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Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

1566 Words7 Pages

In Vietnam 1960-1970, as death surrounded the land and homes, a story was born. “The Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien is a heartbreaking and shivering story. Through O’Brien’s writing, he manages to portray strength, courage, loss, and love in such a dark place and time. Before, during, and after the Vietnam War characters struggle with their emotional traumas, O’Brien illustrates the various coping mechanisms and how a variety of characters use them to survive their experiences during and post-war. O’Brien uses multiple characters to portray the mental damage war causes. Through his stories, Post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor’s guilt, hallucinations, and depression are represented in many interesting ways. Rat Kiley, a young medic …show more content…

Bowker imagines explaining to his father: "Well, this one time, this one night out by the river." I wasn't very brave" (O’Brien 90). This is an explanation for not successfully saving Kiowa from dying in the mud. This immense guilt and embarrassment eventually drives Bowker to hang himself using a jump rope in the YMCA locker room. Embarrassment, guilt, and insecurity are a common theme throughout The Things They Carried. The words “courage” and “bravery” are commonly misused in today's world, however, Tim O’Brien successfully differentiates the difference between weak and strong. O’Brien “manages to redefine masculinity, make cowardice understandable, and replace the contemporary definition of courage with one” (Mahajani 253). He does this by highlighting the significance of Bowker's service to his country and emphasizing that one mistake does not define a soldier as a coward. O’Brien supports Bowker's embarrassment and guilt by saying, “Norman did not experience a nerve failure that night. He did not freeze up or lose the Silver Star for valor” (O’Brien 103). By saying this, “O’Brien succeeds in making cowardice not only comprehensible but also forgivable“ (Mahajani …show more content…

The emotional and psychological burden of fighting in a war is also overwhelming. This affects not only the soldiers themselves, but also their loved ones who constantly worry about their safety and well-being. Sadly, so many families of the fallen soldiers must deal with the pain and heartache of losing someone they loved dearly. They never get the chance to see their loved ones again, and it leaves a void. The soldiers who did survive the war are often left with scars, both physical and emotional, that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. They may never be able to lead a normal life or start a family, given the traumas they have experienced. Overall, the story captures the harsh realities of war and how it affects everyone involved. It highlights the sacrifices that soldiers make and the cost that comes with it. Tim O’Brien redefines courage by sharing his personal and theatrical experiences during the Vietnam War. He emphasizes his position on anti-war, educates on the effect war has on mental health, and shows various coping mechanisms men used during and after their time in

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For Veterans, war has impacted a majority of their life due to the traumatic events that they encounter, so they are left them with the last decision, which it could be drugs or suicide. In the book, The Things They Carried, Tim Obrien writes several short stories on the Vietnam War. A fictional book based on real events and how he describes the Vietnam War as the most significant event in his life because of the things he and his friends had to face. It studies the nature of young men in a time of war, and what made them do tough decisions in and after the war. The thing that is noticeable at first is how characters go into development, and how they listed the things the men had carried with the profound irony being that is not the physical thing they carried but the nonphysical thing they carried, the emotion, the experience and the guilt they encounter in Vietnam.

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