Tim O Brien Bravery

In the novel, The Things They Carried, soldiers were held to such high expectations of bravery that they were forced to hide their moments of weakness deep down, only having them emerge momentarily throughout the book. Tim O’Brien uses the signpost of contrast and contradictions to shed light on the inner battle of bravery and cowardice that lay within each and every soldier. The first instance of cowardice manifesting in the hearts of the brave soldiers occurred in the beginning as O’Brien says, “They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just

He writes “ I was terrified. There were no thoughts about killing. The grenade was to make him go away—just evaporate—and I leaned back and felt my mind go empty and then felt it fill up again. “(84) In this moment, it wasn’t an episode of heroism that led to O’Brien killing the man, rather it was the fear deep within him escaping and consuming his body. He threw the grenade, killing the man who seemed to have meant no harm. Immediately after, O’Brien regretted his actions which demonstrates how the fear within the soldiers hid deep inside them and only emerged over their facade of bravery for quick moments. Another example of this is when the author says “courage was not always a matter of yes or no. Sometimes it came in degrees, like the cold; sometimes you were very brave up to a point and then beyond that point you were not so brave. In certain situations you could do incredible things, you could advance toward enemy fire, but in other situations, which were not nearly so bad, you had trouble keeping your eyes open. Sometimes, like that night in the shit field, the difference between courage and cowardice was something small and stupid.” (94) In this instance, the author explains how soldiers go back between being a hero or a coward, how they can fluctuate so easily, yet they are expected to relentlessly battle on a daily basis. Throughout The Things They Carried, soldiers were faced with the battle of concealing their fear while bravery was to be achieved. Weakness was seen as an embarrassment and death seemed to be the better option than to show fear at all. O’Brien uses signposts throughout the novel to illustrate the oxymoron between bravery and cowardice that conflicted every soldier on the