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War In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

643 Words3 Pages

In the book The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses the title to suggest the soldiers not only carry equipment for war but the guilt that weighs them down. Through the book the soldiers and families deal with and encounter life changing decisions and events. The Things They Carry is rather obvious as they are in war and need supplies, but the author means for it to be more than the literal meaning. While at war the soldiers had to make decisions and with the outcomes came guilt, emotion, regret, shame, and anger All of the feelings are outcomes of the war and goes to show how much war can change someone. Emotional worry is a major weight the men carry while in war. Jimmy Cross, the leader of the men, carries a picture of Martha, a college student, whom Cross longs the love he feels for her to be returned back. By keeping the picture of her in his bag, he constantly thinks about her and this leads to a death on his part and the carry of guilt. Cross thinks about a date they went on and continually wishes he had done more to her. This creates a longing for Martha even …show more content…

In the book, many of the soldiers do things in order to not be made fun of, to survive, and to not regret decisions. The fear of humiliation may have been a leading cause as to why many of the soldiers survived. After O’Brian receives a draft notice he thinks about leaving and heading to the Canadian border. In the Chapter On the Rainy River, O'Brien has the chance to leave behind his life, family, and friends in order to refrain from going to war. While he has the chance at creating a new road to a different life he decides to stay in order to avoid being shamed by his family, friends, and community. O’Brien states, “I survived, but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war” Tim O’Brien stays back and goes to war, not because he wanted to be a hero for his country but the fear of

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