The They Carry By Tim O Brien Summary

The Psychological lens further examines the behavior and mindset within a story's text to unveil the deeper meaning. In “The they Carry” the leading character of the story, Tim O'Brien gives the audience an insight upon his traumatic experience in Vietnam. As well as the memories he recalls ; hence, before being drafted into the military. Focusing more on his suffering from confusion, guilt, anxiety, as well as his shame. When on the Psychological Lens, what was the state of mind of the author while the text was written? Focusing our former knowledge about the main character of the story, we find how often his perception switches and transitions into different scenes, reflecting emotions and experiences upon O'Brien.
Towards the beginning of

The urge he had to run and not ‘individual up' and face his responsibilities reflects his eventual guilt and anxiety that shapes him as he later meets Elroy Berdahl. In his mind, his motive was to hurry and live his life before he was forced to put it on the line.The drafting process comes with a huge amount of accountability. He knew if he reneged on taking this situation head on, he'd face the consequences of being criminally prosecuted, leaving his entire life, losing his parents respect, and ridiculed from his hometown where he recalls as ignorant for supporting the war in the first place. He cannot seem to balance his mortal fear and the shame and guilt he'd face from fleeing and being exiled. Referring to text, “Intellect had come up against emotion. My conscience told me to run, but some irrational and powerful force was resisting, like a weight pushing me toward the war. What it came down to, stupidly, was a sense of shame. I did not want people to think badly of me. Not my parents, not my brother and sister. I was ashamed to be there at the tip-top lodge.I was ashamed of my conscience, embarrassed to be doing the right thing (Pg. 52, O'Brien).”As Tim finally found a place to lie low for a while with the help of Elroy Berdahl, he realized how collected and quiet he was. Elroy gave O'Brien exactly what he compensated, which was time to reflect. He never bothered asking any questions, nor did he ever set him in a place that required lies or denials or a stance to contradict himself in any way. Instead, Elroy gives him the opportunity to look his choice in the face, to make it real and inescapable for him. This moment inspires O'Brien to reveal questions for the audience to emotionally show how they would react in his situation, such as; “what would you have done?” He wants the reader to encounter it the way Elroy made him face it. The shame does not come just