The Things They Carried

2 Pages 524 Words

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
I don’t believe that O'Brien is a coward for going to war, but the opposite, that he would be a coward for not going to war. I think the reason why he was going to go to Canada was because he doesn't believe in the cause and he thinks he is too talented a student to be forced into battle. Ultimately, he makes the decision to join the army because of what others will think of him, which is not the best reason why someone should go to war, but this shows he’s not a coward and he wouldn’t run away from his country.
In "On the Rainy River," O'Brien thinks of his family, what will they think of him (past, present, future) if he doesn't join the war and he doesn't fight to defend his country. Also if he abandons the country, he will never be able to see them again. When O'Brien is fishing with the old man and he "sees" everyone he has ever known or will ever know "judging" him on his decision, he thinks that he is too much of a coward to go against tradition and go to Canada, but that is the opposite, he would be coward if he went to Canada. He is afraid of his family being ashamed or embarrassed by his flight, despite the fact that he truly seems to believe in his flight.
O’Brien would not only let down his family and friends but the whole country. The U.S. needed help from the citizens they chose in the draft to go to Vietnam and help defend there fellow man and country, it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in the war, you would make more of a difference in the world going to war then skipping out and going to another country. Also in this novel, we can notice that O’Brien does care what people think of him, he would be far more respected if he went to war, then if he didn’t. Also if he died in war, he would have died for our country which he has lived in his whole life.
O’Brien believes he is a coward because he is going against his moral convictions (going to war). But that does no...