“She had crossed to the other side. She was part of the land. She was wearing her culottes, her pink sweater, and a necklace of human tongues” (O’Brien 110). The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a published 1990 novel that deals with the stories and hardships of a group of American soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. It took O’Brien many years to discuss his experiences in Vietnam. Tim, the main character, teaches many lessons and reflects on multiple characters throughout the story. He reveals many of the friendships and challenges that occurred in the war. In the book, he discusses many of the people he was introduced to in Vietnam: Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, Curt Lemon, Mark Fossie, Henry Dobbins, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, Bob “Rat” Kiley, Mary Anne Bell, and many more. Throughout his book, O’Brien reflects on the younger army and the loss of innocence of soldiers through the characters that Junger talks about in his shared experiences.
First, O’Brien reflects on the characters Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon, who are two characters in the story that show the reflection of the younger army who fought in the Vietnam War. Kiley and Lemon were said to be best friends. Both of them were said to be in their late teenage years (O’Brien 65). They were considered two young kids who didn’t have their brains fully developed yet. The two didn’t understand the spookiness of the war (O’Brien 65). Tim says, “What happened was, we crossed a muddy river and marched west into the mountains, and on the third day we took a break along a trail junction in the deep jungle, right away, Lemon and Rat Kiley started goofing” (O’Brien 66). This quote shows how Kiley and Lemon were still young kids going into the Vietnam War. Being kids, they thought the war was more of a nature walk and would never come to realize how serious it was. They were said to always giggle, call each other names, goof off, and act like children while on the trials. One day while along the trail, the two made up a game that consisted of throwing a smoke grenade and playing catch with it. Smoke grenades weren’t a huge danger, but it didn’t mean that they could lead to danger. Tim mentions, “They were just goofing. There was a noise. I suppose, which must’ve been the detonator, so I glanced behind me and watched Lemon step from the shade into the bright sunlight. His face was suddenly brown and shining. A handsome kid. Sharp gray eyes, lean and narrow-waisted, and when he died it was almost beautiful…” (O’Brien 67). This quote shows that in this case, this game led to the death of Curt Lemon. While throwing a grenade and playing this childlike game, Lemon stepped on a detonator and blew up. At this time, these kids did not know any better about the potential dangers surrounding their fun. Kiley and Lemon go to show how kids don’t always think twice before they take action, which for these two best friends, their game resulted in a death. Rat Kiley would eventually mourn for his best friend's death. Kiley would also eventually realize he formed a close bond with Lemon. In conclusion, O’Brien considers Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon the two characters in the book who display the younger army and the childlike activities they do.
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Second, O’Brien addresses the fact that Mary Anne Bell comes to symbolize the loss of innocence in soldiers when her original character and culture dramatically change due to the war. Kiley tells Tim the story of his first operation in the Chu Lai Mountains. Mary Bell was Mark Fossie’s high school sweetheart (O’Brien 90). After the men joke about how their grounds are unguarded and even a woman could stay in their camp, Fossie is intrigued by the idea. Six weeks later, Bell arrives in Vietnam. She started to quickly change into a different person. She started to be interested in the war and was forming bonds with the soldiers within Fossie and Kiley’s unit. She wanted to learn about how to use tranquilizers, shoot morphine, and repair arteries (O’Brien 93). Bell also wanted to know how to load ammunition into pieces of artillery. She started to drop her feminine actions and appearances. Kiley says, “Other things, too. The way she quickly fell into the habits of the bush. No cosmetics, no fingernail filing. She stopped wearing jewelry, cut her hair short, and wrapped it in a dark green bandana” (O’Brien 94). This quote shows how Mary Anne Bell is changing from her original character to a different one that Fossie is unfamiliar with. The war is making her character change into a masculine one. This innocent girl was completely transformed into a different person than she is. She is becoming one with the land as she is adapting to the Vietnamese culture. After a couple of days, the changes kept happening. Bell was said to be disappearing for some time in the day. The platoon wondered what this innocent girl was up to. Kiley states, “But the grotesque part, was her jewelry. At the girl’s throat was a necklace of human tongues” (O’Brien 105). This is the moment where the men and Kiley suspected that Bell was on ambush. Vietnam has made her do activities that she would have never done before. Her original character has disappeared completely at his point. Bell was taking the body parts of people and wearing them as a type of fashion. It is pretty absurd that a woman would do this. Her culture is changing. Mark Fossie once thought that it was time for her to return home. He issues her this idea and she rejects him. Tim stated that Rat Kiley told Fossie, “‘Man you must be deaf. She’s already gone’” (O’Brien 107). This quote by Kiley has huge importance. Bob “Rat” Kiley is telling Fossie that the war overtook her. It would be way too difficult to go back home and change back into her original character. Kiley knows that it would be hard to go back to a society that was different from what she was used to in Vietnam. If she was to return to American society, she would have a hard time fitting back in. She is an innocent girl who lost all of her original character. All in all, O’Brien displays that Mary Anne Bell symbolizes the loss of innocence in soldiers because the Vietnam War changed her original character greatly.
The speaker, Sebastian Junger, of the TED Talk, “Why Veterans Miss War” connects to the childlike relationship bondage between Kiley and Lemon, and the second he spoke, “Our Lonely Society Makes It Hard To Come Home From War” further connects to the symbolism of Bell; Junger’s personal experiences can reflect the characters that were discussed on by O’Brien. In the first TED Talk, this talk can connect to the childlike relationship formed between Bob “Rat” Kiley and Curt Lemon. Kiley will always remember the bondage he had with Curt Lemon, even years after the war had happened. After growing in age, he soon realized that his childlike Vietnam character did not make him realize that he would miss the people who affected him. In the first TED Talk, “Why Veterans Miss War,” Junger says, “What he missed was a connection to the other men he was with. Now, brotherhood is different from friendship. Friendship happens in society. The more you like someone, the more you'd be willing to do for them. Brotherhood has nothing to do with how you feel about the other person. It's a mutual agreement in a group that you will put the welfare of the group, you will put the safety of everyone in the group above your own.” This quote connects with Kiley and Lemon. Late in life, Kiley realized how much he would miss the war and hanging out with his best friend Lemon. Kiley doesn’t miss the fact of being in Vietnam, he misses the times spent with his best friend and all the jokes they had to tell together. He will remember the impact Lemon left on him while serving in Vietnam. He will always remember the times of hiking the jungles of Vietnam and messing around with him. In the second TED Talk, Junger further introduces that it would have been hard for Mary Bell to come back to the United States and switch back to herself, just as it would have been for any American soldier. According to Junger, our society is lonely and these people from Vietnam wouldn’t have anyone to talk with to help recover from the effects of war. In the second TED Talk, “Our Lonely Society Makes It Hard To Come Home From War,” Junger says, “Certainly, modern society is hard on the human psyche.” From O’Brien’s words, this is what Bob “Rat” Kiley imagined what would happen if Bell went back home. This is why he told Mark Fossie that she was gone. Society today is strict on the human mind. He knew she was one with Vietnam’s nature now. She would come back as a traumatized person and no one would want to help her change back to her original character. Bell would have been perceived by our society as a psychopath in our state of mind. No one would want to help a woman or any type of person who wears human tongues as jewelry. To conclude, Junger’s personal experiences can connect to the reflection of O’Brien’s ideas of the younger soldiers of Lemon and Kiley and the symbol of the loss of innocence about Mary Anne Bell.
In conclusion, Tim O'Brien's reflections within his book further help the reader understand his ideas and Junger’s personal experiences that build on them. Bob “Rat” Kiley and Curt Lemon were just two of the many examples of the young infantry in the book described by O’Brien. Mary Anne Bell exemplified the loss of innocence during the Vietnam War. The TED Talks, “Our Lonely Society Makes It Hard To Come Home From War” and “Why Veterans Miss War” connect to the reflection of O’Brien’s young soldiers and loss of innocence. While the Vietnam War was happening it took many innocent people and turned them into animals. A lot of these people were kids who weren’t even in college yet or got to experience some meaning in life. Hopefully, the Vietnam War is the last huge war that America will ever use the Draft System and send an enormous amount of young soldiers and innocent human beings to fight.
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