Guilt In The Things They Carry By Tim O Brien

Plato once said, “ Only the dead have seen the end of the war”. Tim O’Brien is the protagonist of the novel The Things They Carry. He describes the events that occurred in the middle of his Vietnam experience. The book was written to share his memories and O'Brien's own stories. In those stories we discover characters like Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, Kiowa,Dave Jensen and many others whom he served with in the war. This draws meaning about the war from their relationships. O’Brien addresses shame and storytelling and memory of the people that do not know about what really happens in war. The chapter, “ In The Field,” readers can view that the soldiers carried shame and guilt. The chapter is talking about how three men managed their guilt over

The chapter is talking about moments in life where you are in a position where it can be life changing. Tim had the opportunity to leave the war and start a new life, but he was afraid of leaving. At the same time he was nervous about how it would be in Canada. “ I felt paralyzed. All around me the options seemed to be narrowing, as if I were hurtling down a huge black funnel, the whole world squeezing in tight” (O’Brien 41). He could not move because his decision was in a short period of time. Feeling nervous about how people would react, and that fear that once crossing that line, it’s a new life. The thought of plans and dreams he had for himself made him freeze in time. Feeling shame if he left, but guilt, not doing it. In life, people have opportunities that can change one’s life in a jump, they just have to find the courage of doing it no matter how bad they think the fall maybe. Shame and guilt were the theme because the chapter tells the readers that they have to do what they think is best for themselves not for

Norman goes back home and is driving around in a chevy that is his father's. Throughout the chapter he explains that the car knows it’s way. He drove and saw all these people, but at the same time he didn’t say hi, he stayed in his car. “For a moment he’d almost pulled over, just to talk, but instead he’d push down hard on the gas pedal” (O’Brien 126). He was driving around and telling readers stories from his past, and mentions girls from high school. Sally, was one of the girls he knew and she was now married. On his third day home, he saw her and didn’t find the way to talk to her. Giving readers background of what Sally was for him, and the memory of what she was to him. But, he just dosen’t find the way to talk to