Near Death Experience In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

In war people are sent to experience things they would have never encountered in their past which would help them see life in a whole new perspective, making them become a better person. In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, he talks about his near death experience which he claims has changed him making him see life in a new light. As O’Brien came out of his traumatizing near-death experience he came to realize that “[he was] never more alive when [he was] almost dead. [He would] recognize [what was] the best in [himself] and the world, all that might be lost” (O’Brien 78). When almost dead O'Brien realized that he has taken life for granted all of his life, that he did not really appreciate what he had. Near death, experiences allow for an individual in

One day a boy came up to him and Azar asking for a chocolate bar but what they noticed about him was that he only had one leg. O’Brien then describes that Azar gave the boy what he asked for then the boy hopped off with his plastic leg. This instance that O'Brien and his platoon member witnessed shows how war makes you see life in a new way. O’Brien is expressing that life may take things from someone but that ultimately they have to learn to appreciate what they have. Life is valuable and when given the option to surpass death people realize that what life gives them has meaning and yet again should not be taken for granted. Similarly “Duty, Honor, Country,” by Douglas MacArthur, the author talks about how serving in the military brings gratitude and satisfaction to the soldier when officially done with their job. MacArthur who was once a soldier explains to the young militants that “when [he thinks] of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, [he] is filled with an emotion of admiration he cannot put into words” (MacArthur