The Vietnam War In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien discusses his experiences in the Vietnam War through fictionalized stories. Throughout his stories, he develops the idea that as a witness or soldier experiences the Vietnam War, they develop a new outlook on life. In the stories; “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,”“Church,” and “Speaking of Courage” soldiers and other individuals involved in combat have gained a new perspective. For certain characters such as Mary Anne and Norman Bowker the Vietnam war had an extremely negative effect on them, whereas the character of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was positively affected as he was able to mature on the battlefield. The most tragic story of the novel is the transformation of Mary Anne from an innocent young

Fossie disagreed with this notion, so he decided to fly in his girlfriend, Mary Anne into their compound in Vietnam. When Mary Anne arrives she is an average American teenage girl: “she had terrific legs, a bubbly personality, a happy smile [...] in the evenings she liked to dance to music from Rat’s portable tape deck” (O’Brien 95). Living in the United States, she is accustomed to normal civilian life where she could raise a family or pursue a career, and has yet to learn that Vietnam is extremely different and chaotic. After being assigned a role at the compound, she “wasn’t afraid of getting her hands bloody. At times, in fact, she seemed fascinated by it [...] In times of action her face took on a sudden new composure, almost serene, the fuzzy blue eyes narrowing into a tight intelligent focus” (O’Brien 98). In order to cope with the horrors of war she has been exposed to, Mary Anne focuses on her job by helping wounded soldiers. As Mary Anne gets more comfortable in a war-torn environment, she starts to change her appearance. At first she uses “no cosmetics, no fingernail fillings” and “she

Lieutenant Jimmy Crosss used the war as a time for his maturation where he learned the importance of helping others. His new perspective developed in an evening where the soldiers stop for an evening at a church. The church makes Lt. Jimmy Cross remember his goals as a child to become a priest: “‘I started to think how I’d like to be a minister [...] Lots of potlucks. It looked like a pretty good life [...] Visit sick people, stuff like that [...] Maybe I’ll do it. Find a monastery somewhere. Wear a robe and be nice to people” (O’Brien 120-121). After feeling personally responsible for the deaths of members of his brigade, Lt. Cross wishes to make up for his actions. In another instance, Jimmy Cross was obsessing over a girl back home and through his distraction, he caused a death of one of his soldiers. By becoming a minister, Lt. Cross is able to host events where he can help people and care for the sick rather than hurting others as he was forced to do in