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Stereotypes In The Things They Carried

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“I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war” (O’Brien 39). The Vietnam War era was a period of immense change and numerous challenges for society. In a time where nearly every aspect of life was being questioned—from music to civil rights—it is only natural that stereotypical gender roles were challenged as well. Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, reflects on how the Vietnam War changed traditional gender expectations, particularly how the idea of “masculinity” was challenged both directly and indirectly throughout the war. O’Brien uses his own experience to tell a war story—one of emotion, struggle, and near insanity—and it doesn’t have a “happy ending”. Throughout the novel, Tim O’Brien portrays …show more content…

Traditionally, men have been looked upon as more stable, rational, and grounded than women. Men were typically looked upon for leadership within the household, workplace, and society as a whole. While this stereotype is now seen for its misogynistic origins, during the Vietnam War era, and even the 90’s when The Things They Carried was published, it was extremely prevalent. It was so prevalent that when Vietnam soldiers struggled with mental instability both during and after the war, most refused to get help or even admit that they needed it. However, Tim O’Brien’s novel shed a new light onto the internal issues Vietnam soldiers faced during the time. He reveals his troubled mind through writing, and expresses his deranged, borderline psychotic mental state. For example, O’Briens’s story, The Ghost Soldiers, describes Tim’s fiendish plan to terrorize a fellow soldier on the basis of revenge. Throughout this section, it is clear to the reader that Tim is battling intrusive thoughts and moral confusion. When describing the darkness of night, O’Brien states, “...the darkness squeezes you inside yourself, you get cut off from the outside world, the imagination takes over” (O’Brien 131). This quote makes it clear that Tim felt mentally isolated and abandoned during the war, because any “typical” healthy man would …show more content…

He not only shares the stories of heroism and valor, but also the stories of loss and pain. Tim O’Brien reveals a deep layer of raw, unfiltered emotion in his novel, The Things They Carried, that challenged the masculine stereotypes of his day. For example, in O’Brien’s short story, How To Tell A True War Story, he discusses the nature of a war story. He explains how a “true war story” is never true, and how storytelling is a means of coping for some—including himself. For example, at the end of this section, O’Brien describes a “true war story” with such intense emotion, saying:
And in the end, of course, a true war story is never about war. It's about sunlight. It's about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do things you are afraid to do. It's about love and memory. It's about sorrow. It's about sisters who never write back and people who never listen. (O’Brien

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