The Things They Carried Character Analysis Essay
The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien
All of the men from Tim O'Brien's book "The Things They Carried" carried physical items and unresolved emotional baggage. The men held onto the physical items and inside held the feelings to help them cope with and escape from the Vietnam war. However, after the war, they carried memories and scars that reminded them of and brought them back to Vietnam. In the first chapter of the book, O'Brien discusses the physical items the men carry with them. In addition to the expected gear of war the men also carried a unique blend of assorted items. Most of these items served as some sort of escape from the war. For instance, Lieutenant Cross carried with him reminders of a girl he loved named Martha. …show more content…
In the chapter "love", Lieutenant Cross admitted that he still feels responsible for Ted Lavenders death. He also told O'Brien that he met up with Martha after the war and realized that she truly did not want him in an intimate way. This only served to amplify the guilt he carried over Ted Lavender's death.
Norman Bowker returned home carrying with him seven medals, thereby satisfying his father's greatest hopes. However, he also carried feelings of betrayal for his Kiowa. In the chapter "Speaking of Courage" Bowker wants to tell his father the story of the medal that he did not receive (the silver star) because he believed that he did not have the courage required to save his friend. These feelings of betrayal plagued Bowker after the war isolating him and eventually leading to his suicide.
O'Brien himself carried home scars of the war. In the chapters "The Man I Killed" and "Ambush" we find O'Brien struggling to come to terms with his own guilt. He expressed how he almost instantly regretted throwing the grenade that killed that Vietnamese soldier. He then imagined that the young mans life was much like his own. Had he not had writing as a release, O'Brien claimed that he may very well have been paralyzed from this
All of the men from Tim O'Brien's book "The Things They Carried" carried physical items and unresolved emotional baggage. The men held onto the physical items and inside held the feelings to help them cope with and escape from the Vietnam war. However, after the war, they carried memories and scars that reminded them of and brought them back to Vietnam. In the first chapter of the book, O'Brien discusses the physical items the men carry with them. In addition to the expected gear of war the men also carried a unique blend of assorted items. Most of these items served as some sort of escape from the war. For instance, Lieutenant Cross carried with him reminders of a girl he loved named Martha. …show more content…
In the chapter "love", Lieutenant Cross admitted that he still feels responsible for Ted Lavenders death. He also told O'Brien that he met up with Martha after the war and realized that she truly did not want him in an intimate way. This only served to amplify the guilt he carried over Ted Lavender's death.
Norman Bowker returned home carrying with him seven medals, thereby satisfying his father's greatest hopes. However, he also carried feelings of betrayal for his Kiowa. In the chapter "Speaking of Courage" Bowker wants to tell his father the story of the medal that he did not receive (the silver star) because he believed that he did not have the courage required to save his friend. These feelings of betrayal plagued Bowker after the war isolating him and eventually leading to his suicide.
O'Brien himself carried home scars of the war. In the chapters "The Man I Killed" and "Ambush" we find O'Brien struggling to come to terms with his own guilt. He expressed how he almost instantly regretted throwing the grenade that killed that Vietnamese soldier. He then imagined that the young mans life was much like his own. Had he not had writing as a release, O'Brien claimed that he may very well have been paralyzed from this