On The Burdens In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

“To generalize about war is like generalizing about peace”, words from the American novelist, Tim O’Brien. I inferred from his statement that the depthness behind these two intangible concepts is unfathomable. One cannot simply explain the who, what, why, when, where, and how’s of each concept without reaching a block. The novel The Things They Carried, was written in 1990 and is a collection of short stories from soldiers, each about the effect the Vietnam War left on them. The Vietnam War was a time where America was torn on whether fighting in the battle was the right thing to do. Therefore, many soldiers deeply hesitated on going to Vietnam and were mainly not accepted when they returned. In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien writes about the themes of growth and emotional burdens as he displays his character’s stories of the effects of the Vietnam war. The chapter, “On the Rainy River”, is where O’Brien expresses his biggest growing moment when he is still a minor, battling dodging the draft,

Jimmy cross was the lieutenant of the Alpha Company, being fully responsible for all of the soldiers and getting them through the battles. However, he was battling through his own predicament, his undefying love for an American women named Martha. The constantly daydreaming leader had thought he had lost the respect of all of his soldiers when one of his own men was KIA because of his “love for Martha”. The soldier finally thought, “He would dispense with love; it was not now a factor” (O’Brien 250). After the death of his dear friend, Cross changed into a strict and orderly lieutenant. He had finally lost the mindset of a highschool boy, gazing about even the idea of his crush wanting him back. The chapter exposes growth from one of the main characters, Jimmy Cross, as he loses the idea of Martha being a factor in his Vietnam