The Guilt They Carried in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional standpoint of being young men out at war.

The text, ‘The Things They Carried', is an excellent example which reveals how individuals are changed for the worse through their first hand experience of war. Following the lives of the men both during and after the war in a series of short stories, the impact of the war is accurately portrayed, and provides a rare insight into the guilt stricken minds of soldiers. ‘The Things They Carried' shows the impact of the war in its many forms: the suicide of an ex-soldier upon his return home; the lessening sanity of a medic as the constant death surrounds him; the trauma and guilt of all the soldiers after seeing their friends die, and feeling as if they could have saved them; and the deaths of the soldiers, the most negative impact a war

“When a man died, there had to be blame. Jimmy Cross understood this. You could blame the war. You could blame the idiots who made the war. You could blame Kiowa for going to it. You could blame the rain. You could blame the river. You could blame the field, the mud, the climate. You could blame the enemy. You could blame the mortar rounds. You could blame people who were too lazy to read newspaper, who were bored by the daily counts, who switched channels at the mention of politics. You could blame whole nations. You could blame God. You could blame the munitions makers or Karl Marx or a trick of

Society’s perception on war is often clouded by popular media. Action packed movies with fictional war heroes, and video games set in past wars, are examples of such hyperbole. It is outlets like these that raise society’s expectations of soldiers into unrealistic ideas. While it may seem as black and white as killing the bad guy, majority of the population does not consider the long term effects war may have on soldiers. Most movies portray soldiers as emotionless killing machines and leave out the lifelong psychological effects war can have on a person. Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried is a look into the mind of a soldier in the middle of war. In the book, we learn of First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, a soldier who is carrying the guilt

Emotions show from many people in the story, The Things They Carried, ranging from distant memories, such as Tim O’Brien’s 9 year old crush, Linda, to the deaths of Kiowa, Curt Lemon, and other fellow soldiers in the war. Tim O’Brien would surely disagree with what was asked on statement 5 saying, “Physical injuries are more painful than mental or emotional injuries.” To show evidence that was stated in the book, the first example is brought up on page 28, when Lavender had died and Jimmy had kept a picture of his crush, Martha. Jimmy Cross stated, “Well, I did--- I burned it. After Lavender died, I couldn’t.... This is a new one. Martha gave it to me herself” (Cross 28). Lavender had just died while in battle and most would consider it both

The Mental Aftermath Thrown into a war, they didn’t chose, many young men came home with a different mentality. In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Tim tells about how the Vietnam war affected many young soldiers. From a young medic with a collection of comic books to a leader, a young man named Cross, and young Azar who blows up a puppy. Everyone in the platoon has their story of how their mind changed. But all these characters were normal young men, until they came to Vietnam, where they faced multiple challenges which affected their post war mental stability.

The poem Sorrow by Martin Dejnicki shares many similar themes with The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien. Both works of writing display war as a painful and and traumatizing experience. However, this poem reflects the message in The Things They Carried chapter, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” most accurately. Both the chapter and the poem share the theme that war can take away a person’s humanity. In the lines, “We've dug a hole, called a trench, Humanity is gone, replaced with stench” (Dejnicki) the author is trying to convey that a soldier in war can have their humanity striped away and uses the symbolism of “stench” to describe the foul persona that may replace it.

Cross was at a loss of words after Ted’s death and did not know how to react or feel but tremble. Jimmy Cross who barely arrived in Vietnam is already understanding the hardships and loss he will have to endure. In the chapter “How To Tell a True War Story” Tim O’Brien talks about Rat Kiley who lost one of his best

Guilt and Shame are constant themes in the book The Things They Carried. The soldiers felt that they had to go to war or they would embarrass themselves, friends, and family. The embarrassment is strengthen by the guilt of not being masculine enough or not being brave, heroic, or patriotic enough. Tim O'Brien, the author of the book, thought he was all three of those until he was drafted into the war. After he was drafted he went up to the Canadian border and almost crossed the border, but he decided against it. That is when he knew that he wasn’t brave, heroic, or patriotic enough.

Soldiers can receive guilt when they see a friend die and later look back upon it wishing that it had not occurred. Rat Kiley had just lost his best friend Curt Lemon and is taking out his anger on the baby water buffalo when Tim explains that “the whole platoon stood there watching, feeling all kinds of things,

When people go through traumatic experiences, many feel a vast range of emotions including responsibility and guilt. Many survivors of war feel responsibility and guilt for the deaths of those around them. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien writes about the stories and experiences of his own and of the fellow members of his platoon. His novel explores the idea of war stories and the emotions that the soldiers felt before, throughout, and after the war. In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Norman Bowker deals with his feelings of responsibility and guilt by wanting to talk about his emotions but never having the opportunity, while Tim O’Brien therapeutically writes about his experiences and Rat Kiley takes his emotions out

People carry things with them all the time on a daily basis. They might be physical, emotional or spiritual things. Some people could carry a traumatic past while others simply carry a bag of groceries into their house. The things one carries defines them as a person and brings out their qualities as well as their defects. Some people might think of those things as burdens while others see them as a way out of reality or as something to push them forward, something to believe in.

     The narrator is torn between two worlds. In his heart and mind, he knows that the war is wrong and unjust. In his family, town, and nation, however, he was expected to fight. He must cross a number of hurdles on his way to a life altering decision. It seems the man has gotten beyond the idea of self embarrassment. The problem for Cross, it seems, is the fact that his decision affects everyone around him. Like any young man in those times, he was scared. Not scared of death, but scared of life after the war. He knows that is he does not go to the war, his mother, his father, and all his friends will share the burden of his embarrassment. That is why he must go to the war. In a noble sort of way, Cross saves his family the embarrassment of draft dodging. In his mind, however, he is a coward, a man who simply put, could not stand up to himself in a time of turmoil. This lack of confidence and self assurance is something

The Vietnam war was mostly fought between the U.S. and North Vietnam. It started around 1965 and lasted until 1975. The book describes multiple scenes that Tim O’Brien had experienced and how they all relate. In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, he depicts scenes of cruelty to show the true emotions of a man. Tim O’Brien uses the cruel shooting of the baby buffalo to show how the loss of a loved one can put a lot of stress on a person.

Over and over we are reminded that there are two sides to every story. What we don’t often hear is that there can be two perspectives to a story. Author Tim O’Brien tends to share many versions or views of a single story in his Book The Things They Carried, and many believe it to be his attempt to move on from the guilt of a traumatic experience. In several cases, O’Brien writes about the man he killed in Vietnam; however, he tells them from different time periods. He repeatedly talks about the gory details of the dead man, and the “huge star-shaped hole” in place of his eye. However, in his vignette “The Man I Killed”, Tim O’Brien seems to be going over every single details of the man’s life, a man who he did not truly know. He goes into