the war can play on soldiers, even once they’ve