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The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: An Analysis

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Cowardice is defined as a ‘lack of bravery,’ but in what ways can a person exhibit cowardice? Fighting in a war, especially for a cause that one believes in, is a strong show of bravery. Speaking up against and resisting a war that one does not believe in could also be considered bravery. Men who fought in a war they did not believe in simply because they were told to, exhibit cowardice. Those who showed a lack of bravery during the Vietnam War were those who did not take a stance for what they believed in. Draft Dodging during the Vietnam War was not an act of cowardice, but rather an act of bravery to take a stance against something that does not align with your beliefs. The war in Vietnam was brutal and gruesome, leaving many American soldiers …show more content…

The book explores many of the platoon members' experiences in Vietnam and what they carry with them throughout their experiences. O’Brien gives a gruesome and realistic glimpse into what the reality of fighting in this war was. He realistically conveys how the members of the platoon felt, “Their principles were on their feet. Their calculations were a biological. They had no sense of mission” (O’Brien 14). While fighting in this war, these men felt that they had a lack of purpose. They had to find motivation in souvenirs they had brought from home and letters. This caused these men to blindly fight out of fear, rather than for a cause that they strongly believed in, “Men Killed and died because they were embarrassed not to” (O’Brien 20). These men followed orders that violated their morals, they all felt that they could not retaliate to the orders they were given out of fear. The soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War were strong, but the majority of them were fighting a battle they did not believe in. Many men knew the Vietnam War was not a fight they could get behind. These men knew they could not fight for something they so heavily

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Tim O’ Brien’s book ‘The Things They Carried’ is a series of stories about the Vietnam War. Although all chapters in this book are related to the Vietnam War, each story transmits a different message to the readers and is narrated in different ways. In this essay, I have analyzed two stories to find the themes of each one and through what they are expressed. In “How to tell a true war story”, the author narrates two stories of the men in the Alpha Company and throughout the stories he disputes whether they are real or fabricated. On the other hand, in “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, Rat Kiley tells the story of his first assignment in the isolated mountains of Chu Lai.

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In If I Die in a Combat Zone, author Tim O’Brien argues that the Vietnam War was unjust by expressing his disapproval of the war through his own moral beliefs, sharing the descriptions of deaths in Vietnam of the innocent citizens, and by describing how much the war impacted himself and others negatively. In the beginning of the book, O’Brien openly stated his beliefs on the war. He believed it was wrongly accepted and unjust, but he battled his own opinions with society’s views anyway (18). Constantly, O’Brien discussed within his own head about the true definition of bravery and courage (147).

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Men went through so many tasks during the Vietnam War physically and mentally. The beginning chapters focus on training for war and being prepared for the worst. For example, when there is a sergeant in a room with the marines. The sergeant walks to the chalk board and writes “AMBUSHES ARE MURDER AND MURDER IS FUN” (36-37). The

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Micaela Tracey English 12 Derosa Per. 2 5/21/24 TTTC and Platoon Essay The Vietnam War was a very gruesome, and unsettling time for many soldiers who went to fight in the war. Being a soldier in the Vietnam War could turn an innocent man into someone who ended up killing many opposing soldiers. The Vietnam War was no joke and many soldiers were faced with that reality the longer they spent in their platoons.

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He talks not only about his experiences but, also his platoon members experience. War degrades the lives of war and post-war soldiers by completely ripping them from their normal lives and into war. The Vietnam war derailed many lives, as people were forced into a foreign land to fight an unknown war. The 60’s were a changing time, young adults were looking to succeed and rebel the norms.

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In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the author retells the chilling, and oftentimes gruesome, experiences of the Vietnam war. He utilizes many anecdotes and other rhetorical devices in his stories to paint the image of what war is really like to people who have never experienced it. In the short stories “Spin,” “The Man I Killed,” and “ ,” O’Brien gives reader the perfect understanding of the Vietnam by placing them directly into the war itself. In “Spin,” O’Brien expresses the general theme of war being boring and unpredictable, as well as the soldiers being young and unpredictable.

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The men who served in the Vietnam War were just barely men, some of them were just hitting the age twenty. It was the draft which brought these boys into the fight involuntarily, to fight a war which they saw no meaning in. Many of these boys are the sons of veterans who fought in World War II, that came home to parades and were held up like heroes for fighting. Honorary men of the country and the soldiers fighting for Vietnam did not want to disappoint them. Thus, when O’Brien mentions in the quote, valor was not the point, he is trying to explain to the reader that the men went like it was a job they had to do, not a random act of courage that willed them to proceed.

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For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past that they can only learn about it from second hand sources. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, it becomes very apparent that the Vietnam conflict has proved to be one that many of the participants have not been able move away from. Throughout the 60s people were constantly fighting for their rights as citizens to protest war. It was more common than not for soldiers to never return home and many tried to keep the youth from going. The 60s was a time for change, a time for people to stand up for what they believe.

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The Vietnam War explored the ideas of patriotism and personal beliefs. It was a tumultuous time in American History and caused division among the American people as many questioned the purpose of the war and it led to distrust in government decisions. The war had a huge impact on soldiers who fought in the war, as well as their families. Some men opposed the war but felt pressured to fight and these men were seen as courageous in the eyes of society while the men who deserted the draft were labeled as cowards. However, by looking into both sides it becomes evident that both the men who fought the war and the men who stood by their personal convictions by taking a stand against the draft demonstrated courage.

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Many soldiers that served in the Vietnam war suffered dramatically pertaining to mental and physical health. O’Brien and many other soldiers also had the same views on the Vietnam War, such as that it was pointless for the United States. Most soldiers were frustrated with the fact that they were fighting for their country with no purpose or benefit for the American people. In the book O’Brian said, “I can’t stop crying. I can’t stop thinking of what a waste it all was” (O’Brian 7).

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The short story, “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, takes place in South Vietnam where the soldiers are fighting in the war. Many people did not want the US to enter the Vietnam war. People shunned the soldiers who went to war because it was their duty. Although some soldiers knew it was not the right thing to do, they did it anyway knowing they had to protect their countries.

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The Vietnam War leaves a legacy of moral confusion with each and every soldier who serves. Soldiers are fighting for a cause they do not necessarily believe in, killing people who do not necessarily deserve it, and watching their brothers die beside them. Tim O’Briens’ book, The Things They Carried, illustrates the soldiers struggle to define morality throughout the confusion of the war. On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien faces what he feels is his moral obligation to answer his country’s call and fight in Vietnam, and a personal moral issue with the reason for the war.

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Their Escape from the War The Vietnam War was a difficult time for soldiers and the people on the home front. The soldiers were experiencing a completely different type of war, guerilla warfare. It was complete chaos and there were no organized battles or anyway to get a good attack on the Vietnamese soldiers, or the Vietcong as they were called. The soldiers were having to do unethical things and go against their will by killing these people.

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The Vietnam War had been viewed negatively on not just the war itself, it had also affected the American society, including those who survived it. The young men who were drafted to serve had no choice but to answer their nation’s calling. Armed Forces would then be entering an unknown war that awaited them. This battle not only introduced new forms of technology, for it had also brought a new style of combat. The U.S. and the South Vietnamese were assigned to be allies with forces to fight against the North Vietnamese (also known as Viet Cong) to prevent communism from taking over.

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The soldiers in the Vietnams war were there for different reasons, some soldiers were forced against their will and some were there by choice. Because of that, each soldier has their own thoughts about the war, O’Brien has interpreted that “The twenty –six men were very quiet: some of them excited by the adventure, some of them afraid”. This clearly shows how the men

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