Humane Imagination In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

Humane imagination is a theory coined by Charles L. Black that explains the personal “appreciation for the thoughts and feelings of others.” Humans must undergo this emotional guidance to achieve a sense of respect and empathy for others. Without a sense of humane imagination, social difficulty arises and has the ability to cause tension between relationships. Furthermore, achievement of humane imagination occurs by reading and perceiving literature. Personally, I have found a sense of humane imagination through three specific scenes in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. From the emotional and sincere scenes of war that O’Brien describes through the intimacy of several characters, I have been able to accomplish my own humane imagination,

For example, Tim O’Brien, the fictional character, vividly fantasizes the life that the war victim that he killed would have lived (O’Brien 118-124). In reaction to his comrades personal distress, Kiowa attempts to comfort O’Brien by attempting to convince him that his military duty is to kill (O’Brien 127). However, O’Brien proceeds to explain to the reader that, “none of it mattered. The words seemed far too complicated. All I could do was gape at the young man’s body” (O’Brien 127). This scene introduced the concept of humane imagination to me as it provides immense emotional detail and personal exposure. Although I have never experienced taking a life or witnessing the taking of a life, I gained appreciation for the toughness and struggle that the character Tim O’Brien undergoes in the taking of a life. Typically, I would argue that the war experience would take away the emotional value of a solider and deprive him of empathy for a fallen victim. However, through this scene I can witness the emotional taxation and gain empathy for the character. This scene provides insight into a hushed moment of war that I would never experience myself, but can provide me with emotional information that empathizes me to the

One scene in O’Brien’s novel that accurately depicts the notion of solider’s mental instability is Rat’s emotional suffrage to his fellow soldiers (O’Brien 210-211). Rat explains that he no longer feels sane and no longer reacts to horrendous occurrences, such as bodily wounds (O’Brien 210-211). To combat this heavy vulnerability, “…he shot himself. He took off his boot and socks, laid out his medical kit, doped himself up, and put a round through his foot,” (O’Brien 212), although, Rat had support and empathy from his surrounding companions since the narrators explains that, “nobody blamed him” (O’Brien 212). It is with this sense of understanding from Rat’s companions that I appreciate the extreme hardships that Rat, and soldiers alike, must endure during times of war. Without the representation of support by the other soldiers, I would have not been able to achieve the sense of humane imagination for Rat’s situation that I have reached for him now. Although I am not experiencing the mentally instability that a soldier has the unfortunate likely hood of encountering, I am grateful that I can be empathetic to the situation. This form of empathy is not easily achievable, but through the works of this particular scene, I am satisfied with my appreciation of the emotions that are