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

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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 …show more content…

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

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In war, soldiers and civilians will experience the loss of friends and families. In Tim O’Brien’s work, The Things They Carried, the reader is introduced to soldiers fighting in the Vietnam war who lose their comrades’ loves due to mishaps. These soldiers in combat, along with civilians, learn to accept or become numb towards death by understanding the situation they are in and by finding comfort in oblivion. Early in the plot, the reader is made aware of how the soldiers comprehend their allies’ deaths. According to the author, when Lieutenant Cross’ team was contemplating about who is to enter the tunnel, “Lee Strunk drew the number 17” then he laughed (O’Brien 10).

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In Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, O’Brien is the narrator recounting his experiences as a Vietnam War veteran through the form of storytelling. After death, people and experiences fade away and are often forgotten, and the only way to keep their lives remembered is to continue to tell them through story. There were many traumatic events that O’Brien had to deal with, namely the deaths of soldiers, the vietnamese soldier he killed, and the death of his childhood friend Linda. Many of the surviving soldiers developed PTSD and had flashbacks, while O’Brien held them in and blocked away the memories, as a form of catharsis. Storytelling becomes his form of therapy, and method of preserving the lives of the deceased.

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In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the author skillfully presents a paradox about war and how it is both horrible and beautiful. Through O’Brien’s vivid storytelling and sorrowful anecdotes, he is able to demonstrate various instances which show both the horrible and beautiful nature of war. Within the vulnerability of the soldiers and the resilience found in the darkest of circumstances, O’brien is able to show the uproarious emotional landscape of war with a paradox that serves as the backbone of the narrative. In the first instance, O’Brien explores the beauty in horror within the chapter “Love.”

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When someone experiences a terrible loss in their life usually they can cope with it in a multitude of ways. Some cope with it through deep mournful trials, replace the terrible moment with a more light and peaceful moment, block it out entirely, or they relive the event that caused the loss of that close friend or loved one over and over in their head. These coping mechanisms are evidently used in the entire cast of characters in the short story The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. In the story the characters experience the loss of a member in their unit during a patrol through the jungles of Vietnam. After they experience the loss of their comrade in arms the entire unit undergoes a process of mourning in their own distinct way.

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The True Weight of War “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers go through during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and and mind, to the point where some men return home completely destroyed. Some soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. An indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet secretly desired to die and bring a conclusion to their misery.

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