
In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the reader gets an inside look into the lives of soldiers in the Vietnam War. The reader takes a look at what each individual “carries” which shows who they are as a person in the war. The soldiers are trying to mentally and physically survive out on the battlefield. Posttraumatic stress disorder is one of the mental disorders that is “carried” and shown through the way the characters act. PTSD is a mental disorder triggered by experiencing a traumatic event. By taking a look at a study done by Dr. Ann McKee, we can see how the brain works in the case of PTSD and how it effects a person.  The effects of posttraumatic stress disorder can range from experiencing previous moments that may have happened in their thoughts or memories, avoiding things that may remind them of what has happened, and engaging in weird behaviors that were not normal to the soldier previous to the war. These effects are symbolized in the characters and the things they do. 

In Mark Thompson’s article, “Unlocking the Secrets of PTSD”, he discussed the newly found information, from research conducted by Dr. Ann McKee, that is being learned from taking a look at brain tissue in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder. The Boston Veteran’s Affair hospital, is now allowing the world to get in an inside look into someone’s brain who has been affected by PTSD and see how the psychological trauma can alter, and sometimes hurt, the brain. The new studies that are beginning may eventually be able to change the lives of soldiers who go through to hardships of war. Many soldier are haunted by the experiences that they have gone through. In the past if soldiers wanted to seek help, they were either sent to some sort of therapy session or “many were prescribed potent medications, ranging from antipsychotics to antidepressants” (Thompson). While in “The Things They Carried”, Ted Lavender is trying to deal with the effects of PTSD because he carries marijuana and tranquilizers on him (O’Brien 328). This was to numb the pain and make him forget about what was going on around him because he was scared of the realities. These medications may not have been the best way to alleviate the pain he was feeling. This is a major factor as to why doctors are looking for a better treatment to help the soldiers who are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. As stated by Thompson, “PTSD can be traced back to antiquity. It was called “soldiers heart” during the American Civil War and morphed into “shell shock” in the First World War and “battle fatigue” during the Second. It became “operational exhaustion” in Korea and PTSD only after Vietnam.” For so long it was not actually recognized as an actual mental disorder. It took until 2014 to actually to get the backing from the government to start the tests on the brain to figure out the way PTSD works on the brain. With these new tests, the future soldiers coming out of the next war may not have to suffer through posttraumatic stress disorder.

One of the effects of PTSD on the soldiers in the “The Things They Carried”, was experiencing previous moments that may have happened, in their thoughts or memories (Hendrix). This can be triggered by anything that may remind the soldier of what happened to them while they were at war. This can be seen with Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and the letters that he carried from Martha. The letters are a symbol of PTSD effecting Lieutenant Cross. As stated in “The Things They Carried”, “On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters” (O’Brien 339). The look of those letters to him would only bring up the feelings in him that he did not do his job correctly. He was supposed to be looking after those men and keeping them alive but he did not do that. Instead he put all of his focus into those letters. He burns the letters so he does not have to be reminded of the death of a fellow soldier. It is not an everyday thing that you see someone who is close to you die right in front of you. It is hard to look at things when all they do is bring up bad memories so it is best to get rid of those things. 

Another effect of PTSD is to avoid the things that may remind the soldier of what has happened (Hendrix). Martha’s letters could be perceived as two ways of avoidance in the fact of posttraumatic stress disorder. One of the ways they could be looked at, as stated in the previous paragraph, is toward the end of excerpt when Lieutenant Cross avoids the letters by burning them so that they don’t draw up the memory of the death of Ted Lavender. In Cross’s mind, the letters are the cause of his death. They could also be looked at in a way they let Lieutenant Cross avoid the reality of the war going on around him. The first sentence in the story states, “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey” (O’Brien 328). Since this is the opening of the story it can be shown that they are going to be a major part of this story. Throughout this whole story Cross is constantly daydreaming about Martha and wondering if she loves him the way that he loves her. He gets to take a step back from the real world around him and think about something that will keep him sane even if it may ultimately hurt him later. Avoiding the things that are going on around you may not always be the best things to do, but to these soldiers they cannot help it.  

The final effect the reader can see of PTSD in the story is how the characters start to engage in different behaviors that were not normal to them in the beginning of the war (Hendrix). One of the first instances that this can be shown in is when Mitchell Sanders gives Norman Bowker a human thumb as a sort of good luck charm. Norman Bowker is described as a “very gentle person” and carrying a human thumb would not be normal behavior of a gentle person (O’Brien 334). Along with the person carrying the thumb the person who got the thumb, Mitchell Sanders, does not follow a normal behavior. “The Things They Carried” describes the situation: 

You want my opinion, Mitchell Sanders said, there’s a definite moral here. He put his hand on the dead boy’s wrist. He was quiet for a time, as if counting a pulse, then he patted the stomach, almost affectionately, and used Kiowa’s hunting hatchet to remove the thumb. (O’Brien 334)

It is not normal behavior to go up to a dead body and remove the thumb as a moral thing to do. It is almost as if it is something that he does daily. The effects of posttraumatic stress disorder are taking a toll on Mitchell Sander’s sanity. Another character that engages in different behavior is Kiowa. O’Brien describes him as a “devout Baptist” who carried a copy of the bible with him that was handed down to him from his father. Kiowa is seen has a character with Christian values who should always have some sort of feeling but he eventually loses that feeling while at war. After Ted Lavender dies he could not find it in himself to feel sadness, all he could feel was surprise (O’Brien 337). While he wanted to feel something he just couldn’t, giving him “emotional emptiness” which is a major effect to PTSD (Hendrix).

 Posttraumatic stress disorder is a serious mental disorder that many soldiers of any war have to deal with when they return home. Soldiers like the ones in the story are effected by PTSD. By taking a look at newly found research on the brain the reader can see for PTSD effects the brain of someone. Some of the effects that they face are reliving past moments of the war, trying to avoid things that may trigger the memories, and a change in your behavior after experiencing the war. PTSD helped shape the way that the characters acted in the story. 
