The Soldier In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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To be considered a respectable soldier, one must possess certain characteristics that portray them as a heroic figure. A soldier is an individual who is loyal, dependable, courageous, tactful, and above all else, has physical and mental endurance. In addition, a soldier is also thought of as a fearless, cold-hearted killer. However, in most cases, it is difficult to obtain such heroic characteristics by those who are typically bystanders. Thus, if one is unable to embrace such bold qualities, it can take a huge toll on an individual’s mental capability. A prime example takes place in Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carry.
The novel, The Things They Carried, is comprised of various short stories of those who were drafted into combat. Pre-war, …show more content…
Nevertheless, the main goal of the soldiers in the novel was to portray themselves as careless and fearless. The notion of soldiers being killing machines and unsympathetic is yet another theme found several times in the book. O’Brien’s chapter of, “The Man I Killed”, revealed how soldiers are expected to kill others without a sense of emotional attachment to occur. The chapter included the story of how disturbed and guilty O’Brien was after one of his first kills in the war. Another soldier tries to help O’Brien justify his actions by telling him, “The guy was dead the second he stepped on the trail. Understand me? We all had him zeroed. A good kill - weapon, ammunition, everything.’ Tiny beads of sweat glistened at Kiowa’s forehead. His eyes moved from the sky to the dead man’s body to the knuckles of his own hands” (123). Kiowa tries to justify the killing of the man by implying that war is like a game to them. It doesn’t matter who is who, or the possibility of how the enemy’s life before the war was. You must kill the enemy in order to win the game. Once one enters the game field, fate is in their hands. Death is what is expected when one is out in war. Also, Kiowa made the point that if O’Brien didn’t kill him, someone else on their team would have anyways. The enemy was nothing more than an easy, beneficial target than as a human being stripped away from his life. The …show more content…
In the beginning of the chapter, Kiowa sounded sure of himself; as if he actually did believe that killing the man was okay because of the idea of kill or be killed. While trying to convince O’Brien that it was justified, the author ended the section of the chapter using imagery to describe Kiowa after his attempt of defending O’Brien’s act. The author made use of imagery by including how Kiowa began to sweat and couldn’t make eye contact with O’Brien. Therefore, Kiowa was not only trying to convince O’Brien that it was okay, but in a sense, he was also trying to convince himself. The imagery used portrayed Kiowa as being nervous. Although he made himself sound sure, his face said other wise. Kiowa was not raised a born killer and he knows that. Kiowa was making an attempt to fulfill the image of a soldier – one who is able to kill and move on before it gets killed. The theme of fear of shame is one that is also reoccurring throughout the novel. In the chapter, Kiowa did his best to sell to O’Brien that this is what they came to Vietnam to do – they were there to kill. Kiowa tried his hardest to make it seem like he fully understood the concept and was on bored. However, through his behavior it was evident that he wasn’t. He did not want to feel shame because he was unable to be the soldier that was
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