Essay On PTSD In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can become a harrowing mental illness that serves as an obstacle to the future, causing its victims to relive their trauma time and time again. In the text “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the passage “Speaking of Courage” follows Norman Bowker’s inability to speak of his trauma. During the Vietnam War, Norman was close to saving the life of his ally Kiowa and earning the prestigious Silver Star, a medal that symbolises the epitome of bravery and courage among soldiers. Because Norman was unable to save him, he lost both an ally in arms and the chance to attain such a prestigious award, with the guilt manifesting in the form of Norman’s PTSD. Norman’s alienation from society due to mental illness

demonstrates a universal struggle of war veterans, who strive to reconnect with the society they fought to protect; this is an especially important message for author and veteran O’Brien to express, as the text was published when PTSD was first professionally recognised as a mental illness.

As such, Norman’s quest for reconnection with society is shown to be hindered by obstacles such as isolation from loved ones, disconnection with civilian life, and disassociation with America’s patriotic imagery.

A key struggle veterans like Norman face is a hesitation to rely on loved ones emotionally during their quest for healing. Because Norman cannot come to terms with his experiences from the war and discuss them, he is then unable to come to terms with his disconnection from his loved ones, and instead fantasizes scenarios in which he engages with these people. For instance, Norman imagines scenarios where he tells stories of his experiences to Sally Kramer, his former high school girlfriend. Unlike Norman, Sally is married and has therefore moved on from her relationship with him, as she has been unaffected by the same horrors that have haunted Norman. Nevertheless, Norman wishes he could take a moment to impress her with his

newfound ‘skill’ of telling the time without a clock, to entice a response from Sally like “Hey!

How’d you do that?” to which he would dismiss nonchalantly and shrug off to “keep it light.” On the other hand, Norman also envisions Sally’s criticism upon learning about the truth behind his experiences, such as the violence of war and the vulgarity of Kiowa’s death. Because Sally finds something as minor as swearing to be crude, her prude nature has discouraged Norman from talking about his trauma, fearing that her sensitivity to violence may change the way she sees him. Furthermore, Norman says he would avoid asking Sally about her marriage or his inability in obtaining the Silver Star, fearing that this would project a sense of insecurity. Because Norman learned from their past relationship that Sally is quite prude and sensitive to violence, he wanted to avoid discussing the vulgarity of his experiences and instead reminisce on the light-hearted tone of their interactions, just like they were before his service. In contrast, Norman believes his father would be one of the few that understand him due to his common experience as a veteran of World War II. Norman would picture how he would discuss his progress towards the Silver Star with

his father. Of all people, Norman’s father would understand the bravery and courage his son would’ve displayed to be close to earning the medal, which stands as a symbol of valor. In the present day, the Silver Star only serves as a reminder to Norman of his unsuccessful saving of Kiowa. In his fantasy, however, Norman imagine the medal as a prompt for his father to reassure him, telling Norman that “You’ve already got seven medals,” and “... you’ve got courage.” Norman doesn’t need another reminder of his shortcomings - he only wants to be acknowledge for his efforts and to appreciate what he has already done. Once again, Norman doesn’t tell his father, in fear of being perceived as cowardly, inadequate or disappointing. Overall, Norman’s hesitance to reconnect with Sally and his father and come to terms with his experiences is attributed to his fear of damaging their past relationship. Norman doesn’t want to unload onto others the horrors that weigh down his weary heart, because he doesn’t want his failures to warp the way they perceive him. Instead, he resorts to escapism through his fantasies to the sense of comfort and understanding he felt in their past social interactions, which is something he struggles to achieve in the present day.