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Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried Personal Response

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In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien highlights his conflict between escaping to Canada or staying to fight through the contrast of his initial and latter beliefs to demonstrate how society can keep people from staying with their individual convictions. For O’Brien, it is far more important to live by his principles than to follow his duty to his family and the law. He says that he wants to “choose a life for myself” (53), speaking to his desire to run off to Canada. O’Brien initially thought that “life” means to be free from the draft and to survive. However, when his wishes conflict with what society expects, for him to be brave and sacrifice for his country, he vacillates between continuing onto shore or staying to fight. As a result,

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