Physical And Emotional Burdens Haunt Everybody And Tim O ' Brien

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Recommended: Essay the impact of war on literature and society

Justin Jeziorski
Mr. Schroll
Modern Literature
20 April 2015

Physical and emotional burdens haunt everybody and Tim O’Brien gives readers a chance to feel and comprehend the burdens of those who experience war in The Things They Carried. Tim O’Brien puts a distinctive spin on his novel as he uses his experience and knowledge of the war into a historical fiction that has readers engaged from start to finish. Readers can easily determine common themes seen throughout the novel; however, the theme that is most important depends on each reader. O’Brien attracts a variety of audiences with his fictional war stories as they mention motifs of love, friendship, and the burdens that war brings on these soldiers. Even though, O’Brien’s stories take place in Vietnam, the themes and motifs relate to everybody. The burdens that are mentioned are not only tangible for survival, but also intangibles that shows readers the fears these soldiers feel, and the memories of the people who mean the most to these soldiers.
The characters in O’Brien’s novel are given such tremendous in-depth descriptions that make readers feel like they actually knew them. O’Brien starts the novel by talking about the things soldiers carried during their time in the war. He states the essential items for survival like weaponry, maps, dog tags, lighters, and different articles of clothing; however, he also states personal items for each character. Numerous soldiers carried items to remind them of something important back home. Jimmy Cross, a lieutenant, carried pictures and letters from Martha, who is an English major at Mount Sebastian College. Cross was in love with Martha, even though she did not feel the same way about him. He carried her pictures and letters for ...

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... the war. All the tragedy that these soldiers experienced in the war haunted them afterwards and it’s learning to cope that determines how much these experiences affected them. Not only for the ones who experienced war, but for everybody, learning to cope with tragedy and experience is an important life skill that takes time to achieve. Bowker never was able to cope with his experiences as he hanged himself a few years after the war messed up his mindset. In a letter written by Bowker to O’Brien a few months before Bowker’s death, Bowker writes, “What you should do, Tim, is write a story about a guy who feels like he got zapped over in that shithole. A guy who can’t get his act together and just drives around town all day and can’t think of any damn place to go and doesn’t know how to get there anyway. (O’Brien 151).” Bowker blames the war for ruining his life as he

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