The Things They Carried
...self as a hero, as a man of conscience and courage, all that was just a threadbare pipe dream. (O’Brien 59,60) Tim O’Brien’s epiphany so close to the Canadian shore, represents the change he went through in the 6 days he was with Elroy Berdahl. Tim O’Brien’s whole life appeared before him and out of cowardice, he went to war. Rat Kiley is the platoon medic who eventually loses his mind in the field. Rat Kiley’s metamorphosis occurs when the platoon switches to a routine of night movement Kalil 2 for 2 weeks. Rat is unable to adjust to this night life, and begins to act eccentric towards the surrounding environment. Rat Kiley’s hallucinations eventually leads to his demise when he shoots himself in the foot to escape the war. He shot himself… Nobody blamed him. Before the chopper came, there was time for goodbyes. Lieutenant Cross went over and said he’d vouch that it was an accident… Everyone stood in a little circle, feeling bad about it, trying to cheer him up with bullshit about the great night life in Japan. (O’Brien 251) Rat Kiley’s company understood what happened, and no one could impugn his reason for doing so. All the troops had their own demons to take care of, Rat Kiley just dealt with his in a different way. Mary Anne, The sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, experiences perhaps the most radical form of change in the novel. Marry Anne, the innocent, curious, typical-American girl notorious for her pink sweater, comes over to Vietnam to visit her boyfriend Mark Fossie and is delivered to the medical outpost by way of a supply chopper. Initially Mark Fossie and Mary Anne are inseparable, spending days and nights by each other’s side. However, surrounded by masculinity, Mary Anne quickly changes. It is this contrast of masculinity and femininity which illustrates how war can change anyone. Mary Anne begins to change from her outgoing, innocent self to a more withdrawn individual. What happened to her, Rat said, was what happened to all of them. You come over here clean and you get dirty and then afterwards it’s never the same… Some make it intact, some don’t make it at all. For Mary Anne Bell… Vietnam had the effect of a powerful drug… She wanted more… And after a time wanting became needing, which turned then to craving. (O’Brien 123,124) Mary Anne’s craving lead her to the ‘greenies’, a secluded special division which travels by night and goes on ambushes. It is here that Mary Anne finds her place in the war. Mary Anne’s appearance with Mark Fossie becomes rare until eventually Mary Anne vanishes in Vietnam. Kalil 3 In the story “Speaking of Courage”, Tim O’Brien introduces the character Norman Bowker. During the war, Bowker is inconspicuous, following the daily routines of the soldiers around him. Bowker’s only noticeable c...