Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried: Chapter Analysis

“The Vietnam War was arguably the most traumatic experience for the United States in the twentieth century. That is indeed a grim distinction in a span that included two world wars, the assassinations of two presidents and the resignation of another, the Great Depression, the Cold War, racial unrest, and the drug and crime waves.”(Donald M. Goldstein) Tim O'Brien, the author of the book, The Things They Carried, goes into his memory to his time serving in The Vietnam War. It explains his experiences with his fellow teammates and everything they went through. Being a nonlinear book, it gives you an almost real experience to life while being a soldier in Vietnam. O`Briens intended audience was future generations and he discussed shame/guilt and morality/death. In the chapter “In the Field” Shame and Guilt is an underlining theme. Throughout the chapter O'Brien tells the story of his platoon's mission to find their fallen comrade Kiowa after dieing in a firefight. The chapter is told from several perspectives from different soldiers, and on multiple occasions the soldiers express their guilt with the thought that
they could have done something different to help save him. Norman Bowker stated, “ I guess not, But I felt sort of guilty almost, like if i`d kept my mouth shut none of it would've ever happened. Like it was my fault.” (O'Brien 168). This quote expresses how even the smallest of things they all did made them feel like it impacted Kiowa's death. The entire platoon felt shame and guilt when it came to the death of Kiowa, and they all would've done anything to help save him. Likewise, throughout the chapter “Rainy River,” Shame and Guilt is the theme that stands out.
Tim O'Brien feels a great deal of guilt when he thinks about dodging the Vietnam draft. They physical and emotional aspects of dodging the draft made O`Brien fear fleeing the United States to avoid going to Vietnam. Ultimately he made the decision to go to Vietnam and honor his country. The people in O'Brien's life, and the opinions they possessed influenced his overall decision and later added to the shame and guilt he felt. “It was as if there was an audience to my life, that swirls of faces along the river and in my head I could hear people screaming at me” (O`Brien 57) O'Brien was guilted into staying in the United States because of the opinions of his peers, but at the end of the day the guilt ate away at him to honor the draft and serve his home
country. However, in the chapter “The Ghost Soldier” Morality and Death is pronoun theme. Throughout the chapter O`Brien expresses his experience with the new medic Bobby Jorgenson after Rat Kiley had left. “I felt something shift inside me, it was anger, partly, but it was also a sense of pure and total loss.” (O`Brien 213) O'Brien had been shot and in need of help. Bobby did not have a lot of experience and was not able to help O`Brien. From the quote we are able to sense the anger rushing through O`Brien. He had never felt the way he did and he did not like it at all. The sense of pure hatred was abnormal to O'Brien but the fact that his teammate wasn't there when he needed him most, bought the worst out of O`Brien. In addition, the chapter “Night Life” has many examples of Morality and Death. Rat Kiley, the main medic throughout the novel undergoes overwhelming amounts of stress during his time as a medic in the Vietnam War. The stress kept building to a point that was unbearable. After witnessing everything Kiley had, from dead bodies, broken bones, missing legs, arms and even missing organs, Rat Kiley could no longer take it. The amount of stress and pressure that was put on Kiley to keep everyone medically stable was simply to much for one man. Rat kiley stated, “It's not right, these pictures in my head, they won't quit, I'll see a guys liver, the actual f*****g liver, and the thing is, its doesnt scare me.” (O`Brien 210) as Rat Kiley said himself, the war had traumatized him to the point that stuff that would bother a normal human, no longer scared him. The morality and death that had surrounded Rat Kiley for so long changed him as a man and he knew it was affecting him. Which in the end result is what caused his to do what he had to do to get out of Vietnam. Throughout the novel, O'Brien tells many stories that hold true to the themes shame/guilt, and morality/death. These two themes combine to bring a sense of realness to the various stories. During most of these stories, death is very prominent, as a result a lot of the soldiers are indulged with guild either because they had killed someone or because they had survived. The reader felt the novel was moving because it gave a sense of realness to the life of a Vietnam soldier. I learned a lot about what the war was like and how it impacted all of the soldiers lives differently. It makes you appreciate the things you have that you would normally take for granted. These men were brave, strong, and would of done nearly anything for one another.