Theme Essay

Themes in The Things They Carried

From the title itself , this story by Tim O 'Brien talks about the physical and emotional burdens the characters carried as they fought in the Vietnam War . As young soldiers , the group of O 'Brien was unprepared for the sufferings they would encounter in the battle . Owing to this unpreparedness , each is forced to face the consequences of war

Being in war requires everyone a heart of stone . However in the story most of the characters do not possess this . Instead , they fall dumbfounded at the

struck of death in their midst . Such are the times Kiowa and Lavender die . The story shows the many disadvantages of war not only to its casualties and innocent people in villages , but foremost to the soldiers who become part of it . Each of the characters carries with him emotional loads of fear , grief , emptiness , and longing for love . Further to the loads the soldiers carry while in the battlefield they continue to carry the emotional trauma even when the war is over This is clearly expressed by Tim O 'Brien in his storytelling . Through this means , he recounts the emotional sufferings he and others encountered , in the hope of easing himself of the pain when he has completed his part

Aside from the disadvantages of war , another theme expressed in the story is fear of shame among the soldiers . Most often , as O 'Brien experiences , soldiers like him are forced to fight due to their fear of being called a coward . More than one 's self-determination , many of them conform to the procedures of war although they do not believe in what they are doing . For instance , O 'Brien continues to fight , thinking of what his family and community would say about him if he does not do so This theme is recurrent in other stories of war , wherein those who come back alive and unhurt are more doomed to shame than those who suffered badly . In which case , those who die and are shot receive more recognition than those who seemingly did not do hard by returning unwounded

Among the traumas experienced by soldiers like O 'Brien is the question of morality . If one stands amid countless deaths and cruelty , how can one still afford to justify morality of killing for one 's country ? In the story of O 'Brien , we witness how the characters respond according to their situation , sometimes unmindful of the morality of their acts . For instance , when Lavender dies , Jim Cross burns an entire village unconcerned of who will die there . This eventually leads others to act in the same way , as to seek revenge in other creatures , just like when Rat Kiley brutally slaughtered a water buffalo after Lemon 's death . The callousness continues to permeate the others , and even O 'Brien who is well-educated is led to take revenge and wish to harm others

Just like any war story , emptiness and isolation fill the characters From the emotional traumas they...