Survive Nam and Go Home
...
The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
Coping with Loss
Soldiers must cope with loss of their friends or fellow soldiers during war time and sometimes this drives men to do crazy things. Kiley loss his best friend Lemon during the war, he is also the medic and has to announce the death of Lavender after he is shot and killed. After a while all the feeling from coping with the loss of Lavender and Lemon drove Rat to shoot himself in the foot. Tim must cope with the loss of Lavender, Lemon and Kiowa during the war and even after the war. Tim is good friends with Kiowa and is devastated by the loss of his friends. Many years after the war ended Tim goes back to Vietnam and visits the site where Kiowa died.
The Meaning of Love
War helps Soldiers realize the power of love. Cross must forget about his love to over come his problems while Tim feeling of love stays with him since when he was 9 years old. Cross loved a girl from his college named Martha, but when lavender dies under his command, Cross must forget about his love and must focus on his men so they will survive and be able to go home. Tim falls in love with Linda when he was 9, and finds out she died and for the rest of his life, Tim had Linda in his heart.
Fear of Shame
War create fear of shame in many soldiers each time they are force to fight. Cross doesn't like leading the company because he blames himself when one of the men are shot and killed. When Lavender and Kiowa died, Cross blamed himself and fears horrible and must write a letter of apologizes to their parents explaining how it was his fault that their son is dead. Cross must also stop loving Martha because he doesn't want the fear of shame anymore after Lavender died from his not paying attention. By the end of the book, is ashamed of himself and wishes he wasn't leader of the company.
The Horror of War
The creation of war is the worst thing created by mankind, it kills thousands to millions of innocent people every time a war takes place. War doesn't favor one person over another. Kiowa was a nice person who went to church every Sunday but he still died during the war while in a dirty muddy field. Before he died, Kiowa was trying to comfort one of his fellow soldier. Curt Lemon is blown up into many pieces and leaves horrible images in the mind of his fellow soldiers.
Works Cited
- sconosciuto."Cav9.jpg". Photograph. commons.wikimedia.org.November 1965.web.November 8, 2012.
- Ed Halter."Chopper Wreck at Ap Bac-LF.jpg". Photograph. commons.wikimedia.org.February 12, 2006.web.November 8, 2012.
- Enriquecardova."searchanddestory.jpg". Photograph. commons.wikimedia.org.February 29, 2008.web.November 8, 2012.
- "US 1 503rd Paratrooper Operation Hump SVN November 1965.png". Photograph. commons.wikimedia.org.November 1965.web.November 8, 2012.