Indledning
The short story The Things They Carried gives an insight view of what it’s like going to war. The book is written by Tim O’Brien and was published in the year 1990. The short story is filled with 22 pieces that are all connected to some extent.
The book covers many different themes, such as the physical and emotional burdens, fear and shame, friendship, and the power of death.
In this essay I will be focusing on how shame is being portrayed in the war experience, the terms “happening-truth” and “story-truth” and how the work’s fragmented style contribute to the themes that run through the stories.
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Uddrag
Feeling shame or any form of vulnerability is not often seen from men’s perspective, especially not soldiers, its therefore interesting that he goes into depth with this topic.
After giving in and submitting his papers for the war, he reflects on his actions: “I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to.
That was the sad thing. And so I sat in the bow of the boat and cried. It was loud now. Loud, hard crying.” It’s obvious, that he’s very touched by his actions, and to some extent “embarrassed” by himself.
He’s putting his life on the line for the sake of other people’s acceptance. O’Brien spends a lot of time reflecting and explaining this part of his life, but he also makes sure to expand this feeling of shame from his comrade’s perspective.
One of them being Curt Lemon, who fainted during a dentist check, and was overwhelmed with embarrassment: “The embarrassment must’ve turned a screw in his head”
This feeling of shame leads him to force the dentist to pull out a perfectly fine tooth. It’s possible that he feared being left behind later on, due to being seen as weak because of this instance.
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