The Truth about War in ‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien

‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien is dazzling story that gives a detailed account of soldiers at war and how they are able to survive the war. Soldiers are always faced with the tension of confronting staying true to the war and also trying not to forget their families back at home. The soldiers carry various different items that have personal meaning for them to motivate them to survive during the war, even creating a fantasy world like Cross did. Some like Cross carry pictures of people they love, others like Lavender carry marijuana and others have sentimental items given to them by their loved ones (O'Brien , p 12).

This story helps to illustrate the concept of death for the soldiers during the war. These are people that understand that they can die at any minute, but they are still not emotionally prepared when one of their friends die (O'Brien, p 17). O’Brien right from the beginning helps the readers to understand that war even for the soldiers that are expected to be strong and brave is scary. The way that Cross reacts to the death of Lavender is a good illustration of how the war changes the soldiers, causing them to become pessimistic and depressed. Cross destroyed the pictures of Martha, the only thing that kept his motivated during the war (O'Brien, p 22). Seeing Lavender die made him lose hope of ever going back home to Martha and he also sees her as a destruction.

The reaction of Cross help to understand some of the reasons soldiers have changed personalities after the war. Most soldiers after the war suffer from mental breakdown all because of the trauma they went through during the war. These soldiers just like the way Cross behaves tend to be angry and they blame the innocent people in their lives for their anger. The society needs to be more understanding about the effects that war has on soldiers and to come up with better strategies to help them recover from their traumas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.

            Internet resource.