
The short story, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien allows the reader insight on the struggles that American soldiers faced while being overseas in the Vietnam War. Throughout the course of the war, many soldiers developed a mental health condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a results of the actions that they not only witnessed, but participated in. The conditions that the soldiers experienced were far from ideal and many of them turned to drugs to cope with loss and fear. The majority of the soldiers were greatly affected by their involvement in Vietnam, and their mental health was something they struggled to deal with even after their tour was over. Comprehension of the conditions soldiers faced while overseas, the lasting effects of PTSD, and the drug culture that was accepted as the norm during this time period allows the reader to better understand the actions and emotional responses that the soldiers in the story displayed. 

The Vietnam War took place between the years 1954 and 1975. Throughout the course of the war, America had a prominent presence in the physical combat (HistoryNet). The Vietnam War began as a result of conflict between North and South Vietnam over power and the spread of communism (Herring). At the time this all took place, North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Min, a communist leader who was supported by the Viet Minh which was a militant force. The communist party in North Vietnam was aided by the southern rebel group the Viet Cong(Herring). The communist North was originally opposed by French forces stationed in the south with the hope of preventing Ho Chi Minh from advancing his reign across all of Vietnam. The communist North and its supporters desired to have a united communist country, which would require taking over South Vietnam and forcing the French forces stationed there to leave. The parties were divided at the 17th parallel, an imaginary line which separated North and South Vietnam that had been drawn up at the Geneva Conference in 1954 (Texts). The hope was that dividing the country would keep each side separate, but happy with the fact that they could have their own governmental structure and leaders. The president of South Vietnam, Bao Din, was selected by the French to lead with their support. This was after Ho Chi Minh was previously denied which caused even more tension between the two sides (HistoryNet). The United States was first approached by South Vietnam and the French for support in February of 1954, however they denied the request. It was not until 1955 that The President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower, declared support for French forces in South Vietnam (Herring). Eisenhower provided them with proper weaponry and training to defend themselves against North Vietnamese forces and the Viet Cong. This action instead created more tension between the two sides and by the year 1962 there was heavy U.S. military presence in South Vietnam fighting against the Viet Cong (Texts). The President at this time, JFK, did so due to the fact that he was worried that if one country fell to communism all those around it would as well. This paralleled the common fear of communism at the time, and the U.S was known to fight against it throughout history.  

In addition to tensions between North and South Vietnam, this war drove the USSR and the United States further into the Cold War. The Cold War was not a war fought on the battlefield, but instead a war in the race to be the best and most advanced nation. This was fought through proxy wars such as the Vietnam War and through historical events such as the space race and the Cuban missile crisis. The Cold War led the USSR and American troops to be on opposing sides of the Vietnam War. This was also due in large to the fact that the USSR was a communist nation so it clearly would support the communist north. North and South Vietnam were seen as puppets that allowed the Soviet Union and the United States to fight in a war that was not on their own turf and therefore not as detrimental as a whole to their nation (HistoryNet).  The fact that the American troops were not only fighting communist rebels but also Soviet soldiers who were highly trained with excellent weaponry was one of the reasons that the conditions soldiers faced in the Vietnam War were so poor.  

The Vietnam War challenged soldiers due to the style of war, climate, and terrain of the country. This war was the first in which guerilla warfare was introduced. This was a method in which opposing sides travel in groups with the idea of ambush and sabotage throughout the jungle terrain. This idea was different than any method previously used due to the fact that until this point in time war was typically fought in open space with opposing sides lined up across from each other allowing both sides an equal viewpoint. The Cold War also introduced many new weapons because the opposing sides were constantly trying to one up each other. There was an increase in the usage of M16 rifles which could be used as either semi or fully automatic guns (Vietnam). These weapons were much more advanced and led to more death and destruction than expected. One thing that the American soldiers were not used to was the climate and terrain of Vietnam. It was extremely hot and soldiers typically had to carry very heavy bags and weapons with them as they walked through thick jungle (HistoryNet). The factor of the jungle made it very hard to see and forced the soldiers to be alert at all times due to the fact that they could be ambushed at any point and needed to be prepared to fight back. These surprise attacks were motivated by the fact that the Viet Cong did not have the same training as the American soldiers so they attempted to use their environment to win. The jungle contained many booby-traps and mines in an attempt to stop American soldiers from advancing. These booby-traps could either be explosive or non-explosive but both delivered death (Vietnam). In addition, soldiers would often come across hidden sniper fire from the trees causing them to quickly react in order to preserve their lives. These methods of warfare resulted in the deaths of not only many soldiers but also civilians due to the fact that no one knew who the enemy was or where they were coming from. Soldiers witnessed and participated in many horrible things including All these factors put a large mount of stress on American soldiers and took a toll on their mental health (Schlenger).

In the short story The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien narrates the experience of a company in the Vietnam War led by Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. These tales are a reflection of his own experience in Vietnam as an American soldier. The story is set up in a serious of lists, describing the things the men carry on them as they travel day to day. The reader can deduct from these lists that the conditions that these soldiers face are far from ideal. O’Brien describes the things they carried as not only being the physical luggage and weaponry on their backs, but emotional damage and baggage.  It is seen in the quote “’They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried’” (O’Brien 335) that the things the men were burdened with were a result of the things they witnessed and could easily forget. The ordeal of being overseas in combat, especially in the Vietnam War where new tactics such as guerilla warfare were introduced, forced the soldiers into less than ideal conditions and they witnessed things that emotionally scarred them (Schlenger). At one point in the story, O’Brien narrates to the reader about a soldier in his company who carried around the thumb of a dead boy. This demonstrates an insensitivity to death along with highlighting the fact that the soldiers were completely surrounded by death so it had become a norm for them. None of the other soldiers in the company even question why they man carries around a thumb, they simply all believe that it is a superstition thing. The experience of finding the young boy burned in the ditch also demonstrates the fact that the soldiers witnessed many innocent lives be taken in the Vietnam War. The young boy could have been a communist rebel however it is unlikely that he had anything to do with the war and instead stumbled upon a booby-trap or mine. This took a toll on the soldiers because they began to accept death and did not view it as a tragedy that innocent lives were taken. In addition, the act of cutting a thumb off a dead body would normally cause someone to question the sanity of the individual doing it, however all the soldiers who witnessed it did not react. The conditions described by O’Brien hold more power with the reader due to the fact that he writes about experiences similar to those that he as a veteran of the Vietnam War experienced. 

The circumstances that O’Brien described and the actions of the soldiers in his company lead into the discussion of the mental health condition Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which was developed by many soldiers overseas during this war. PTSD is defined in the DSM5 as “history of exposure to a traumatic event that meets specific stipulations and symptoms from each of four symptom clusters: intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity” (Post). In broader terms it can be defined as a mental health condition caused by exposure to a traumatizing experience that leaves the individual with severe symptoms (Schlenger). These symptoms can range from severe anxiety to vivid and uncontrollable flashbacks of memory. This was a condition that was not widely talked about or recognized until several years after the Vietnam War so many soldiers returned home rom their tours undiagnosed and did not receive any help (Post). It was not added to the DSM 3 as a condition until 1980 which was five years after the war. As PTSD first began to be studied, they found that out of a surveyed 1200 veterans 30.9% had experienced PTSD at some point in their lifetime and that 15.2% were currently suffering from PTSD even after the Vietnam War was over and they had been home for 13 years (Schlenger). Later research presented that 1 in every 3 soldiers who saw combat in Vietnam had the mental illness PTSD as a result (Dohrenwend). The vast numbers of soldiers exhibiting symptoms forced scientists to further their research into the condition and determine why so many soldiers were returning home so affected from the things they witnessed especially pertaining to the Vietnam war. 

To better understand why so many soldiers who returned home from Vietnam presented with this condition, scientists turned to analyzing what they experienced in combat. Due to the high stressors of always having to be on alert and not knowing who the enemy was caused many American Vietnam War soldiers to be distrustful and jumpy. Soldiers constantly had to watch their backs and constantly felt fear. Many of the soldiers who were sent overseas were very young and not properly prepared for physical combat or the stress that they would be put under (Dohrenwend). They were subjected to things that normal 18-24 year olds should not have experienced and most of them probably took lives of innocent people. They were on constant alert and always scared, watched their friends die, and felt as though they had no control over any aspect of their lives. PTSD received the nickname Post-Vietnam Syndrome because so many soldiers who returned from that specific war were diagnosed with it.  Many of them experienced survivor’s guilt, nightmares, anger, and severe anxiety. While soldiers were overseas experiencing these things, they did not know how to control their emotions. Many turned to one of two methods: either avoidance or numbing (Post). Avoidance is the concept of staying clear of anything that could cause a stressor and trigger memories or anxiety (Post). This one better describes the methods used by soldiers who had returned home (Schlenger). Soldiers in combat instead subconsciously turned to numbing, or suppressing their feelings (Post). By not letting the things they witnessed have an emotional effect on them, it was as though they could pretend it weren’t happening and that they weren’t scared. 

The concept of numbing is one that can be used to describe the emotional response of soldiers in the company to two events in O’Brien’s short story. The first is again, the thumb. The fact that none of the soldiers question the action of cutting a thumb off a dead boy proves that they have witnessed too much death and destruction and no longer have a reaction to it. Numbing is a coping method in which the soldier can deny that what they are witnessing is actually happening and gives them some comfort (Post). In addition, it is viewed as completely normal for Norman Bowker to carry around a thumb, as if it is completely sane for an individual to have a body part as a token. The second instance that numbing occurs in the short story is after Ted Lavenders death. Everyone in the company has different ways of dealing with losing their friend, but Kiowa best exemplifies the method of numbing. By continuously saying “Like cement…I swear to God-boom, down. Not a word” (O’Brien 336) Kiowa is dehumanizing Lavender and making it easier to cope with his death. By not actually thinking about it as the loss of his friend’s life but instead comparing him to a block of cement, Kiowa does not have to fully come to terms with what he witnessed. He later explains that “he wished he could find some great sadness, or even anger, but the emotion wasn’t there and he couldn’t make it happen” (O’Brien 337). Kiowa knows that there is something missing and that he should feel an emotion about his friend’s death, but due to the fact that he has experienced so much death and destruction, his emotions are just completely turned off. This is his brains way of dealing with the sadness and grief; just ignoring any and all emotion. Due to the fact that these men are in constant fear of the enemy and for their lives, their bodies way of coping and turning off emotion allows them to stay focused instead on their own safety instead of wallowing in grief. 

While overseas, many men in the Vietnam War participated in the use of drugs both to numb their pain and to be “super soldiers” as pushed by the American government. The most common drugs that soldiers turned to were marijuana and heroin (Stanton). The idea of the “super soldier” was that if the American government gave soldiers amphetamines to take while in the battlefield they would be more alert.  Soldiers reported that the stimulants “‘gave you a sense of bravado as well as keeping you awake. Every sight and sound was heightened. You were wired into it all and at times you felt really invulnerable’” (Kamienski). The point of taking these drugs was to give soldiers a better chance at fighting against the Viet Cong in the jungle that they were not well adapted to (Kamienski). The desire that soldiers experienced to take drugs came from the conditions they were put through and the cheap price overseas (Herring). Due to the fact that many of the soldiers developed PTSD, they turned to self-medicating to relieved their symptoms.  The intent was that they could escape everything that they were experiencing, even if just for a short amount of time (Stanton). Studies about Vietnam War veterans show that approximately 1/5 of them were addicted to drugs after their tour, and that the majority of them had turned to drugs to ease their symptoms (Schlenger). The use of drugs became accepted as the norm in the Vietnam War and allowed the soldiers to escape their reality. 

Drug usage is seen by the characters in O’Brien’s The Things They Carried as well. As readers we do not know exactly what drugs the characters have access to however we do know that they are participating in drug usage because Ted Lavender carries dope on him. When Ted Lavender dies, it affects all of the men in the company. Although they have seen lots of deaths it it’s tough to lose a close friends and brother. When they reach Lavender’s body, they take all of his belongings that could be of use to them later on including his dope. They sit and wait for his body to get collected and while they do “They sat smoking the dead man’s dope until the chopper came” (O’Brien 331).  The men do this because they have just witnessed a tragedy and they want to escape. By partaking in drug use, they are showing another symptom of PTSD and demonstrating that they are negatively affected by their tour in Vietnam. Although the excerpt does not contain the whole book and the reader does not know what happens to the men, it is logical to assume that if they returned home they continued their drug usage to numb their symptoms. They originally turned to drugs to forget the death and devastation all around them and although when home they will not be in the same conditions; soldiers were permanently affected by the symptoms of PTSD and needed an escape. 

Researching the background of this short story allows the reader insight on the character’s thoughts and actions. Carrying around a thumb of a dead boy is not something that would normally be accepted in society, but understanding the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the conditions that these young men were forced into somehow makes it understandable. Evidence supports that characters such as Kiowa are experiencing symptoms of PTSD and that knowledge better explains why he dehumanizes Lavender and why he cannot feel emotion like he wants to. Because of all the things these men experienced, it is no wonder they turned to drugs, a desperate attempt to make the suffering subside. It is evident in the story that the men are going through an ordeal by being stationed in Vietnam, but more knowledge into what they experienced and dealt with causes the reader to empathize with the men. 
