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The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

446 Words2 Pages

On November 1, 1955, the Vietnam war began. The war was between North Vietnam and South Vietnam along with the United States to stop the spread of communism. Tim O’Brien walked alongside the South China Sea during his time in Vietnam. He and his soldiers called it Pinkville because of the color it was on the map which represented a misleading area. O’Brien published his novel The Things They Carried on war stories to show how storytelling can be believable although his novel is fiction. In Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried, love, shame and enemies plays a vital role. Love plays in imperative role because the heartache can add on extra to the soldiers. The hurt the men carry can be a distraction to them. Tim O’Brien expresses how Lieutenant …show more content…

O’Brien did not want to shame his family by ignoring the draft to the Vietnam war he received. He confirms how he “feared ridicule and censure” to explain how his hometown would disapprove him fleeing to Canada instead going to the war (O’Brien 42). Shame motivated him to go to the war because he do not want to seem cowardly or shameful. Although love and shame affect the men , enemies does as well. There are many reasons for the men to feel that everyone is an enemy, it’s a war. Tim O’Brien states that there “enemies everywhere” to describe the war (O’Brien 60). Anyone who have weapons is an enemy. They can seek revenge at any given moment. President Richard Nixon established a policy called Vietnamization to get the United States out of the war and build bigger force for South Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, South Vietnam collapsed. The war affected the soldiers mentally in a tremendously way. The Vietnam War affected the men mentally and physically in a tremendously way. They witnessed many deaths and many are traumatized from them. Soldiers had to try to maintain their sanity when the returned home. All of the memories they carried home from the war stressed them.Soldiers were also injured at the war. Their legs and arms were blown leaving them in wheelchair or with one hand to live with for the rest of their life. Love, shame, and enemies are important themes in Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They

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