ipl-logo

Taking A Look At War In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

851 Words4 Pages

The lasting effects of war are more than anyone could ever imagine. War is a traumatic experience for many soldiers and oftentimes they are unable to return to the way things were before. In The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien uses sadness in people's eyes and life after war to convey the idea that it is nearly impossible to relate to the feelings during and after war if people did not experience it. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien emphasizes the effects that war has on different soldiers. It illustrates their separate but similar struggles. To begin with, the experience of being at war has the power to change the way a person views the world around them. One example of this is in chapter 9, “Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong”, Tim O’Brien …show more content…

For example, Tim O’Brien, Chapter 18, makes an interesting point: “ I did not kill him. But I was present, you see, and my presence was guilt enough” (171). This is a valuable point, O’Brien includes this to show the emotional guilt of war. Emotional guilt for things that people technically didn’t do but were present for. Tim O’Brien watches a man die and ever since then he feels this overwhelming sense of guilt. He feels this way because he knows that this young man had a whole life ahead of him, he knows that he had plans for his future and O’Brien watches all of it get taken away in an instant. With that being said most people cannot even begin to relate to the way he feels because they have never had to watch someone die right in front of …show more content…

In the words of Norman Bowker “ The thing is, '' he wrote, '' there's no place to go. Not just in this lousy little town. In general. My life, I mean it’s almost like I got killed over in Nam” (150). It is important to consider the way soldiers feel when they come home after being in such a harsh environment. Nobody can understand this feeling if they have not been to war themselves. After the war Norman struggles to find himself, he always feels trapped almost like he may have made it home but emotionally a part of him will always be at

Show More
Related
1176 Words | 5 Pages

It is easier for the reader to make connections with the author when they can form an image of him and make connections between them and themselves. In addition, it shows that O’Brien has flashbacks just like everybody else. This quote highlights that’s the author is someone who the audience can relate

Read More
990 Words | 4 Pages

Through centuries of great wars and battles, history has displayed brave men and women who have fought for their countries. These audacious people have helped propel countries for the greater good. However, the weight and responsibility, of the war, takes a heavy toll on soldiers that is often overlooked. Tim O’Brien, author of the novel The Things They Carried, records his stories, and the stories of his fellow soldiers during the war. However, three of these soldiers are affected in an outlandish way.

Read More
925 Words | 4 Pages

The Things That The War Can Bring Out In People The passage On the Rainy River written by Tim O’Brien was a short story about himself, and it displays the fear of death, and the fear of shame that Tim O’Brien is experiencing no matter what choice he decides to make. O’Brien is afraid to die, and that is a big reason why he doesn’t want to go to war, but the main reason is the fact that he hates war. He is completely against it, and sees no positive side to it whatsoever. Additionally, he’s afraid of the shame that comes with going to the war.

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

The soldiers suffered emotionally due to partaking in killing many men, watching fellow soldiers die slowly, and struggling to create brotherhood. Emotionally these men will never be the same due to war. One author says, “ even though they have escaped the shells they were destroyed by war” ( Gayle, 2017). This has an everlasting impact on the way that these men think and interact with others.

Read More
423 Words | 2 Pages

In the chapter Speaking of Courage, the narrator explains how Norman tries to save Kiowa, “He would've talked about this, and how he grabbed Kiowa by the boot and tried to pull him out. He pulled hard but Kiowa was gone, and then suddenly he felt himself going, too.” (page 143). Norman lived with this for the rest of his life, playing what he could've done to save him over and over again in his head. Another example is in the chapter,

Read More
1069 Words | 5 Pages

Most of the time soldiers are sent to war and are expected to return to their families and lives unchanged, expected to pick up where they left off. War, however, has a different lasting effect. Experiences of war leave soldiers scared for their life and change who they are as a person. War and death change a person both physically and mentally, Tim O’Brien shows this when Rat Kiley loses Kurt Lemon at war. Rat Kiley sees unimaginable events over and over again and it changes who he is as a person, “ ‘These pictures in my head, they won’t quit’…

Read More
739 Words | 3 Pages

He knows that which makes more sense of why he said “I want you to feel what I felt” (O’Brien 171). That sentence can imply that he knew that there would be a response from the things he says but ultimately he wants those sayings to be read by people who can feel that sort of emotion coming off of his writing. This was exactly what Susan Farrell thought when she was reading the book, where she says “listeners must be ready to experience some of the terror, grief, and rage” (Farrell 187). Most of the quotes show this, especially the ones in Ambush and Good Form, showing Tim O’Briens way of writing trauma and the way people respond to it, also how what they saw affected one's

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

The quote “He was alone” (O’Brien 143) emphasizes the isolation and loneliness that Norman Bowker felt after reminiscing about Kiowa’s death. The sense of loneliness that Norman Bowker feels is even more upsetting when taking his age into account. The reason his age plays such a big role is because he is still very young he should be trying to move on and start a new life after the war but because it has left him with so much trauma he is not able to, this time in his life is supposed to be one that is about developing one’s sense of self and relationships with others, but he is not able to move on due to the guilt that he feels towards Kiowa’s death. This guilt leads him to take his own life because he does not know how to cope with the loss of his friend and fellow soldier. Some may argue that the age of the soldiers played no role in affecting their mental health and how they handled the war because everyone experiences the same thing.

Read More
757 Words | 4 Pages

O’Brien feels extremely guilty for killing someone. He is not sure what to do or how to feel. O’Brien does not exactly say if he was the man who actually killed him, or if someone else did. He hints that if it was not him that killed the poor man. Death has a way of changing a

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

Nearing the end, the author’s choice of including excerpts of Norman Bowker’s 17-page letter builds on the emotional burdens carried by soldiers seen throughout the book. O’Brien writes, “I received a long, disjointed letter in which Bowker described the problem of finding a meaningful use for his life after the war,” (149) illustrating the traumatic and horrendous experiences soldiers went through and how it affects them now after the war. Norman Bowker is just one of the many soldiers who had trouble adjusting to “normal” life, while some adjusted quickly and softly like Tim O’Brien, the war changed how they viewed society and their ability to contribute to said society. The effects of war can also be seen when Tim O’Brien visits the field that “...had swallowed so much. My best friend.

Read More
1293 Words | 6 Pages

In the article, “Vietnam’s Psychological Toll” by Leslie Roberts examines how impactful the war was on Vietnam soldiers. “Fifteen to twenty years later, Vietnam veterans are more than twice as likely to suffer from serious physiological problems--alcohol abuse, major depression, and anxiety--as soldiers who did not serve in Vietnam” (Roberts). These physiological problems are the number one leading result to feelings of guilt and blaming themselves for their mistakes. Jimmy Cross experiences an extreme amount of guilt and blame after the death of Lavender, “he felt shame. He hated himself.

Read More
1709 Words | 7 Pages

War is a Thing that blurs the line between truth and surrealism; what occurs in a War, it would appear that it can never be genuine, yet in the meantime, it happens. Numerous returning soldiers feel distanced from their homes and families because nobody can comprehend what they have seen or experienced. Author Tim O'Brien encountered the War firsthand when he was called to battle in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. He and other individuals in his unit saw untold horror, yet also snapshots of magnificence and peace that appears to be contrary to the scene of cold-bloodedness and fear. O'Brien calls his novel a work of art, however, it depends on the experience of thousands of individuals who are called upon to battle for their nation in the mud and wildernesses of a piece of the world that is a long way from their own (O’Brien 273).

Read More
1567 Words | 7 Pages

All I could do was gape at the fact of the young man's body”(128). He couldn’t even contemplate what he had done and he didn’t want to. He had no feelings or hatred for this man, he was mentally numb because this is never what he had imagined for himself. As O’Brien was trying to mourn the loss of this unknown man, the insensitivity of his fellow peers overwhelmed him. “‘Oh man you fuckin’ trashed that fucker’ Azar said.

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

However the trauma is not escapable for the soldiers of war. The sudden death Kiowa causes Norman Bowker so much emotional pain, he unfortunately ends his life. Norman feels overwhelmed with guilt due to what happened in war, “Norman Bowker, who three years later hanged himself… That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him… The letter covered seventeen pages, its tone jumping from self-pity to angry to irony to guilt” (149-150). O’Brien uses the idea of the tone jumping to show how Norman felt all different emotions and did not know where to place the blame.

Read More
1223 Words | 5 Pages

In The Things They Carried the chapter of Norman Bowker mentions how upon returning home from fighting in the war, no one talked about the war, leaving him feeling like he was alone for the memories of the war to eat away at him. He stated, “The town could not talk, and would not listen. ‘How’d you like to hear about the war?’ he might have asked, but the place could only blink and shrug. It had no memory, therefore no guilt” (O’Brien 137) Bowker represents the truth of an experience many soldiers may have felt upon their arrival back from the battlefield.

Read More

More about Taking A Look At War In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Open Document