8th Block: Things They Carried Review by Maureen Ritter

Title of Story

mritter8 — 2025-03-04 18:51:48 UTC

Name & describe a specific way this story looks at the topic of the column. "Bonus points" if you include a quote w/ a page number.

True War Story

mritter8 — 2025-03-04 19:58:55 UTC

Rat Kiley tortures and kills a baby buffalo after he doesn't hear back from Curt Lemon's sister. He is weighed down by the trauma of Lemon's death, and doesn't know what to do with the sadness of not hearing back, so he lashes out in a traumatic way.

The Man I Killed

oblen130 — 2025-03-04 20:14:36 UTC

Tim O'Brien is unable to look away from the man he killed, notably mentioning certain distinct physical features of the corpse like his "star-shaped hole" and his jaw in his throat. O'Brien is facing tremendous psychological trauma for his actions that, although done under the underlying violence of war, further weigh down O'Brien for the rest of his life with each recollection of the event.

The Dentist

2025-03-04 20:16:26 UTC

Curt Lemon feels the psychological weight of war when he begs the dentist to rip his tooth out. He feels as though he was a coward the first time he visited. And the war beat into him that cowardice wasn't a good thing.

The Things They Carried - Molly, Aubrey, Beatrice

2025-03-04 20:19:22 UTC

Throughout "The Things They Carried", many different stories are displayed. One in specific, the story of Lavender's death, especially takes a toll on Lieutenant Cross. He feels immense guilt and shame for Lavender's death because he was too focused on Martha, rather than protecting his group.

The Man I Killed

oblen130 — 2025-03-04 20:19:33 UTC

O'Brien, throughout the chapter, is constantly recollecting and dealing with the trauma of killing a man. However, he refuses to talk to Kiowa near the end of the chapter, unable to fully comprehend the gravity of his actions. This can be tied to the real-world with its ties to how trauma can be difficult to address, and with people struggling to explain their problems to people who want to help. This story helps to highlight the difficulties that can come in being unable to talk to others about personal traumas, and can be expanded to many more situations outside of a war setting.

Ambush

stara176 — 2025-03-04 20:23:33 UTC

O'Brien is faced with tremendous, and long-lasting guilt, throughout the chapter he questions if the death was deserved, at one point he says how "sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't." It shows he's still coping with the everlasting effects of what he's done, at points he creates hypotheticals from the situation, where the soldier walks "towards [him] [...] and then continue up to the trail to where it bends back into the fog." (128) This hypothetical points towards how O'Brien faces guilt, to the point where he thinks of how things could've been.

Enemies

2025-03-04 20:23:55 UTC

Dave Jensen and lee strunk get into a fist fight because Dave Jensen blamed Strunk for steeling his jacknife. This serves as a bigger act than just blaming him we see how paranoia catches up to Jensen and he breaks his own nose scared that strunk would come for him

The Things They Carried

2025-03-04 20:24:21 UTC

In "The Things They Carried", there is a certain focus on Norman Bowker and the physical thumb he carried. He cuts this thumb off of a deceased VC boy and carries it around with him for good luck. This focuses on the lack of morals within war because there was a lack of respect to those who died.

The Man I Killed

oblen130 — 2025-03-04 20:25:43 UTC

O'Brien contemplates over the dead man's life, what he would have achieved, and how corrupt it is to have ended such a fruitful life. Meanwhile, Kiowa is telling O'Brien to move on, saying that his death was justified due to him having a weapon, and that they are in a war where every decision matters. These ideas of right vs. wrong and good vs. evil are heavily blurred when taking into account the other perspective in a war, where perceived enemies are just as innocent as any other soldier forced into the battlefield.

Church

dcald290 — 2025-03-04 20:26:47 UTC

Kiowa feels guilty taking advantage of the monks and setting up in a church because it's a holy place their taking advantages of the monks when the are " enemies" and the monks trying to do right.

Ghost Soldiers - Aidan + Maddie

akoup317 — 2025-03-04 20:27:57 UTC

Tim O'Brien gets shot in the side as he goes into shock the medic, Bobby Jorgensom, doesn't show up and help Tim immediately. When Bobby finally shows up fumbling as he trys to help Tim, and because of that O'Brien feels anger for coming close to death. He blames Bobby for not helping him the way that he wanted to be helped, and hated the way he had to go through a traumatic experience, and couldn't tell Bobby what he was doing wrong due to the shock.

Notes

adelo232 — 2025-03-04 20:28:30 UTC

Notes

Norman Bowker still feels chained to the Vietnam war, that he struggles to cope with the feeling and emotions he still holds

¨He didn't know what to feel. In the middle of the letter, for example, he reproached himself for complaining too much God this is starting to sound like some jerkoff vet crying in his beer¨

Speaking of Courage

omisk221 — 2025-03-04 20:28:34 UTC

When Norman Bowker was under fire in the waste field, Kiowa sank into the sewage but Bowker didn't save him because he ended up prioritizing his own life since he could no longer stay collected in the moment. Later when he returns home from the war, he struggles to cope with his survivors guilt that resulted from this situation and has trouble coming to terms with it due to his difficulty voicing how he feels.

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

ckani272 — 2025-03-04 20:29:45 UTC

In 'The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong', throughout time while Fossie's girlfriend Mary Anne was in Vietnam with the soldiers she started to become a whole different person, she started staying with the Greenie's and became a whole different person. She started wearing a human tongue necklace and was also read to harm anyone in her way. She then ended up in the forest with the shadows losing her identity. "And a couple of times they almost saw her sliding through the shadows" (O'Brien 110).

Love

2025-03-04 20:32:45 UTC

Jimmy Cross rubs his eyes and says he could never forgive himself for Ted Lavender's death. He still carries the weight of his friend's death with him years after the war and has no words to describe the emotional burden.

Spin

2025-03-04 20:33:57 UTC

In "Spin," Tim O'Brien shows how war messes with what’s right and wrong. The soldiers joke and tell stories to cope, but it doesn’t make things better. War is confusing, and sometimes survival means doing things that don’t feel moral.

Good Form

oblen130 — 2025-03-04 20:34:58 UTC

O'Brien is able to answer yes and no to if he's ever killed anyone during the war. Although factual truths can be addressed regarding personal experiences, it doesn't reveal the emotional weights that soldiers carry with them day to day, unable to link the grief they feel to the violence experienced day to day. Therefore, O'Brien says that adding in these emotional truths can also lead to an honest answer, further adding complexity to the concept of war in terms of personal experiences and how it impacts memory and the emotional trauma they carry.

Ambush

stara176 — 2025-03-04 20:35:15 UTC

In "Ambush", O'Brien questions if killing the man was really something that was a morally correct decision. He talks on how "it was not a matter of live or die. I was in no real peril. Almost certainly the young man would have passed me by. And it will always be that way." (127) This shows how O'Brien questions how morality plays out in the war. He had a predefined enemy to kill but at the same time he never actually put O'Brien in danger, it questions how if it was morally correct to kill an enemy, but an un-threatening enemy at that.

The Things They Carried

2025-03-04 20:35:22 UTC

Although this chapter talked about the physical things the soldiers carried, it also highlighted the psychological things they carried as well. They talked about the memories they carried from home, as well as the physically and emotionally demanding ambushes they went on. The things the soldiers experienced kept everlasting marks on them which is shown through the grief and shame Lt. Cross displays from Lavender's death.

Stockings

2025-03-04 20:35:58 UTC

The men in the alpha company put their beliefs into good luck charms thanks to Henry dobbins and his panties. Due to Henry not ever being injured the men feel that good luck is real.

How To Tell a True War Story

egala325 — 2025-03-04 20:36:41 UTC

Throughout The Things They Carried, O'Brien explres the moral complexity of war. In "How to Tell a True War Story," he states that "a true war story is never moral" (O'Brien, p. 65), highlightnining the lack of clear morality in war. The story of Rat Kiley’s friend’s death supports this, showing war as chaotic and senseless. By rejecting moral clarity, O'Brien explores how war doesnt have easy answers, leaving soldiers to deal with the confusion and trauma of their experiences

friends

2025-03-04 20:37:55 UTC

In "Friends," Tim O'Brien shows how war messes with the mind. Dave Jensen’s fear of Strunk seeking revenge leads him to hurt his friend, showing how fear and guilt can twist relationships and make soldiers act in ways they normally wouldn’t.

On The Rainy River

2025-03-04 20:40:16 UTC

In this chapter, it shows how O'Brien had a very hard decision to make. He either flees the country and is forever on the run from the cops or stays in America and fights. This shows how the war leads to the loss of humanity because he is negotiating whether or not he should stay or forever be on the run for the rest of his life.

Style

dcald290 — 2025-03-04 20:40:56 UTC

The way the little girls dances after losing her family in a fire forces the reader to really think about the situation and such trauma with it. The confusion with the story shows how confusing war makes people react.

The Lives of the Dead - Maddie + Aidan

akoup317 — 2025-03-04 20:41:00 UTC

O'Brien had to experience the death of Linda, a girl he loved who died from cancer, at an early age. The news of her death was very abrupt, to such a degree that someone straight up told him "she kicked the bucket" (224). The death of Linda was very painful to him, and like in Vietnam, deaths happen so suddenly and quickly that you have to create some form of comfort for yourself to escape the pain. Tim O'Brien writes made-up stories and has dreams of Linda that feel real and like the actually happened, because he wanted someway to prevent the memory of her from dissappearing forever.

Love

2025-03-04 20:41:03 UTC

Jimmy Cross rubs his eyes and says he could never forgive himself for Ted Lavender's death. Feelings of guilt weigh down Cross after years of peacetime, Cross is experiencing survivors guilt because his friend couldn't survive the war.

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

ckani272 — 2025-03-04 20:41:37 UTC

In 'The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong', Mary Anne changes for the worse, her losing her innocence and becoming part of the dark war shows how dramatic the shift is from normal life to the war and it demonstrates how the war affects both soldiers and civilians. It also shows how the war completely changes the mindset for anyone involved. "It was nearly three weeks before she returned. But in a sense she never returned. Not entirely, not all of her" (O'Brien 100).

Good Form

oblen130 — 2025-03-04 20:41:41 UTC

O'Brien ties his guilt and blame to the death of the man he "killed" by the basis that he was "present" at the scene. He admitted to making up the story, but it perfectly encapsulates the responsibility and blame associated with the overall violence of the war. In a way, being present in the Vietnam war makes people guilty of the violence associated with it, even if they never committed any violence of their own.

spin

2025-03-04 20:43:06 UTC

Spin is still relevant because it shows how people use jokes and stories to deal with tough stuff, like soldiers or anyone hurting.

On The Rainy River

2025-03-04 20:44:09 UTC

O'Brien faces the hard decision of fleeing to Canada or fighting in the Vietnam War. Each decision has a list of pros and cons. On one hand he recognizes that it is wrong to flee to Canada because he would be running from the cops, disappointing his family and friends, and seen by a coward by himself and those around him. On the other hand, if he were to fight in the war, he would be going against his own moral beliefs. He faces the question of: Why should I fight in a war that I believe to be morally wrong?

Love

2025-03-04 20:47:13 UTC

Jimmy Cross tells O'Brien that when writing his book he should keep out some details about him and portray him as a hero. Cross is having feelings of regret and he wishes he had done better in the war, he wishes he could've been a better person in general.

TTTC Notes

adelo232 — 2025-03-04 20:49:03 UTC

The relationship between the feeling of guilt and Norman Bowker is shown as one of avoidance that causes more harm than good showing the greater idea that trauma without speaking of it leads to major depression and harm and leads us into his death due to the trapped feeling of guilt

Ghost Soldiers - Aidan and Maddie

mcorn115 — 2025-03-04 20:50:28 UTC

O'Brien feels wronged by Jorgenson’s lack of action when he needed help, overcome by a desire for revenge, even as the other company members refuse to help him. The lines of right and wrong are blurred by O'Brien's want to cause hurt to take revenge for his hurt, viewing it as justice. He goes against rational thinking and his better judgment to commit a less than good act he views as getting even.

How to Tell a True War Story

nsumm139 — 2025-03-04 20:51:11 UTC

How to Tell a True War story toes the line between right vs wrong and good vs evil consistently throughout the chapter. In How to Tell a True War Story, O'Brien gives us many rules about true war stories to encourage us to intensify our questioning on what is considered good, evil, right, wrong, etc. In this chapter O'Brien talks about how Rat Kiley calls women "cooze", which makes O'Brien upset and uncomfortable because he believes it's wrong. He then goes on to exemplify that "you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity to evil" (O'Brien 66).

On The Rainy River

2025-03-04 20:53:04 UTC

In the story "On the Rainy River" the decision and pressure O'Brien feels about whether or not going to war connects to the topic of real-world relevance. This is because he doesn't want to disappoint his friends and family, which is seen all the time in the real world when people are making big decisions. This factor weighs his decision a lot because his perception of himself to his family and friends is important.

Friends

2025-03-04 20:53:05 UTC

Lee Strunk got injured and per his agreement with Dave Jensen he had to be put out of his misery but Strunk got scared, asking Jensen not to kill him. the two friends' relationships have been reduced to an agreement because they believe that it would be better to be put out of your misery than be left injured because of war.

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

egala325 — 2025-03-04 20:53:43 UTC

In The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong by Tim O'Brien, the line between right and wrong is blurred through Mary Ann, who transforms from an innocent and normal person into someone invested in the war. Futher into the war "She was part of the war now, body and soul", reflecting how war breks down moral boundaries and makes it difficult to distinguish right from wrong or good from evil. Her descent into evil, which was represented by the jungle shows how war changes peoples sense of morality.

How to Tell a True War Story

nsumm139 — 2025-03-04 20:55:45 UTC

In 'How to Tell a True War Story', It is very focused on explaining trauma of war with the emotions these soldiers are feeling and trying to make truth out of it even if it doesn't make sense, O'Brien is trying to explain the emotional impact it has rather then the details. "Even then you know it cant be true, because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth" (O'Brien 79)

Night Life - Aidan + Maddie

akoup317 — 2025-03-04 20:58:03 UTC

Rat Kiley dealt with alot of emotional damage, like too much gore, and the platoon saw this through the way he "sank inside himself" (209). He couldn't handle seeing and experiences so much trauma that he shot himself in the foot. This shows that war is such a terrible thing for human beings, that it strips them of any mental clarity.

Notes

adelo232 — 2025-03-04 20:59:34 UTC

This chapter has real-world relevance due to its bigger representation of the mental health struggles of Veterans after coming back, while also the struggling to get help and speak to someone about it.

Field Trip

omisk221 — 2025-03-04 21:05:27 UTC

When O'Brien returns to the waste field where Kiowa died 20 years ago he claims that he blamed the field for taking away his pride and his "belief in himself as a man of courage and dignity." O'Brien's blame of the field shows that the trauma and the guilt that stemmed from that experience is ultimately what he saw as responsible for his present woes.

Night Life - Aidan and Maddie

mcorn115 — 2025-03-06 17:42:47 UTC

Rat Kiley is continuously exposed to death and violence, leading him to shoot his foot to escape it. The brutality of war is amplified in the chapter, leading to loss of humanity among the soldiers, such as Rat's disturbing thoughts and actions. To gain some control back, Rat goes as far as shooting his own foot, which is a reasonably inhumane action, yet his group members are understanding of why he did it.