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Theme Of Shame In The Things They Carried

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Tim O’Brien’s novelThe Things They Carried focuses on the US war in Vietnam. In this novel the author providesnumerous details about the war and tries to rise as many themes as possible which are important according to the situation. O’Brien was a participant in the war himself. Almost all of the chapters in this book are narrated in a unique way. O’Brien emphasizes the theme of shame in his novel. The author uses this word in many different cases,the majority of which are connected to war and its characteristics. O’Brien argues that a soldier’s greatest motivation for going to and staying in the war is a fear of shame, even though many other factors can be considered as well like women. The first part of the novel where the fear of shame appears is the first chapter which is called “The Things They …show more content…

There are several instances where women are mentioned as some kind of a motivation for example: Henry Dobbins and his pantyhose of a girlfriend or Lieutenant Cross and pictures of Martha. These both facts can be considered as a motivation for a soldier mainly because of their love to them and the need to get back home from the war to see their loved ones. Indeed women play a large role in the novel itself but they cannot be considered as a motivation. Lieutenant Cross actually burns his girlfriend Martha’s pictures because they are a distraction for him. The analysis of the situation would be the following: something that is considered to be a distraction for a soldier cannot be any kind of motivation whatsoever. In case of Henry Dobbins later on in the novel author mentions that pantyhose of Henry are actually a superstition of some kind. It gives the soldier invincibility in the battle zone. Dobbins’s girlfriend actually left him while he was in war so this could not be a motivation for him either. Women are not mentioned because of motivation in this novel by any

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