Ptsd In The Things They Carried

“The Things They Carried” focused on the experiences of soldiers who faced war and how they were effected mentally and emotionally. Many soldiers constantly needed to escape from the catastrophic reality of war. They used “things” as defenses against the reality of war and also to keep hold of themselves. Although these “things” were unique to their personalities, Tim O’ Brien uses these “things” to show detachment from reality of the soldiers. “The Things They Carried” took place in Vietnam from November 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975. Vietnam was America’s first war that involved complete guerilla warfare combat. America’s soldiers had never experienced fighting in such difficult altered conditions. The war was never popular because there were implications that Johnson sought to deceive the American public of its intentions. Most males drafted for the war ranged from ages 18 to 26, being young it is rational to assume they were afraid of going to war at the peaks of their lives. Out of fear, some fled to Canada to avoid active service. Those who fled the country were deemed unpatriotic and did not and could not
In the face of abrupt danger, it is common to want to escape from the surroundings. Today, the results of Vietnam have scared many loyal soldiers who now suffer from PTSD. The events of the Vietnam war are rarely spoken of by vets and still affect many individual’s views of America today. The way the soldiers were treated after the war has gone down in history as one of the most dishonorable acts against our troops who proudly fought for America despite the conflicted views of the public. Our troops are deeply wounded from the war and from the way they were treated when they returned from the war. After the Vietnam war, many expressed their opinions and fictional experiences of it and addressed that PTSD had indeed effected many and was an issue that needed to be