The Things They Carries, By Tim O Brien

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Recommended: War and post-traumatic stress disorder medical sciences

Wars are very tough, doesn’t matter if its world war or any kind of wars they all want human’s blood and their life. The Vietnam War cost many people’s lives. It also causes mental illness like Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. According to www.ptsd.va.gov, “PTSD is a mental health problem that can occur after someone goes through a traumatic event like war, assault, or disaster.” The Things They Carries written by Tim O’Brien is about the Vietnam War and demonstrates the many effect of PTSD. This essay will examine how it reveals PTSD in different way, such as getting stress and angry, distracted by past (Flashback), and intrusion.
First, in this modern world, all people are busy on their own personal business. Nobody is worried about their nation. Furthermore, there are some people who want to do something for their country in order to keep it safe. But they have to kill their dreams and leave their love ones behind for that. They have to spend their time in scary place where they always have to be ready for war or any kind of situation comes up. Far away from home they make some friends as times goes and one day they have to see them dying; just like on the story of “How to Tell True Story”, Rat Kiley saw his best friend Curt Lemon die. With sad news of his best friend and saying how strong was her brother and how much he loves him, he wrote a letter to Curt Lemon’s sister and he never gets reply of it. On the frustration and anger he called his sister “dumb cooze”. Kiley’s expectations were she will write him back with sad feelings which could help Lemon to bear the pain of losing his best friend. Moreover, on the story of “The Man I Killed” O’Brian killed a young boy.
“Even as a boy growing up in the village of My Khe, he ...

... middle of paper ...

...des later, it’s tempting to dismiss it as a crush, an infatuation of childhood, but I know for a fact that what we felt for each other was a deep and rich as love can ever get”(216). This story is very sad and heart touching. They went to movie once with his parents without looking each other’s face. They were shy and tried not to make eye contact. They had hidden love they could read their eyes without talking but sad news came up on September. One day O’Brian found out Linda is dead. His friend Nick came up on the playground and told him about her death. That killed O’Brian’s heart. He runs home. He couldn’t cry he simply lay down had not any feelings just thinking how it will be like to dead and his eyes was closed. He saw Linda walking on the main street playing. She asked him why he is so sad then he told her she is dead. Linda convinces him nicely not to cry.

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