The Things They Carried Courage Analysis

In the short story “Speaking of Courage”, from Tim O’Brien’s collection The Things They Carried, many foggy images that the reader may have about war are sure to be made clear. It turns out that some veterans struggle just as much back home as they did in the war, and O’Brien paints a clear picture of the struggles these veterans face. Readers of “Speaking of Courage” get to see America through a veteran's eyes, and attempt to discern the peculiar struggle of being back home from war. In “Speaking of Courage”, O’Brien’s fictional twist on a true story, Norman Bowker reflects on a disturbing experience that happened to him back in the Vietnam War as he drives around his hometown. He has a very hard time moving on from a traumatic moment he faced

“Lieutenant Cross gazed at the tunnel. But he was not there. He was buried with Martha under the white sand at the Jersey shore. They were pressed together, and the pebble in his mouth was her tongue”(O’Brien 7). His infatuation with Martha would transport him into another world to avoid the situation he was currently in.

By including phrases such as, “Circling the lake, Norman Bowker remembered how his friend Kiowa had disappeared under the waste and water,” and “I let the guy go,” O’ Brien emphasizes the culpability left by Vietnam. “Speaking of Courage” explores the way storytelling recalls the pain of a war experience and highlights memories that were never forgotten. Additionally, O’ Brien further exemplifies the difficulty of accepting past memories in the chapter, “Field Trip.” During this section of the novel, the narrator returns to the site of Kiowa’s death with his daughter, Kathleen. At this moment, he reflects on the previous times and compares his memories to that of the significantly changed site.

We all have our highs and lows. For the men who served in Vietnam the lows outweighed the highs. Looking through the psych lens at the chapter “Speaking of Courage” shows the fact that the Vietnam War devastated many soldiers mentally. The soldiers that made it home from the war were mentally scarred for life. Norman Bowker kept his feelings bottled up inside and never shared them with anyone.

Out of respect for his fellow soldiers, Cross attempts to flee his obsessions with Martha and strictly focus on the war. To perform such a dramatic transition, Cross burns the letters and the two pictures he has of Martha, “Stupid he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly stupid.” (23) The juxtaposition of these two opposing ideas shines light onto the intense dedication Cross has with this relationship. He has put so much unnecessary thought into his relationship, while Martha tends to see him as simply an acquaintance.

One of the things that is always at the forefront of Cross 's mind is his unrequited love for Martha. With his love fro Martha come along fantasies, which take his mind off of the war and what 's going on around him. He thinks that because of his love for Martha, it distracted him just long enough for something serious to happen. After Lavender 's death, he tries to recollect his mind by promising himself that he would stop thinking about Martha by burning her letters and pictures that he owns. By doing this he takes the blame for the death of one of his brothers.

Courage The dictionary definition of courage is “strength in the face of pain of grief.” Throughout the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the common idea of courage is expressed with different meanings as each character interprets courage differently.

The Marine Corps Core Values are Honor, Courage, and Commitment these are the cells that make the marrow that's in the bones of the Marine Corps. They’re more than just a guideline on how to conduct yourself as a marine on and off duty, their a way of life. From day one of recruit training until our twentieth year in service we are expected to live by and constantly exercise these three values. With Honor you are meant to be loyal to the corps and all of its beliefs. With Courage you are expected to live up and beyond your potential to grow learn and test your limits.

is how Nelson Mandela once explained it. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout get taught quite a bit about what it means to have courage. They first believe that having courage means that you can shoot a gun but through of the actions of Boo Radley, Mrs.Dubose, and Atticus, they learn that it means so much more. Jem and scout are taught a valuable life lesson about courage through the characters in the story. Arthur “Boo” Radley is courageous in revealing

Into The Wild portrays a man who went on a fatal unforgettable journey through the alaska wilderness. Chris McCandless was a man with great courage and the ability to live on his own made him more of a hero going on his fatal journey. Many would say he was foolish or not thinking right, but that is not the case. The case here is simply a man with courage wanting to fulfill is beliefs through his journey. One may ask what is courage.

For the majority of the chapter, Cross carried his mind in thoughts of Martha. He was obsessed with matters such as why she signed her letters “love”, and if she did love him or if that was just formality. Cross is unable to grieve in the ways his soldiers do; he distances himself and decides it’s better to be a leader than to be loved. The weight of the responsibility he carries for his men outweighed his love for Martha. The grieving process out-weighed his fantasies of love.

,” another soldier yelled in return, “See what you can do until he can get here!!” The effects of war, as shown in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, are different for every person. Not a single person is made the same despite the similarities in backstories. One never knows what he/she will do in a situation until they are faced with that decision.

“Courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. ”(Lee,149) This quote meanings is, courage is not winning the battle or even participating in it, it means knowing you going to lose the battle, but fighting anyways and dealing with the embarrassment because you know you're in the right,so standing up for the right thing even if society is against it. This teaches to always fight for what you believe is right of fair.

Courage is the ability to do things out of your comfort zone. As Eddie Rickenbacker, a fighter pilot, said “Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” What Eddie Rickenbacker wants to explain is that courage and fear come together in a one pack. Also, that being courageous and fearless means facing your apprehensions and doing something that you will not usually do.

As once said by Yang Jin-sung, a famous South Korean actress, “Courage is a gift from fear.” According to the dictionary definition, courage is the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” I agree with both the dictionary definition and Jin-sung’s view on the topic. My personal belief about courage is that, in order for a person to become courageous, they must first experience fear.