'Guilt Depicted In The Man I Killed'

“War does not determine who is right- only who is left” (Russell). In the things they carried by tim o’brien there is a never ending cycle of whether or not someone made the right choice and how they would have to live with that choice.The men most affected by these choices are Tim, Norman and Jimmy who all feel responsible when something goes wrong. These mental issues they face haunt them and make it hard for them to lead normal lives. Most affected however would likely be Norman Bowker who takes his own life due to the guilt and pain he was facing.Those who cannot escape their past will be forever haunted by the decisions they have made.

“The man i killed” This is one of o 'brien 's many stories that would unfold throughout the book however, this is the first real sign of guilt we see from the author’s perspective. When describing the guilt of others and the things they had to carry, he has a different approach to his own guilt.Rather than succumbing to his guilt he instead begins to write war stories to divert the thoughts of the terrible things that have transpired during the war. He uses these stories in his head to try and imagine what it would be like if those who were killed, would have survived and how their lives would have panned out. O’brien even admits that “This is

He knew that because of his obsession with martha “This was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war.” However unlike what O’brien was facing Jimmy did not necessarily have a direct impact on the death of lavender. While it is likely that had he been more careful lavender would have most likely survived,However there are no guarantees when it comes to