The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien tells us not only about a war story, but about a love story all in one novel. Tim O’Brien, a young man, tells the story of how the day to day life is during the war for a soldier. O’Brien shares reality in what you need to do to remain sane throughout the war, if it is possible. O’Brien struggles throughout the novel to find himself but with the help of his fellow soldiers he makes it possible and finds more than just himself along the way. Tim O’Brien talks about how going to the war is against his beliefs, O’Brien begins to tell us how “I couldn't make up my mind, I feared the war, yes, but I also feared exile”(O’Brien 42). But even with the war being against O'Brien's beliefs, that isn't only thing…show more content… O’Brien has multiple emotions throughout this novel and expresses them in all sorts of ways. O’Brien can't help but feel a guilt for the enemies that have died but his fellow soldier says to him “Alright, let me ask a question, you want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down. You want that? I mean be honest”(O’Brien 120). Many of the other soldiers sense O’Brien’s emotions throughout the story and try to force him to shut them down as soon as they can. The soldiers try to get O’Brien to have a reality check so that he remains sane throughout this war. Even with O’Brien trying to stay sane he still has a kind heart throughout this story and it starts to affect him in the war. Even though going to war was against society's beliefs,it was also against his religious beliefs. “It seemed unchristian. He wished he could find some great sadness or anger but the emotion wasn't there and he couldn't make it happier” (O’Brien 17). Even with the war going against his christian beliefs, O’Brien still felt obligated to go to the war and forcing him to gain more emotions than O’Brien could handle, these emotions spoke on many levels and geo shown through powerful words. O’Brien “almost immediately, though there was a sense of failure” when the feeling of crowding and fleeing to Canada to escape the war came to
