The Reflection Of Memory In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Every person at some point in their lives feels embarrassment or if they are not enough to reach the goal or be a hero. After these feelings replay in our minds we to try to make up an excuse for not being able to achieve this standard but in reality it was a weakness we could not overcome. Everyone desires approval and are very competitive through everyday situations. We know if we do not live up to the standards of society and the ones we have set for ourselves, our minds become scared that other people will think of our self image as cowardly. In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses the reflection of soldiers past memories to show cowardly self thought and concern of not being worthy in defective situations. These examples
In our heads when we replay a regretful memory and try to manipulate it to make it seem like it was not possible to achieve and it would not look bad on our record. Norman Bowker is a character who can not get past a memory which Norman holds himself accountable for. Even with being proud of the seven medals Norman currently has achieved, the guiltiness of Kiowa “settling down in the scum”(O’Brien) still shakes one with cowardice. Norman focuses on how significant others would judge the situation and assuming that disappointment would be portrayed upon himself.In today's society people constantly look for praise and direction to keep up with their reputation. Society has found out that when people can not forgive themselves for not being heroic enough in a situations the memory “may undergo frequent revision” (Care, 15) to try to justify why one was not capable of stepping up. Replaying the guilt in the human mind can lead to disappointment and thinking of themselves with little or no confidence. Jimmy Cross, the lieutenant put Ted Lavender's death on himself and told himself “he hated himself”( for being so distracted when really in this situation there was nothing Jimmy could have done to prevent it. This burden put himself with little to no confidence and relies on “a type of navigation”(Schacter,186) to regain focus on the well being of his group of men. After a tragic event occurs, the
The overthinking is what consumes you. Thinking about something to the point in which it mentally controls you and makes you not able to forgive yourself for something you thought could do but in real life it remained unreachable. When the character Tim O’Brien was faced with the enforcement of being drafted. O'Brien claimed himself to be a coward and that he was too good to be involved. When fleeing to sort out his mental thoughts, Elroy brought him as close as he could get to Canada and brought him “up against realities”(O’Brien) to where he thought about his self image being known as cowardly if he ran or accepting the reality of the situation. When considering escaping the war self pity factored. Cross became concerned with what he would think of himself and what his significant others would think of him as well. When coming down to the decision the pity he felt was “associated with increased hopelessness”( Fominaya) for what he should do next. Some of Tim O'Brien's experiences still haunt himself today. One of the many was when O’Brien killed a man who was a mirroring image of himself. Conforming to what the authorities wanted and never justifying it. When staring at the man all he could feel was numbness and guilt. When being forced to accept what had happened and to move on from it , O’Brien still did not receive “any clarity or closure”(Tebow, 14) all that