The repetition is used in order to show the fear in the men. This scene constantly goes through their head as they fearfully await their fate. This misleading of fate, in their minds, serves as emotional baggage that the men must sustain. Another emotional load that the men have to "hump" is the longing to be with loved ones. In the Vietnam War, many young men were forced to leave their wives and families to fight for a questionable cause.
When his soldier Ted Lavender died all he could do was cry and blame himself for his death, “He felt shame. He hated himself.... this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of war.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 42) but he didn’t let that very heart-wrenching emotion of feeling responsible for someone’s death cloud his judgment or cause him to take his job lightly. Towards the end of the story he stepped up, over-coming the guilt he felt after the death of Ted Lavender. Learning from his mistakes and changing the way he lead his platoon “He would not tolerate laxity. He would show strength, distancing himself.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 100) He showed courage while seeing the bigger picture telling himself “that his obligation was not to be loved but to lead.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 101) Masculinity is very apparent in this platoon.
Since no one is perfect, this judgment upon death becomes a scary thing. So frightening to some that they dedicate there lives to obtaining this great reword. At the same time they are feeding their own fear of death with doubts. Uncertainties about choices they make, the way they act, feel, think and even live are some examples of death attributed fears derived from religion. There are a few religions the teach
Tim O'Brien writes how throughout the war, "They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide" (O'Brien, 21). Having to return to normal society after experiencing the hideous faces of war was not an easy task. For many veterans it proved to be more than they could handle.
Suicide is a cowardly deed because it is an act of hiding from the truth and avoiding the consequences ahead; yet our esteemed war veterans cannot continue to exist after seeing and committing harsh actions. “Suicide is the tragic conclusion of the failure to address the spectrum of challenges returning veterans face.” (Schleifer) Veterans went to great lengths to protect our freedom and country even if it meant sacrificing their lives; however during the process they have suffered harsh tragedies. There are a number of issues that determine whether our veterans can retire in glory or wallow in their self-pity and despair. Veterans have to withstand various psychological issues from their horrific war experiences and understand what benefits and challenges are provided for them in an attempt to retire in peace. Depression is commonly known as a mental disorder: with lack of energy and difficulty in maintaining concentration or interest in life.
The emotion a soldier experiences cannot be understood by anyone except those in war. This emotion is unique to each individual, as we all have different outlooks on life, death and war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s experience of the death of Lavender undoubtedly illustrates the effect war eventually makes on a soldier. Due to his mistake, Cross “felt shame. He hated himself.
That was what kept the men fed” (Solzhenitsyn, 59). In their special prison the gangs relied on their squad leader to give a good work report weather the work was really done or not, and then depended on their peers to get that work done and make it happen. If one person decided that they weren’t going to do anything that day, then that would fall on the whole team including your squad leader. If your squad leader was on your side the way Tiurin was for his gang than that was a privilege that you wanted to keep. You either all ate or all of you went hungry.
He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (103). Cross was ashamed; he is a leader and was not there for his soldiers. Now he has the burden for a soldier that died at his hands. The last personality trait that First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross demonstrates is bravery.
Also, all of the men in the story, O’Brien included have to deal with the psychological strain of the war and their own burdens. Some men carry the guilt of killing others, feeling that they didn’t protect their men, their brothers, the other soldiers they were surrounded by while being in this tragic war. Later in life O’Brien has a daughter who not only reads his war stories but could possibly be his toughest critic. Tim symbolizes a hero not only because he opens up to his daughter to show her how he used to live his life but because he doesn’t shield her from the raw truth that was the Vietnamese war. Even though his daughter didn’t agree with what her father had possibly done, O’Brien still wanted her to apprehend the feeling, the overpowering emotion the war brings over
It had destroyed a whole generation leaving the soldiers who had fought in it broken shells of the young men they had once been. It drove a wedge between society and soldier as no civilian would ever be able to understand what atrocities the young men had experienced while fighting at the front. This left the soldiers feeling betrayed by their nations who had forced them to carry out their patriotic duty and sent them to their deaths. Both novels describe how the soldiers felt alienated from the lives that they had left behind. One British soldier wrote of how “despite the flag-waving that greeted us [Britain's returning troops] many felt nothing but hatred for the leaders and those back home who'd sent us to die.” Both novels, “Regeneration” by Pat Barker and “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Marie Remarque discuss how the brutalities and horrors experienced at war have left the men who fought in it feeling alienated and ostracised from civilian life.