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Shame And Guilt In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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In the book The Things They Carried Tim- O’Brien experiences many altercations that either happens to him or happens to his infantry group of soldiers. This was a nonlinear novel because the chapters jump from one subject to another. O’Brien experienced tragic lifetime events in his battle career when it came to him deciding if he was going to publish a novel or not with his twenty years of active duty. O'Brien's two themes shame/guilt and storytelling/memory was being used. The themes relate to him because these are the things he uses and experiences. In the chapter “In the Field” the themes shame/guilt was being used. Each individual soldier was feeling shame/guilt to Kiowa's death. The battalion of soldiers went back out to the field where …show more content…

In the chapter O’Brien gets shot twice in the butt and O’Brien feels upset because Jorgenson does not cover his back. Tim O’Brien wants to find anyway to get revenge for what happened to him, and he wants Jorgenson to feel the same way he did. When Jorgenson tries to explain to O’Brien that he is sorry for what happened O’Brien tells him, “ It's a hard thing to explain to somebody who hasn't felt it, but the presence of death and danger has a way or bringing you fully awake. Tim O’Brien felt shame/ guilt because what he did to Bobby Jorgenson. O’Brien felt guilt because he wanted to play a prank on Jorgenson so he feels the way Tim did. When O’Brien puts blanks out in front of his bunker while Jorgenson was on night time patrol, and when they go off Jorgenson gets really scared because he does not know where they are coming from. When Azar tells O’Brien that is enough that is enough that's when O’Brien felt that Jorgenson felt the same way he did in that …show more content…

Each individual elt responsible for Kiowa’s death. In the chapter “ Field Trip” storytelling/memory was being used. The men thought it was their responsibility for what happened to Kiowa and how they were looking for his body they were talking and sharing about stories they did with Kiowa. “ I wanted to tell Kiowa they he’d been a great friend, the very best, but all I could do was slap hands with the water ( O’Brien 178). Tim O’Brien felt to this day just like it happened when he died. The author wants the readers to understand that storytelling/ memory is a strong strenght to have. “ He showed him what hed done and asked if everything was square between them” ( O’Brien 61). The author wants the readers to understand how important it is to treat one another. It was important to the story of the two men because they had to eventually get over it like war

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