It is common for people to change their behavior after going through a tough time like witnessing a civil war. Soldiers, just like civilians, also go through so much physical and mental pains when at war. In his novel, Tim O’Brien uses Norman Bowker and Dave Jenson to represent those who have undergone war. In many negative ways, war can change the lives of these soldiers forever. Just as Rat Kiley says, “This whole war…you know what it is. Just one big banquet. Meat man. You and me. Everybody. Meat for the bugs” (O’Brien, 223). O’Brien illustrates a depiction of fighting and war through the sorrow in his main character Lieutenant Cross during the 1960s Vietnamese war. Mentally tortured by the passing away of one of his men, the Lieutenant undergoes a transformation which just turns him into a fighting machine for the American government. This transformation which Cross goes through justifies the theme which O’Brien tries to bring out: the effects of war. By analyzing the book, one will notice that War is a destroyer of both the minds and the bodies of those involved with, or caught up in the war. The primary purpose of this essay is, therefore, to analyze the most prevailing theme in the novel The Things They Carried.
In the book, The Things They Carried, Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen are said to be “Frenemies.” Frenemies are individuals who are friends and enemies, depending on the situation. In the book’s chapters of Friends and Enemies, Dave and Lee become enemies. However, these two characters, become friends later on. Dave accuses Lee of taking his knife without his approval. Even though many people would not fight for a knife, to Dave, it is necessary for him to get back his knife. The knife is something Dave Jensen was carrying during the entire time in the war in Vietnam; this means that the knife means a lot to Dave. The two frenemies have a fist fight which leads to the breakage of Strunk’s nose. Jenson has paranoia thinking that Lee is going to seek revenge. “It was mostly in his head” (63). The obsessions Jenson encounters makes him take precautions which are special (O'Brien, 63). Jenson never has a rest, until the moment he gets hold of a hammer which he uses to hit his nose to show Lee Strunk later on. Dave shows Lee his actions on his nose and asks Lee if they are even. Lee never makes a big issue out of it and states “sure thing we are square” (O'Brien, 64). According to Lee, he never has the intentions of getting Strunk back after stealing his knife. These two individuals are not at their home, where getting even and square means pranking the other or having another fighting match. These men are at war, carrying guns and grenades and using them anytime is the order of the day.
In the novel, Norman Bowker is a “gentle person” (O’Brien, 13). After his return home, Norman finds out that the girl who used to be his girlfriend is now married and his father remained silent regarding the matter. In the entire chapter of Speaking of Courage, it is as though Norman never left the war behind him. Norman is seen tormenting himself and thinking of ways of how he would have saved Kiowa from death. If he saved his friend’s life, then with no doubt, he could be eligible to receive the Silver Star Medal his father wanted him to receive. However, in the book, O’Brien makes it hard for the audience in trying to getting to know which was of much importance to Norman: the Sliver Star or saving Kiowa. That is the thing which was of bothering to Norman, and not just saving a friend’s life, or not being able to receive a medal. Unfortunately, Norman ended his life and wrote to O’Brien stating that there is no place to go in the small town. Generally, O’Brien feels bad for himself and his murdered friend Kiowa. O’Brien makes it clear to the audience that he feels like he is “still in deep shit” (O’Brien, 156).