Blame In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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The Burden of Blame In uncomfortable and sometimes even traumatic situations, people usually look to find the reason behind these events. Having a concrete explanation provides comfort in times where confusion, frustration, and uncertainty are prevalent. However, oftentimes the search for causation develops into a sense of blame towards others or themselves. Instead of finding closure in these rationales, emotions of guilt and anger grow. This issue is portrayed in The Things They Carried, a novel by Tim O’Brien, in which the soldiers resort to blame for managing stressful situations they face as soldiers on the battlefield and at home. Although blame appears to be an effective coping mechanism to provide reasons for uncontrollable circumstances, …show more content…

For example, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross believes his actions caused Kiowa’s death because “he should have exercised some field discretion. He should've moved to higher ground for the night, should've radioed in false coordinations" (O’Brien 157). Kiowa’s death is unpredictable and random; however, Cross still puts all of the blame on himself. The repeated use of “should’ve,” illustrates that he feels his actions taken as the leader were the most impactful and could have stopped the death. Therefore, as the leader, he feels he bears the most responsibility for Kiowa’s death. However, this sense of duty leads to self-deprecating thoughts on his leadership abilities and his judgment. By being critical of himself, he is not able to fully accept the reality of Kiowa’s death and move on properly. Additionally, a young soldier, who was friends with Kiowa, also takes on this burden of blame because he uses his flashlight to show Kiowa a picture of his girlfriend. The young soldier believes that taking out the flashlight was “like murder.” The flashlight made it happen. Dumb and dangerous. And as a result his friend Kiowa was dead” (O’Brien …show more content…

Moreover, his incredibly cruel and bitter words demonstrate his resentment towards her for the misunderstanding. Also, “[picturing] Rat Kiley’s face” illustrates his mind still stuck in the past. He is unable to move on because he cannot accept that the people around him in the present can only sympathize with him, incapable of truly understanding. So, blaming and beginning to hate them for their ignorance causes him to dwell on the past when others did understand him. Overall, when faced with an unmanageable situation, the soldiers blame others, creating resentment. In conclusion, while blame seems to help the soldiers rationalize uncontrollable situations, it worsens their mental stability by not allowing them to move on. By blaming themselves, the soldiers are vulnerable to a self-critical mindset and self-isolation, damaging their mental health with negative thoughts and loneliness. This mindset does not allow for closure and progress, instead, they are stuck dealing with the traumas of war in a damaging

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