War and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried by Tim Obrien

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Being in war is definitely one of the most life changing events a person will ever have whether it be for the better or for the worst. Soldiers will witness events that are impossible to forget or see back at home in the states. Some soldiers may have even seen one of their best friends that they’ve known for forever get blown up into pieces right next to them, or they might even get one of their own limbs blown off of their own bodies, becoming handicapped for life. As a result of seeing something so intense like that, most soldiers are usually traumatized. In matter of fact, a great amount of soldiers are traumatized from the very beginning of being in war. It’s without a doubt difficult to deal with this but there are some ways where soldiers are able to cope with being psychologically traumatized as well as physical burdens that they have been carrying. In Tim O’Brien’s entitled The Things They Carried, he describes to us a diverse group of people whom he met throughout the throughout his tour that has their own approach on coping with the harsh environment of the Vietnam War.
There are numerous things that can happen to a person that goes to war such as getting shot, loss of hearing, getting sexually assaulted by other so called “friendly soldiers”, or even getting body parts blown apart from their body. There’s a long list of possible things that can be added to that list, but what all of the things can lead up to is post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety sickness that surfaces after experiencing a very dangerous, frightening, and uncontrollable event such as military combat exposure, a violent crime, a life-threatening accident and so forth (Veterans Health Council)...

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...n has been through when he was in Vietnam War. Even though it is represented as that, the stories that he tells has a much deeper meaning to it. It gives us, the readers, descriptions of how a few people coped with the unforgettable things they have endured and seen during their time in the war. O’Brien gives us various examples of just that, as well as his own. His reason for writing this novel was that this was a type of therapy for himself as a way to deal with everything he had experienced during the Vietnam War.

Works Cited

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. London: Flamingo, 1991. Print.
"PTSD: National Center for PTSD." Dogs and PTSD -. N.p., 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Apr.
2014.
"PTSD: National Center for PTSD." Treatment of PTSD -. N.p., 2 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
"Veterans Health Council." Veterans Health Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

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