Civil Rights Movement In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past that they can only learn about it from second hand sources. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, it becomes very apparent that the Vietnam conflict has proved to be one that many of the participants have not been able move away from. Throughout the 60s people were constantly fighting for their rights as citizens to protest war. It was more common than not for soldiers to never return home and many tried to keep the youth from going. The 60s was a time for change, a time for people to stand up for what they believe. They saw that they had nothing to lose and if they did have something to lose, it would be worth it for the sake of maintaining their rights. The masses came together for movements like the civil rights movement, the student movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, the women’s movement, the gay rights movement, and the environmental movement. Each, to varying degrees, changed

It seems to me that in the 60s friendships were extremely strong between people who believed in the same ideologies and were a part of the same groups. The antiwar movement became a mass crusade in which millions of Americans participated. It involved people of all ages, organized in hundreds of diverse local and national groups. Just as the friendships between the characters in The Things They Carried become extremely varied but critical during and after they fight in the war. One of the most important things that helped the soldiers is their friendship with each other. This bond that the soldiers form helped them to survive, and helped the men of Alpha Company to cope with the war after they returned to the United States. The bond that men form with each other in the heat of battle is incomprehensible to those who have not experienced warfare for