The Things They Carried Practice Essay
A reoccurring theme throughout the book is expressed by the title. What else does the novel aim to represent? Discuss
The Things They Carried is an anthology written by Tim O’Brien, which outlines and showcases the harsh realities of war. In The Things They Carried, O'Brien often focuses on how the men in his stories, even if they volunteered to fight, joined the army because of the unspoken pressure to fulfil their obligations as citizens and soldiers. These social obligations range from that of wider society and narrows to the nuclear. The men treasure their masculinity and act in ways that harbour their deep seeding emotions. They do this as they are afraid of showing the characteristic of cowardice; that war is no place for the weak. The threat, even expectation, of death hangs over all of the soldiers in The Things They Carried. Even before the soldiers reach Vietnam they meditate on the inevitability of death. Simply hollow corpses preparing for battle.
O'Brien’s return home is marvelled by overwhelming emotions. He cannot bear to think of the town grumbling about his cowardice for not fulfilling his duty, nor can he handle the thought of his family believing him to be a coward. He admits that he goes to war to avoid the embarrassment that would have resulted from thwarting this legal and social obligation. Similarly, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in "In The Field" never wanted to be a commander, and only joined the reserves because his friends at college were doing it. Ultimately, O'Brien depicts how his characters did what was expected of them as men and as citizens, but how in reality they are all still so young, still boys—just kids at war.
Perhaps the most extreme example of this theme of social obligation occurs in "Speaking of Courage," which tells the story of a soldier named Norman Bowker, after the war. Like the other soldiers, Bowker joined the war out of feelings of an obligation to society, and then, once in the war, he felt the pressure from popular
The Things They Carried is an anthology written by Tim O’Brien, which outlines and showcases the harsh realities of war. In The Things They Carried, O'Brien often focuses on how the men in his stories, even if they volunteered to fight, joined the army because of the unspoken pressure to fulfil their obligations as citizens and soldiers. These social obligations range from that of wider society and narrows to the nuclear. The men treasure their masculinity and act in ways that harbour their deep seeding emotions. They do this as they are afraid of showing the characteristic of cowardice; that war is no place for the weak. The threat, even expectation, of death hangs over all of the soldiers in The Things They Carried. Even before the soldiers reach Vietnam they meditate on the inevitability of death. Simply hollow corpses preparing for battle.
O'Brien’s return home is marvelled by overwhelming emotions. He cannot bear to think of the town grumbling about his cowardice for not fulfilling his duty, nor can he handle the thought of his family believing him to be a coward. He admits that he goes to war to avoid the embarrassment that would have resulted from thwarting this legal and social obligation. Similarly, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in "In The Field" never wanted to be a commander, and only joined the reserves because his friends at college were doing it. Ultimately, O'Brien depicts how his characters did what was expected of them as men and as citizens, but how in reality they are all still so young, still boys—just kids at war.
Perhaps the most extreme example of this theme of social obligation occurs in "Speaking of Courage," which tells the story of a soldier named Norman Bowker, after the war. Like the other soldiers, Bowker joined the war out of feelings of an obligation to society, and then, once in the war, he felt the pressure from popular