Emotions In The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

Emotions In The Things They Carried EssayIn his story The Things They Carried, Tim OBrien, enlightens the reader with the m each an(prenominal) faces and sensations of men. Although men be normally thought upon as the stronger of the 2 sexes physically and stirredly, OBrien lets us existingize that this is non so. Men ar weak in veritable(a) the strongest of situations. And in this case, the situation is war. War is the main theme of the story.Masculinity in the storyThe soldiers mentioned are victims of many emotions, for example, love, hatred, stress, depression, etc. They realize how important love and real-life relationships are. Most men who are prey to long confused love, try to let go of their past and focus only on their duties in vain. As they passing game through the streets of Vietnam, they adjudge with themselves the basic necessities of survival and souvenirs to remind them of home. During these marches, they dispose of some of their supplies because they are aware that they volition soon gain much more. War is the like a game to the soldiers, there are continuously winners and losers. It can be played with many different tactics.It is all a matter of luck and strategy. that it is non all that bad. nigh of the soldiers, who leave, return soon because the peace hurts them besides much. And for some, the war is far too much to handle. This is mainly due to the losses they have. Death is a frightening incident which occurs most often bringing with it tears of pain and stress. The soldiers are afraid of extinguishing as well. The first kill is ceaselessly the hardest to bear. These soldiers imagine what grade of a life their enemies led before getting involved into such a situation. Deep, dark marks are left within the hearts of these soldiers as they spend endless eld on the battlefields. Voegele quotes OBrien as talking more or less fear,In many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put dow n. (Voegele).The soldiers have dreams just about escaping the brutal nature and reality of war because they are unable to abrogate fear from their hearts. Most of the time, there are petty quarrels that take place, some leading to physically fights, which soon lead to renewed friendships, trust and written pacts, and therefore ending in death and sorrow.Voegele quotes OBrien provides the weight of the objects which the soldiers carry by saying The weapon weighed 7.5 pounds unloaded, 8.2 pounds with its full 20 round magazine. The riflemen carried anywhere from 12 to 20 magazinesadding on another 8.4 pounds at minimum, 14 pounds at maximum. (Voegele). The story above portrays the masculine romance of the soldier as it portrays the tough and brutal nature of their experience in war. These soldiers have to be tough and brave in the battlefield in order to prove that they are worthy males.Experience of warOBrien gives a intense portrait of the experience of war by mentioning the wei ght of the things which the soldiers carry. The soldiers as well as have to face other outside factors like the weather during the time of war They carried the sky. The whole atmospherethey carried gravity. (Voegele). However according to OBrien the soldiers have several emotional problems which are much heavier for them than the physical things they carry. Grief, terror, love, longing these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weigh. (Voegele). numerous different stories are discussed and the lust for women is often brought up during camp talks. nevertheless many stories of lost and dead soldiers are never spoken of. Sometimes out of fear, sometimes out of respect, and sometimes out of uncompounded disappointment and misunderstanding. These stories, burdened by the soldiers sometimes drive them into a negative attitude. Most of these soldiers tend to target suicide. That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank do wn into the sew mount with him (OBrien, pg. 156).The author describes his feelings of when he lost a confessedly friend due to a sudden attack. Kiowa had drowned into the depths of the sewage during this attack. Although OBrien had tried to help, the smell was excruciating to him. In the story, there is to a fault specifically rumors of a girl smuggled into Vietnam by a soldier are brought up. This soldier had to spend a large sum of money into getting his girlfriend there. He warned about how dangerous it was. All the men are duly jealous of the young couple.Superstition is common among the men. They handgrip certain things with them at all times, believing these items may bring them luck. To a few of them, they actually do bring luck But religion is also a big part of these soldiers lives. They chat about how one day they would like to be monks and priests, and about how they would like to help people and be kind to them instead of killing anyone and anything that came in their way. As the war wages on, the soldiers try to find amusement in the harshness around them. The camps they set around for themselves are of unpleasant surroundings. From the ruthless weather, to the creepy crawlies and even then unbearable stenches, these soldiers have witnessed it all.They joke about the times they had almost died or had cried out of fear of veneer death during combat. Most of these men undergo many changes, especially in their personalities. Some of the soldiers like Norman Bowler were decent and law abiding citizens when they were civilians. But this man transformed himself into a heartless tool and around his neck he carried a thumb which had been removed from the body of a Viet Cong rebel fighter. The Viet Cong guerilla fighter was only a teenager. Bowler was very proud of his first kill. But there were also others, like Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, who had been sensitive during their civilian life.But the effects of war do not change them into animals. They stay t he same, lovable humans, hoping for an escape into the arms of their love ones. But when they face their enemies, regardless of their age or gender, these soldiers are emotionless beasts. They even torture human babies, mostly orphan infants, brutally. OBrien refers to the babies as a young water buffalo. Readers will find the story to be devoid of any emotions as the American soldiers engage in torture and brutality for sports and recreation.However, these men tend to feel amazing afterwards. They think over what they have done and regret these events so much that they end up painful sensation themselves in order to finally escape this reality. While some, make all the killing seem like childs play. And later, all these men share and relate their own life stories to the people they kill during the war. This, according to OBrien, brings them back to life. He based his life on one motto, Once youre alive, you sham ever be dead (OBrien, pg. 244).Tim OBrien does not believe in death . The soldiers, even tough are fighting day and night for their country feel that it is useless to wage this war. They cannot find any real reasons as to why they are there, except that they were appointed to this duty without any consideration. This lack of purpose also drives the men into insanity. When finally, the war comes to an end, the soldiers return home to again lead a normal civilian life. But the bitter memories of Vietnam prevent these men from ever being sane again. The war has cast a strained shadow over the hearts of these once good-willed, god-fearing men. Although, most of the story is fictional, Tim OBrien portrays to his readers the cruelty of war.He wants people to understand how it felt to experience death, so that they could finally accept it. He tries to share his feelings and the feelings of his teammate soldiers through detached words. He talks of the torture and pain, the crying and screaming, the innocent civilian families watching their loved ones bein g put to death in front of their eyes aware that their turn is soon to come. The experience of war is romanticized in the novel as the author provides an account of the experiences of soldiers. These soldiers are living in underworld but they have a clear concept of the culture of war. They know that they are making memoir by becoming participants of war.ConclusionThis story clearly states that even men are feeble creatures who befall victim to emotions no matter what they do. The life of a soldier may seem to be fill with hardships and killing. But no one really knows the truth behind the lifeless eyes. We, civilians wonder what it might be like out their on the battlefield and how these soldiers live their lives without emotion.When, in reality, they share as much emotion as any normal human being would. They fear the blood shed around them. Some display their feelings and confess their love and fears, while others decide to hide themselves by displaying a merciless attitude. all(prenominal) experience is hard for them. Every new day is a bigger challenge. If the cards are not played right, there is a loss, sometimes many losses. The story is an important reminder about the horrors and brutalities of war. It tells us how war changes the experiences of soldiers.Works CitedOBrien. Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway. (1998)Voegele, Jason. Thoughts on The Things They Carried. Copyright Jason VoegeleRetrieved 16th August 2008 http//www.jvoegele.com/essays/things.html