Relationships In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

The Vietnam War in American history exceeds a reputation of being one of the most unpopular, violent, and unnecessary in its time. Although there was a big support basis at the beginning of the war, many soldiers that were drafted or enlisted to fight realized the dangers of the event amongst each other, and had to help each other strive through to make it out alive and hopefully maintain a healthy conscious. During the times of war, relationships in the platoon can be rough, undesirable, and even violent in certain moments, but in reality, soldiers culminate into a brotherhood and family. At some points in war, many soldiers have rough relationships with their comrades. In the groundbreaking novel, The Things They Carried, some soldiers

In one moment in the war, O’Brien reveals that there was a fight between two soldiers that he knew, Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen, over a lost jackknife. The fight “went back and forth,” but because Dave Jensen was “much bigger and much stronger,” he “hit [Strunk] hard” enough that his “nose made a sharp snapping sound” (O’Brien 59). In this scene, Jensen and Strunk reveal their childness as a result of an immature debate over a jackknife. In doing so, they initially develop a toxic relationship and relate to the idea that war develops unhealthy relationships with other people. Because it is later revealed that Strunk actually played a prank on Jensen over stealing his jackknife, it just goes to show how friendships and respect for peers on the platoon can really be jeopardized. Although war is about sticking with the people around you, minor incidents such as stolen jackknife can cause people to explode, and develop rocky relationships with others. The film Saving Private Ryan also demonstrates this point to a good extent. Set in World War II, Captain Miller is supposed to lead his group of soldiers to find a certain private, James Francis Ryan in Germany to send him home after his three brothers died. In one part of the movie, in which the platoon is still searching for Private Ryan, Captain

Going back to O’Brien’s novel, there is one particular moment that greatly shows the definition of brotherhood: Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon’s bond. Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon’s bond remenices the way in which soldiers are like brothers, and after Curt Lemon is involved in an accident, Rat Kiley is extremely upset. Trying to explain it in a letter to Curt Lemon’s sister, “Rat pours his heart out,” saying he “loved the guy,” he was “his best friend,” they “were like soulmates,” and “like twins or something” because “they had a whole lot in common” (O’Brien 65). By writing this letter, it is iminent that this letter is not an exaggeration of Rat and Lemon’s relationship. It is, moreover, a point that is established by O’Brien how many soldiers in the Vietnam war had a brotherhood-like relationship with another soldier or a group of soldiers. Due to the fact that war builds strong bonds because people are always close to each other, it can be reasonably understood how platoons and soldiers culminate into this brotherhood of soldiers, before, during, and after the war. Saving Private Ryan, is another work that exemplifies the brotherhood of soldiers. In this film there are many moments in which a tight bond is found within the soldiers. From Corporal Upham book about brotherhood, to Captain Miller’s inspiring speech to