Repetition In The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien is a novelist and a retired soldier from the Vietnam War. He wrote a semi-autobiographical novel titled, The Things They Carried, in a format that seemed as if we were in the novel itself. As readers continue with this novel one can envision and have the impression of deaths and all the effects war has on a soldier from the war. O’Brien explores the effect of war on an individual through fictionalized stories he tells in this novel in order to show how humans can change through drastic events that happen to them due to the war. Being in a war affects the way we think and the people we love.

His bitter experience, a combination of self-hatred and sorrow at the loss of a comrade hardens him. As a form of atonement, he destroys all the letters and pictures he has of Martha. Lt. Cross re -dedicates himself to his current predicament allowing no distractions to enable the loss of another of his

Because no one would every know that Kiowa as soldier how he lead the team as a big brother and his death; a death that not honorable for a soldier that people would cry for when gone. In addition no one to tell how sorry he felt wishing he could do more even so everyone at home are in peace. A burden like this take many lives and Bower in the end became one those lives, he committed suicide by hanging on page 155 in year 1978. If Bower told

Death Is a Powerful Motivator In “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien, the author, portrays his own experience in the Vietnam War. Although O’Brien fabricated some of the stories and exaggerated some of the parts, the main idea O’Brien wished to display is present. He wanted to allow the reader a view of the war along with the physical burdens and emotional burdens the soldiers carried with them. These burdens effected the soldiers and helped define them as people.

Kiowa was mentioned in the book as someone who had not in particular been affected by the war. He was diligent and hardworking, but O’Biran also portrayed him as a humble character.

[Insert Body Paragraphs Here]- Because Jimmy Cross is the lieutenat and the leader of the group he feels responsible for the death of his soldiers. While the soldiers were looking for a spot to spend the night, LT Cross decided to stop in a sewage field which led to Kiowa’s death. When Cross was standing over Kiowa he had felt that is was his fault, “Jimmy Cross stood very still, afraid to move, yet knowing he had to, and then he murmured to himself, "My fault," and he nodded and waded out across the field toward the boy” (169). Since Jimmy Cross balmes himself for the death of not only one of his soldiers but also his friend, he feels as if he needs to take full responsibility for Kiowa's death. Despite Cross's fear, he knows that he must move on and take action for the other soldiers.

Kiowa was O’Brien’s closest friend in Vietnam, making his death extremely difficult, and guilt ridden; 20 years later, O’Brien finally forgives himself and accepts the ending. Death is never serene, and it will never get any easier, but grief can, and

This is made clearer when Jimmy Cross blames himself for Ted Lavender's death, as O’Brien explains, “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (16). Jimmy’s decision to place the tragedy upon himself shows how quick soldiers try to resolve traumatic experiences, subconsciously setting themselves up to rot with the emotional burdens they create. Moreover, O’Briens simile instantiates the emotional vulnerability of soldiers which distinctly outweighs the horrors of war by creating endless stress and

Throughout “The Things They Carried” O’Brien focuses on guilt through Lieutenant Cross’s reaction to Ted Lavender’s death. Lieutenant Cross’s guilt stems from the fact that he “love[s] Martha more than his men” (621). Cross allows himself to be distracted by daydreams of Martha, rather than focusing on keeping his men alive. Even in the line of duty, Martha occupies his thoughts. His love for Martha resulted in Lavender’s death.

The death witnessed during war is often a recurring thought in soldiers returning from war. This idea is explored in The Things They Carried, a novel about the Vietnam war. This novel explains the overall experiences of war and the trauma soldiers faced in and outside of war. The author, Tim O’Brien, carries a lot of guilt from war and wrote this book as a way to reflect on his experiences. Throughout the book, he argues that when soldiers experience the emotional burdens caused by death at war, they need to place blame in order to cope with their emotions.

O’Brien feels extremely guilty for killing someone. He is not sure what to do or how to feel. O’Brien does not exactly say if he was the man who actually killed him, or if someone else did. He hints that if it was not him that killed the poor man. Death has a way of changing a

O’Brien creates this backstory for this boy. How he grew up listening to stories of his ancestors protecting their land and that it was a tradition to die fighting for your own land. But O’Brien could see that this boy was weak and tiny and young. He could see that his face was smooth with no facial hair and fingers were thin. This brought so much more guilt onto him.

1.Guilt is one of the worst things accompanied by death. Guilt plays a huge role throughout the novel. In war, men are constantly dying and these men all become best friends with one another. For example, Norman Bowker felt a tremendous amount of quilt towards the death of Kiowa.

This quote epitomizes the trauma caused by war. O’Brien is trying to cope, mostly through writing these war stories but has yet to put it behind him. He feels guilt, grief, and responsibility, even making up possible scenarios about the life of the man he killed and the type of person he was. This

(p. 126). Though he does not see him as the enemy, O’Brien reacts as he had been taught to in war; to forget most of your morals and shoot before you can be shot first, a fact Kiowa points out to him. “Later, I remember, Kiowa tried to tell me that the man would 've died anyway. He told me that it was a good kill, that I was a soldier and this was a war, that I should shape up and stop staring and ask myself what the dead man would ' ve done if things were reversed” (p. 127). Soldiers are expected to forget their morals and act as a soldier should.