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Utilitarianism In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1673 Words7 Pages

Sydney Postma
Dr. Jennifer Gross
Composition and Reading
23 February 2023
The Things They Carried Essay To advance the interests of the country, the government compels people to reject their personal convictions. Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Thing They Carried, helps the reader fully comprehend all the different aspects dealt with during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War fabricated multiple different viewpoints, ranging all the way from the government to regular soldiers. Furthermore, the contrasting opinions created a mental war within a physical war. Depending on the situation, there is a difference between what the government seems ethically moral and what the average soldier seems ethically moral. Therefore, this essay will explore ethical …show more content…

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong when looking at the outcomes. It believes that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Consequentialism is found in utilitarianism; consequentialism is largely thought about during war. When you fight for your life in war, you end up taking another person's life. While this may be good for your country, it is hurting a different country. “Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the number of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness)” (Act and Rule Utilitarianism). The future is unknown. So there is no way to tell the outcome of choices being made, whether good or bad, one believes that it’s done to have a positive effect. In The Things They Carried Jimmy Cross, the leader of the platoon, has a guilty conscience since the time he learned that Ted Lavender died. Assuming that the death was a result of his distracted mind, he burns the letters in hopes that only good can come from it. Tim O’Brien states, “He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid. Lavender was dead. You couldn’t burn the blame” (22). Tim O’Brien is hinting that he was going through something, similar to what Act and Rule Utilitarianism says. Jimmy is decreasing the number of things that he could use as a distraction so he could start focusing on the war

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