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The Theme Of Fatigue In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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Flustering and Blushing often come about in moments of awkwardness or self-consciousness. Strong emotions such as shame and embarrassment can influence actions. Altering not only insignificant details, but life-changing decisions. Throughout the novel, The Things They Carried, the theme of the power of shame and embarrassment is illustrated through the characters of Tim O’Brien, Norman Bowker, and Lt. Jimmy Cross. Tim O’Brien, the character and the author both change their actions and personality due to moments of humiliation or remorse. After receiving an unhappy letter from Norman Bowker about a version of “Speaking of Courage” without Kiowa’s death along the Song Tra Bong, he edits this chapter to include this death (153-154). He is ashamed …show more content…

Jimmy Cross feels ashamed of every death that is caused by the absence of quality leadership on his part. When Ted Lavender dies O’Brien writes that Cross, “ . . . felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (16). Death deeply affects how he leads his men and also his love life after the war. By being ashamed of this moment, he never ends up with Martha and is not mentioned to have a wife after the war. After this event he makes the rules of the squadron more strict to try to avoid unnecessary out-of-combat casualties. Jimmy also burns the pictures he has of Martha to try to lessen the shame he feels for letting his friends death occur but he knows that, “You can’t burn the blame” (22). If he could take away the blame of his death, he would not learn the importance of humility and accepting the ugly truth of the situation. Although, shouldering the blame of the death of a friend can weigh heavily on someone’s life, accepting responsibility for it can exempt one’s life from shame. When Kiowa’s death occurs, O’Brien writes that Jimmy, “ . . . knew for a fact that he had made a mistake setting up there. The order had come from higher, true, but still he should’ve exercised some field discretion” (157). Blame is not placed on those who give out the higher order to set up camp there, but on each individual that

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Jimmy Cross carried letters and some photograph of a girl named Martha, he loved Martha so much. He kept the letters safe by putting them in his rucksack, and when he rewrite her letters he would imagine them together, “imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains” (O’Brien 3). He would imagine being with Martha and daydream and he would sometimes daydream about her and how he wants to tie her up in bed and touch her leg all day and how he wants to be the one who gets to make her no longer a virgin. Moreover when Ted Lavender got shot in the head, Cross felt responsible for his death because he was the lieutenant and all he has been doing is daydreaming about a girl that doesn’t love him back. After the death of Ted Lavender, Cross started to change his colors by letting go if Martha and focusing more on the war.

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Post Tim-atic Stress Disorder The book The Things They Carried is based on the emotional turmoil of its characters. Tim O’Brien outlines the different men he served with and the emotional baggage they all carry. However, he often only touches on his own emotions.

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Cross blames himself, knowing “He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead…” (p. 121). First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is distracted by his infatuation for Martha, which ultimately results in Ted Lavender’s death, forcing Cross to realize his fantasies for Martha are wrong and that he is not fulfilling his duties as a lieutenant. Lieutenant Cross is inattentive to the war and his responsibilities because he is unable and unwilling to stop thinking about his adoration for Martha.

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He accepted the blame of Ted Lavender’s death because he was more focused on Martha than he was about his troops. Wesley states that while Jimmy Cross accepts the blame he thinks this will make it all better by accepting heroic responsibility. This relieved the stress upon Cross and made him feel as if he was even more of a leader and not a coward. When Ted Lavender died they treated it as if it was nothing but a daily routine.

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Holden represents the theme depression throughout the novel. Depression is a serious condition in which a person feels sad, hopeless, and unimportant. One main reason he experiences depression is because he withdraws himself from society, struggling with the death of his brother, and a lack of motivation in life. Holden's personality is very pessimistic which shows that he tends to look at the negativity instead of the bright side of life. Another reason Holden is depressed is because of his habit of drinking and smoking.

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Lieutenant Jimmy Cross had a similar powerlessness over his inner feelings, fueling a constant internal war between empathy and apathy. Cross wished to treat his soldiers as humans rather than units, but felt caught by his military training. His emotional struggle with Martha resulted in similar conflict. He wanted with such fervor to act upon his love, only to be rejected by her indifference toward him. Cross eventually decided to stand by his ingrained training, making his sole purpose the war effort, abandoning his passion and intensity.

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Tim O’Brien states, “Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (O’Brien 16). In this quote, Tim O’Brien explains that since Jimmy Cross blames himself about Ted Lavender’s death, he will always be in lieutenant’s head. Thus, the lieutenant will always feel the guilt. With this, Tim O’Brien makes the reader think that Jimmy Cross is the person to blame since he is the head of the group and he has to pay more attention to his plans. Having questions about his love, Martha, in his mind instead of being careful about his men is the reason of him feeling guilty that “the lieutenant’s in some deep hurt” (17).

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In The Things They Carried, O'Brien explores how shame can be shown in different ways for soldiers, including shame over their own actions, shame over their weaknesses, and shame over their inability to connect with or help others. One of the most notable examples of shame in the novel is the character of Jimmy Cross, who feels intense shame and guilt over the death of one of his men, Ted Lavender. Cross blames himself for Lavender's death, feeling that he was too distracted by his own thoughts of Martha to properly lead his army. This shame continues to trouble Cross long after the incident, even after he has left Vietnam.

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