Emotions In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

Oliwia Parafinska

Ms. Haughey

English Composition 102

28 April, 2023

Essay 3 Dealing with heavy emotions after traumatic life experiences is a tough feat, especially in situations that army soldiers go through. When taking a deeper look into the situation, it is clear that repression of emotions occurs more often than not. Pushing aside feelings seems like an easy, temporary escape, however, this repression has tremendous consequences on the psyche. In “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien establishes the difficulty that soldiers in the Vietnam War have in terms of dealing with their emotional baggage which comprises grief along with fear. Discussing the physical items the soldiers carry along with them, readers are able to determine

Emotions are a part of human nature, no matter what position you hold, however the situation in which soldiers are placed into is vastly different. Although it is expected that they put on a toughened facade, naturally fear will still attempt to creep and take over. O’Brien uses the physical items to symbolize the intangible emotional baggage that is carried with the men at war. For example, Lavender, who has fear instilled in him and does no job in hiding it, carries tranquilizers and extra protection. Other soldiers, like Cross, have items which bring them comfort in knowing that war will not last forever. Though these are the items that had tangibility, the symbolic baggage that came along with the items had far more effect on their psyche. The physical items allowed for the soldiers to escape their true emotions and in a way daydream of what was to come. The fear and terror would be repressed as they carried their good luck charms. While surrounded by death, these tangible items do their job in bringing temporary comfort, but the real issue lies with how these traumas will

Death is expected to occur when at war, however no individual is taught how to deal with mass passings and the grief that comes along with it. In “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien discusses visible effects that death has on the soldiers. As they go through their days and experience death from left to right it is also evident that mentally, “they all carried ghosts” (O’Brien 1074). The ghosts described not only symbolize those who the soldiers killed, but also the emotional burdens that come along with the death. When humans experience death, the socially expected reaction is grief. While at war, death occurs in such masses that individuals become numb to it and no longer feel the need to express their grief. This leads to further repression and later on, affects the mental state of the individuals. After Lavender's death, Cross feels immense guilt and the war is now put into perspective for him. The comfort items are now seen as distractions and the repression of emotions now takes a different turn. No longer focusing on the positives of life after the war, Cross feels as though he has to face the war head on and address his emotions completely. Similarly in “Facing It”, Komunyakaa addresses the true number of deaths which allows for readers to put into perspective what effect this war must have had on its soldiers. Komunyakaa “[goes] down