Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

War, some would say it is a necessary evil. Others would say that war is for the weak minded, or those that cannot settle matters with diplomacy. Most people that have experienced the terrors of war would say that war is hell. Nations across the globe experience wars and acts of violence as a means to settle differences. Racial hate, Xenophobia, trade disagreements; these are just several of the issues that wars are started over. The ones that start a war, are rarely ever the ones that fight it on the combat field. It is usually left to the common people; the poor and often young. There are lyrics that come to mind when thinking about those sent to war. The band, System of a Down, has a song called “B.Y.O.B.”. It goes, “Why do they always

Words like peace and love were two words that were not often heard from the mouths of G.I.s steeped in the jungle apocalypse. Instead human rights violations ruled the land of Vietnam. Men went to hell defeat a hidden enemy; men like Tim O'Brien. In his most notable work, written in 1990, is titled, "The Things They Carried". He imbues himself into his work. He served in the army during the conflict in Vietnam. He saw things and experienced events that changed him internally. In "The Things They Carried", O’Brien creates a scenario that seems to have been close to his heart. He describes the death of Lavender a fellow G.I. and friend. Lavender takes tranquilizers and smokes marijuana to calm his already frayed out nerves. Where Lavender carries narcotics, Cross carries the photos and letters of a girl he is sweet on. Each man carries a memento that they hold close to themselves. Each man in the troupe carries a burden internally. Lavender carries his fears, Cross carries the love of a woman that does not love him in return, and Kiowa carries his religion and faith. As well as the physical things and ideas that they carry, each of the men carries the weight of Vietnam with them. O'Brien makes it a point to point out the pain and weight that the men carry. This is due to the weight that each man carries with themselves after battle. The men that stormed the beaches at Normandy, the women that nursed the lads back to health after the Somme, and the generals who sent their men to their doom at Gettysburg will carry the weight of their actions, and the witness they bore at those cataclysmic moments of human