Themes

Tim O’Brien’s writing carries many different kinds of themes. One that really struck me was the fear of shame used for motivation. O’Brien was greatly impacted by war because he was a part of it. He talks about how when you are a soldier you become a different man. You do things you wouldn’t normally do. He wrote specifically about a dead boy that was found, kicked and messed with by the soldiers. One soldier even cut off his thumb for good luck. That’s messed up. In another instant the soldiers and O’Brien were being shot at. After the attack each soldier tried to brush it off. They do anything they can to keep their fear hidden.  No one wants to be seen as a coward. Some soldiers who couldn’t handle being a part of the war would go to extremes to go home, such as shooting a toe or a figure off. Personally I think I would do the same. War is not for every one. The men left behind would mock those who did such a thing. “Pussies, they’d say. Candy-asses.” Another theme evident in his writing is physical and emotional burdens. Every soldier carries something different. All physically carry objects for battle as well as personal objects. Some of these objects can seem silly. The medic carries M&M’s or a soldier carries condoms. When is he planning on having sex? “They carried all the emotional baggage of men might die. Greif, terror, love, longing-these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. Physiological weight and burdens are most definitely carried throughout the entire war. O’Brien’s themes are carried continuously throughout the book.