PTSD In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

The Things They Carried
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a novel written about the Vietnam war O’Brien throughout the story describes events that happened to him and his brothers during the war, also how the soldiers experiences affected them in many ways. When one thinks about war they come to a conclusion that it's about fighting for our country. Strict rules and boundaries being set and doing the best for our country. Although the moment you're getting fired at, your brothers dying and the possibility that you could die all runs through your head to a moment where you are no longer thinking you are just doing. O’Brien shows these feelings are the reason for PTSD as the soldiers get reminded constantly of what happened during

O’Brien lists off traits, and things the man ke killed could have done with his life if he didn't kill him. He imagines how his life was and what his life would be if he never died. He doesn't like killing others and believes the war should not be going on, but he still gets forced into a situation where killing is necessary to save his life and others around him. This chapter goes along with the theme shame and guilt because he feels horrible for killing the man and does not forgive himself. “ He was not a communist, he was a citizen and a soldier” (O’Brien 119) Tim feels like the man, like himself, is fighting because he has too not because he wants to. He believes he is a regular person drafted into the war. Continued on to the chapter ‘Ambush” his daughter 20 years later asks if he has killed a man he says no in shame of what his daughter will

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried a lot of reminders of his love for a girl who was in college named Martha, through pictures and what he thinks are love notes, not knowing she has no intention of being anything but friends. While on a mission to destroy enemy tunnel lines, Cross daydreams about martha and becomes distracted causing him to be distracted. On the way back from going to the bathroom Ted Lavender gets killed and still Cross can only think about if Martha really meant if she loved him. Later he burns Martha's pictures and notes, and reminds himself that he isn't meant to love he is meant to lead. “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this is something he would have to carry on for the rest of the war.” (O’Brien 16). This quote goes along with the theme shame and guilt because Cross felt so much guilt in letting his man die because he was not mentally there and he regrets and feels shame for thinking of martha more than his men, and that shame caused him to forget about the one things that was keeping him going during the war which was martha. The thought of her would make Cross feel in a daze and not have a care in the world, and that is was more than a daydream it was real life. Him realizing what he could of done caused