Things They Carried

Randolph “Andre” Rivera

Mrs. Moreland

English 11

April 16, 2012

The Things They Carried

In the book, The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brien, the challenges faced by war are explained in the form of stories. The effects that war can have on a soldier in Vietnam are not solely limited to the physical state, but also the mental state, as is shown when O’Brien introduces the character Mary Anne Bell in chapter nine. The corruption that war brought to an individual’s life led to an altered view of morality and Innocence, as well as the desensitization of an individual.

The Innocence of an individual was easily corrupted by war, the sights and events faced by a person had the ability to change even the strongest of minds. When Mary Anne arrived at the camp, she was fascinated with every aspect of the war. “Though she was young, Rat said, Mary Anne Bell was no timid child. She was curious about things. During her first days in-country she liked to roam around the compound asking questions…” (91). She felt compelled to learn everything she could about the environment around her. Although it was dangerous, she pestered the men to allow her to visit a neighboring village, in order to feel how the natives lived. “Her pretty blue eyes seemed to glow. She couldn’t get enough of it.”(92) It is because of Mary Anne’s curiosity that her character experienced events that were not endured by the other men. When Mary Anne returns to the camp she couldn’t have been more content with herself, but she wanted more. It can be assumed that O’Brien uses Mary Anne’s continued curiosity throughout the chapter to show how it ultimately led to the corruption of her Innocence. “What happened to her, Rat said was what happened to all of them. You come over clean and you get dirty and then afterward it’s never the same” (109).

An Individual that may have had high morals entering a war would sometimes come out of it, with little or no morals at all. The experiences that an individual, such as Mary Anne Bell, faced during war, were sometimes enough to traumatize them permanently; thus altering their morals. Mary Anne’s morals changed dramatically throughout the chapter to the point where she may not have been recognized by others, or herself. Mary Anne experienced something she may not have been ready for when she departed into the jungle on a three week ambush, returning an entirely different person. “There was no emotion in her stare, no sense of the person behind it. But the grotesque part, he said, was her jewelry. At the girl’s throat was a necklace of human tongues.” (105). Mary Anne arrived in Vietnam with what was described as “Bubbling Personality” curious about the world around her. After her return she showed no emotion, no shame. “…Sometimes I want to eat this place. The whole country – the dirt, the death – I just want to swallow it and have it there inside of me. That’s how I feel. It’s like this appetite.” (106). O’Brien shows a change in Mary Anne’s morals in order to explain that morals, like everything else individuals decide on, are effected by the environment that we are exposed to, as well as how they are easily corrupted.

The war led to a desensitization of the individuals that were directly affected by its events. To the extent that an individual could cause the deaths of an entire village of men and children, and still feel nothing. This desensitization helped to cause a want for more in some individuals, a craving. “She wanted more, she wanted to penetrate deeper into the mystery of herself, and after a time the wanting became needing, which turned then into a craving.”(109). Mary Anne had become addicted to the lifestyle of the greenies, the danger and excitement of an Ambush was what she constantly craved. The thrill of almost dying was that she cared for anymore, no longer wanting to accomplish the goals she had before arriving in Vietnam. She became so desensitized that she was almost disturbed. “Some make it Intact, some don’t make it at all. For Mary Anne Bell, it seemed, Vietnam had the effect of a powerful drug: that mix of unnamed terror and unnamed pleasure that comes as the needle slips in and you know you’re risking something.” (109). Mary Anne was fearless and did not worry about the consequences of her actions, no matter how severe, as long as she was able to risk something of importance. It can be assumed that O’Brien used the desensitization of Mary Anne’s character to show that no matter how strong an individual may seem to be, there is always the possibility to become lost within oneself and feel nothing.

In the book, The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brien, the story of Mary Anne Bell and her experiences throughout the Vietnam War are explained. The situations she encountered because of the war in Vietnam led to her Innocence and Morals becoming corrupted. It also led to her desensitization because of her need to hunt and kill. O’Brien uses the war in Vietnam to explain the ways that war can change even the strongest of Individuals. Also setting an example that the goals and choices that an Individual may choose for themselves, is dependent on the environment from which they are exposed to.