Trauma In The Things They Carried

In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the reader receives insight as to what soldiers experienced during the Vietnam War and what thoughts consumed their minds in those times of hardship and heartache. As Americans, we typically picture military men and women as emotionally and physically strong, while in reality, that may not be the case. They deal with more emotional and physical trauma than we come to understand. People who carry physical or emotional burdens tend to seek some kind of release or do something to feel relieved of their burdens. O’Brien uses stories about the men in his platoon to depict how soldiers are bound by their own emotional weights, and each have a different way of trying to release themselves from those tensions.

Oliwia Parafinska Ms. Haughey English Composition 102 28 April, 2023 Essay 3 Dealing with heavy emotions after traumatic life experiences is a tough feat, especially in situations that army soldiers go through. When taking a deeper look into the situation, it is clear that repression of emotions occurs more often than not. Pushing aside feelings seems like an easy, temporary escape, however, this repression has tremendous consequences on the psyche. In “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien establishes the difficulty that soldiers in the Vietnam War have in terms of dealing with their emotional baggage which comprises grief along with fear.

More than half a million service members face mental health challenges during and after war. During war, soldiers are exposed to many different traumatic events that raise the chances of facing mental health challenges. The most common mental health problems soldiers are more likely to carry with them after war is PTSD, depression, alcohol addiction, and anxiety. In the book, “The Things They Carried,” written by Tim O’Brien, characters carried things that are both literal and figurative. While the soldiers carry heavy physical items, they also carry mental, emotional, and physical baggage.

“Only the dead have seen the end of war. ”-Plato . As we read through the book we relize that soldiers have too much emotional truam due to the trumatic experiences they have gone through. These trumatic experience has caused soldiers to carry emotinal burdens when they come back home to society. In the novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien shares his experience as a soldier in the Vietnam war and shows how much the war causes someone to carry emotional burdens.

Have you ever been in such a stressful situation while trying to think normal? In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the author describes the situations these troops are put through. Along with the situations, the author tells the audience the thoughts and feelings going on with the men. Showing that the men are affected by the situations they are exposed to. In “The Things They Carried” O’Brien explains the equipment that the characters need to carry to be prepared for the worst.

O’Brien lists the items the soldiers are carrying, such as "matches, C-rations, malaria tablets, and two or three grenades. " These descriptions create a sense of realism and specificity, as well as emphasize the weight and burden of the soldiers' physical possessions. The soldiers are described as carrying their emotions with them at all times, even when they are not actively participating in the conflict. Yet, the emphasis on these tangible goods also helps to underline the weight of the soldiers' emotional baggage, which is intangible but no less substantial. For example, the line "They were afraid of dying

After Norman returns home following his time in Vietnam he feels as if there is nothing for him to do, and no satisfaction to be had. When he says “It’s almost like I got killed over in Nam'' clearly illustrates that he feels his life has not been the same since he returned:(colon) his life no longer has a purpose. Bowker feels as though his life ended over in Vietnam because of the trauma he experienced; he cannot move past this trauma and adapt to life as a civilian. Norman Bowker’s experience showcases how soldiers returning from war feel as if their life no longer has any meaning. Furthermore, soldiers become dependent on the adrenaline brought by danger to keep them from becoming despondent; without it, they struggle to cope.

The lasting effects of war are more than anyone could ever imagine. War is a traumatic experience for many soldiers and oftentimes they are unable to return to the way things were before. In The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien uses sadness in people's eyes and life after war to convey the idea that it is nearly impossible to relate to the feelings during and after war if people did not experience it. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien emphasizes the effects that war has on different soldiers. It illustrates their separate but similar struggles.

Shamus Colson Ms. Robinson Junior Humanities English 13 June 2023 Vietnam and the trauma carried by a soldier from a war fought in vane Throughout Tim O'brien's book The Things They Carried we are introduced to several young men who had been deployed to the Vietnam countryside to fight a war where there was no clear good guy or bad guy and no real objective other than to kill the spread of Communism. Unfortunately rather than addressing the horrible things these young men saw and experienced our government and some of our people shunned away these young men and the trauma they carry from a war fought in vane, where instead of valuing the lives and emotional well-being of America's sons, our government valued money and capitalism. The young man that arguably carries the most trauma throughout the book is Norman Bowker.

War can leave soldiers with life lasting consequences that steals you of your youth,innocence, purpose and mental health. These different emotional trauma that soldiers face can cause scars and permanent affect on the soldiers who served in the war. According to ptsd.va.gov 7 out of 100 veterans face ptsd or other mental issue after leaving war an only 30% of soldiers do not. In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien the Vietnam War had stolen the brightness of American soldiers futures and lead them to have a negative impact mentally that eventually scared them for life. A few things vietnam war had stolen from Jimmy an his platoon would be resposiblity an accountability of it soldiers.

In Jane Brody’s alarming article, “War Wounds That Time Alone Can’t Heal” Brody describes the intense and devastating pain some soldiers go through on a daily basis. These soldiers come home from a tragic time during war or, have vivid memories of unimaginable sufferings they began to experience in the battle field. As a result these soldiers suffer from, “emotional agony and self-destructive aftermath of moral injury…” (Brody). Moral injury has caused much emotional and physical pain for men and women from the war.

Combat is one of those incidents, where the best and the worst of people will be shown. The effects from combat could last minutes to a lifetime and will define people for the rest of their lives. To overcome the effects, people must have coping mechanisms. In the book, The Things They Carried, a platoon of soldiers is followed in their quest to survive the Vietnam War. The soldiers developed coping mechanisms to deal with stress so they can function normally and survive the war.

Dangerous and intense situations typically lead to certain devastating consequences to a persons both emotional and physical health. As result of these experiences, there is often not only exterior injuries, but also the non visual psychological damage that is just as hard, if not harder, to resolve. One commonality throughout all wars is this unseen casualty known as PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder. Tim O’Brien, veteran of the Vietnam war, demonstrates how PTSD affects soldiers in countless ways in his novel The Things They Carried. He uses fictional but lovable characters that readers can easily relate to, intensifying their emotional engagement in the book.

The True Weight of War “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers go through during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and and mind, to the point where some men return home completely destroyed. Some soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. An indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet secretly desired to die and bring a conclusion to their misery.

Soldiers train rigorously, preparing for the departure of war. They sacrifice all that they have to fight for their country. As they return after the war, they are left with painful experiences and traumatizing memories, suffering from their inevitable conditions. However, the spouse, families and children back at home are suffering even more than soldiers.