The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

I thought the draft was an injustice to Americans, and was glad to hear that it was over” (Lalonde). “Since I did not fight for what I did not believe in, and since I still loved my country, I felt it was my patriotic duty to protest what I, and many others saw as something negative for our country” (Lalonde). Many others who protested the war felt they did a great thing by standing up and protesting. Protesting the war was a battle in it of itself. It is not always easy to stand up against something that has already been decided and many have already accepted it without question.

These boys are also vastly known as the Forgotten Generation, because they lost everything in the war so they were pushed aside. The men of the Forgotten Generation returned from the war a completely different person and were impacted more harshly than the older men, Remarque points this out multiple times in his work. A whole forgotten generation to us in the present sounds absurd, but it was the harsh reality for the young soldiers of WWI. Young men were coaxed into the war by the only thing they believed in: their parents and schoolmasters. Paul Baumer and his friends had just turned 19 when they enlisted hoping to find heroism and recognition of bravery from their peers, only they soon found out that was not the case.

Tim O’Brien, the author, carries undoubtedly the most important weight of any of the squad members. He carries first hand experience of the times leading up to the war, as well as the brutalities of war, and the challenging life for soldiers after it ended. He shares his experience, allowing us to see a different side to war that we are not usually exposed to through textbooks and the media. Through him, we learn about the weights carried by the other soldiers and their importance. Early on in the story, O’Brien shares with us a time when he almost fled to Canada to prevent himself from being drafted.

In All Quiet on the Western Front, is a novel that shows all of the horrible things and situations that occurred in WWI. It also talks about “the lost generation” that in fact WWI produced. The main character Paul Baumer and his fellow friends, had spent times listening to their teacher Kantorek's speeches. He talked about how it was the boys' “duty or job” to go out and b patriotic and help fight in the war. All in All the decisions that they had made at this time, still had them pondering on the outcomes their lives would have.

That is to say that in the excerpt “The Rainy River” Tim O’ Brien was going through a conflicting decision on whether or not he should go to the war. Yet, as we see it turns out that either choice will lead to either shame or cowardice. If he goes to the war he feels that he will be a coward and that he gave up his own morals and values and accepted something he does not believe in, but if he does not go to war he will be shunned by society and will be labelled as a coward because he will not fight for his country. Initially, in the chapter “On the Rainy River” we see O’Brien’s first interaction with his decision on whether he should go to the war or not, when he receives his draft letter. Immediately he has made up his mind not to go since he believes the war is immoral and that he is too good, too smart and too compassionate for this war.

To do this he uses Morse code with his head to communicate to the nurse to tell them that he wants to show the public his body and what war does, but the nurses can’t because it is against the regulations of the government because they don’t want people to feel bad for him and get mad at the government for forcing him into the war through the draft. This is just one reason there are many other reasons why we should try to prevent war as much as possible. Johnny Got his Gun really brings you into the shoes of what it would be like to be a helpless war victim knowing that the rest of your life is destroyed due to war casualties. Getting the rest of your life destroyed for something you didn’t want to do in the first place just seem really out of place for our society today. The hardships that he goes through seems like hell, not knowing if you are asleep or awake, not being able to move at all, barely begin able to breath, not begin able to drink or eat, and most of all wanting to kill yourself just because you are so depressed of being a nobody, and not being able to do anything but lie in bed.

The developers wanted us to see that not everything that was happening in the game should be something that we just accept and walk away with. We need to be thinking about how such things are going on in the world around us, so we don’t continue to make the same mistakes. In the final scene of the game, Marcus says to a fellow soldier, “What’s left, Anya? What have we got left now?” He finally realizes that all of the actions made by himself may not have fully paid off. Although he helped win the war, it was at the cost of his dearest friends and family.

President Roosevelt knew it was inevitable to join the war. The President had to convince Congress that America should join the effort to help stop Germany. President Roosevelt had his work cut out for him because the majority of Congress were isolationists. They wanted to not get involved and just have the war be in Europe. The President did not want Germany or Japan to have a world power and control of Europe.

Not only does this novel tell us readers about his particular experiences, but The Things They Carried also gives insight on the other soldiers and their stories about their missions while fighting for our country as well. With the Vietnam War being one of the most brutal wars to fight, these soldiers had interesting stories to tell, and with these stories being told about their experience in the Vietnam, it should make people realize the war is not an easy task and everyone is not built for it, and that our nation needs to support our troops. First off, when Tim O'Brien wrote the novel, he titled it The Things They Carried, although he could have easily named the novel The Things I Carried, but he didn't because he knows that he was not in this alone. Each and every soldier has a different story to be told not only about their life prior to war, but when they were there as well. For example, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a platoon leader who is also the protagonist in the short story The Things They Carried.

He could not imagine how tough fighting must be, without knowing how to fight, and the reason for such a war. In addition, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends and everything he loves behind. He decides to run away from his responsibility with the society. However, a feeling of shame and embarrassment makes him go to war. O’Brien considers himself a coward for doing something he does not agree with; on the other hand, thinking about the outcome of his decision makes him a brave man.