Fear In The Things They Carried

Initially, when Tim O’Brien was drafted to fight a war, he needed to make a decision between personal desire and societal expectation: his point of views was more tend to be self-preservation. He believed that according to his qualities, “[he] was too good for this war.”(2,32-33) he refused to go to the war because he had “a full-ride scholarship for grad studies at harvard”(2,35-36) that would make his future much more better than going to a war that he felt unjustified. The notice that about he was drafted to fight the Vietnam War became a mess in the life he planned out for himself. “[Tim O’Brien] did not want to die”(3,26-27) and lose his bright future that would bring him happiness.

The way war can affect something is the division in families. In My Brother Sam Is Dead, Father kicks out Sam because he would want him to go to school than go to war with a chance of death. “Go, Sam. Go.

War has been something that has existed since the most primitive eras. People selfishly fight just to get what they want, like political power or economic advantages. Events like World War 1, World War 2, and the Cold War have affected and changed our society in different ways, such as the creation of nuclear weapons, the murder of innocent people, the destruction of cities, etc. Even though war stories usually portray heroism and glory, war is not something to be glorified because it causes enormous human suffering, it creates a violent cycle that never stops and it frequently fails to resolve conflicts. War causes suffering and destruction to all the people who experience it, impacting not only the soldiers who directly fight in the war but

The Vietnam war was an absolutely brutal time in American history. The war lasted for the majority of the 1960s and left many young men dead. The short story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and the film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam give us just a glance into the war by giving using the three themes of fear, pressures, and blame/guilt to embody the concept of war and how it absolutely changes a person. War not only destroys countries, but it destroys people.

At the beginning of the novel, Tim O’Brien portrays a strong image against war and him being drafted. He felt like war had no positives, leaving himself to only see the negatives. As he stated, “It all seemed crazy and impossible. Twenty-one years old, an ordinary kid with all the ordinary dreams and ambitions, and all I wanted was to live the life I was born to...and now I was off on the margins of exile leaving my country forever, and it seemed

Sometimes fear has the ability to make one feel as if they are losing their mind completely. Fear often has the ability to eat away at a person. In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the author demonstrates how fear can cause paranoia.

People say war changes people, molds them, changes the way they act, think, and behave. The true effect of war can never be measured, nor forgotten in the eyes of the changed. War is something you never want anyone to go through. It's a brutal thing that changes the softest of people into “Statues”. When people look back at wars and think how terrible it was to die there, Yet the people who survived may have the greatest wound.

During the Vietnam war, soldiers were not exposed to the traditional coping mechanisms of our American society, as illustrated in Tim Obrien 's The Things They Carried. These men were forced to discover and invent new ways to deal with the pressures of war, using only their resources while in the Vietnamese jungle. It was not possible for any soldier to carry many items or burdens with them, but if something was a necessity, a way was found to carry it, and coping mechanisms were a necessity to survive the war.

Prior to learning he was drafted into a war he hated, we are told that he had recently graduated from college (38). O’Brien says, “I was twenty-one years old. Young, yes, and politically naive, but even so the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong” (38). The previous quote shows his confusion towards the war, he then goes on questioning the war by saying, “Was it a civil war? A war of national liberation or simple aggression?” (38) which furthermore provides an example of his uncertainty towards the war. While facing confusion, O’Brien also believed he was “too smart, too passionate” (39) for the war, he claims his drafting was “a mistake, maybe— a foul-up in the paperwork” (39). Both of the quotes show man vs. society conflict. Since O'Brien had recently graduated and received a full scholarship at Harvard, he felt like he was on top of the world, like any other person would if a war was not going on then, society was focused on something he didn't believe so he did not want to accept the harsh reality that he had just been drafted. The narrator also faces man vs self conflict, O’Brien wants to get out of the draft but, he says, “There was no happy way out...my health was solid; I didn't qualify for CO status — no religious grounds, no history as a pacifist” (41). O’Brien knows that it would be illegal to not follow the law of the draft but he also knows that he does NOT want to

In “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien the theme of “carrying” both physical and emotional objects by the main characters can be found in the novel. While these men carry the same standard physical army gear, they differentiate with personal tangible and intangible items. From Lieutenant Cross’s responsibility of his men, to Henry Dobbin’s girlfriend’s pantyhose for its magic, each man faced the war with these things attached.

By the time he was eligible to fight in the war, the popularity of the war dropped drastically. Even though Tim did not support the war, the draft required him to fight. Because of his lack of support, he almost joined the other anti-war draftees who though escaping to Canada. He became extremely close to leaving. After deciding to stay and report to basic, he contemplated deserting before being shipped off to Vietnam. While fighting in the war, Tim continues to contemplate the purpose. After experiencing the monotony of the war, he continues to struggle to understand why they were

War leads to oppression and leaves negative implications on all people and societies by impacting the poor, women, children, and nations as a whole. "War is a state of violent conflict between one or more groups" (Rasenberger 3). Rasenberger defines war as a state of conflict between one group within itself or several groups in combat with each other, what is not mentioned are the after-effects of war. War itself leads to many civilian and military deaths, an estimated 1.5-3.8 million people died during the Vietnam War and an approximate 500,000 people died in the Iraq war. The biggest tragedy of War is that it always results in fatality, but another key, negative, factor to understand is that after the War many adverse implications arise. Post-war ramifications in the nation fall upon the poor, women, and children, making them weaker and less motivated leading to the downfall of a society. Regardless if a nation wins or is defeated in war they have to deal with consequences of war and find solutions to the impacted people and society. It is essential to understand that there is never a true victor in war because regardless of the outcome, fatality and a fall of morale within society on both sides are inevitable. War has often been the solution to situations that required force or violence, but in recent times this has

Secretary of State John Kerry once said “I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service.” The Vietnam War was a conflict that lasted from 1956-1975 which the United States participated in along with the South Vietnamese who fought against the Communist North Vietnamese. Many Americans strongly disapproved of the war which caused many protests and riots. The war lasted 25 years killing many people and eventually the North Vietnamese won. The Vietnam War was important to Americans back home because it tested the citizen’s right to free speech, effected future foreign policy, and created many issues for returning veterans.

The impact of the Vietnam War upon the soldiers who fought there was huge. The experience forever changed how they would think and act for the rest of their lives. One of the main reasons for this was there was little to no understanding by the soldiers as to why they were fighting this war. They felt they were killing innocent people, farmers, poor hard working people, women, and children were among their victims. Many of the returning soldiers could not fall back in to their old life styles. First they felt guilt for surviving many of their brothers in arms. Second they were haunted by the atrocities of war. Some soldiers could not go back to the mental state of peacetime. Then there were soldiers Tim O’Brien meant while in

     Tim O’Brien is drafted one month after graduating from Macalester College to fight a war he hated. Tim O’Brien believed he was above the war, and as a result pursued the alternative of escaping across the border to Canada. This understandable act is what Tim O’Brien considers an