Free Essay: Tim OBriens Things They Carried :: Things They Carried Essays

The Things They Carried             Vietnam War was one of the hardest wars ever fought.  There are several reasons for this statement.  It was basically impossible to conquer the territory because there were no boundaries.  The soldiers had to put up with the climate, land, diseases and most importantly themselves.  This essay is about yet another reason the relationship between the soldiers and the officers.             It is very reasonable to say that American soldiers entering the Vietnam were not disciplined enough.  The average age of a soldier in Vietnam was eighteen.  zilch found it necessary to train these kids to handle all the problems they run into.  The service ruined their late childhood and they had to grow up early  If anything went wrong, they would simply blame the officer in charge.  Tim OBrien illustrated this nicely in his story In T he Field.  Lieutenant intrude Cross felt guilty for Kiowas expiration.  He blamed himself for not thinking about his troops even though he did what he was supposed to do.  gibe of soldiers were pissed off about Kiowas death.  They blamed it all on Lieutenant even though they knew it was not his fault.  Then they let their emotions out and the situation off to be out of control.  OBrien describes it syntactically.  He is trying to persuade us that all the soldiers knew Jimmy was not guilty, but some soldiers just had to blame it on somebody.     Some lieutenant, Sanders said.  Camps us in a toilet.  Man dont know shit. Nobody knew, Bowker said. Maybe so, maybe not.  Ten billion places we couldve set up last night, the man picks a latrine. ...It wasnt the LTs fault, Bowker said quietly. Whose then? Nobodys.  Nobody knew till afterward. (180).             This entire incident was by far the toughest on Jimmy Cross.  He had to deal with himself and his corrupt soldiers.  He was emotionally shook up with Kiowas death and he did not appreciate Mitchells reaction.  Accidents like this one lead to a distant relationship between the officer and the soldiers.  Soldiers usually protest and officers have to retaliate them.  This of course leads to more violence and some of the outcomes can be deadly.