The Journey, by Mary Oliver, describes one’s path to self-actualization and understanding. She describes the process of leaving behind the voices and burdens that impede the betterment of the individual. The stories told of the soldiers in The Things They Carried, and to a lesser extent, the changing attitudes and opinions of the American people during the Vietnam War, give insight into the moral and ideological journey that the nation and its people traveled throughout the war in Vietnam.

Tim O’Brian’s The Things They Carried follows the experiences of a unit of soldiers in Vietnam. O’Brian tells of the soldiers’ hopes and fears, as well as the items that they carry with them. Some of these items offer comfort or carry sentimental value, while others are simply necessary for survival. One soldier in particular experiences a great deal of emotional growth during the period detailed by O’Brian. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries pictures and letters from the subject of his unreciprocated love, Martha, whom he had to leave behind. Jimmy’s idle time is often spent reading the letters and fantasizing about the life he wishes he had with her. He frequently finds himself day-dreaming; imagining some alternate reality in which he can be with Martha. In one of these moments of distraction, a member of Jimmy’s unit, a man that he is responsible for, is killed. Jimmy feels deeply responsible for the man’s death, and resolves to rid himself of his fantasies. “Henceforth, when he thought about Martha, it would be only to think that she belonged elsewhere” (O’Brian 340). This change in Jimmy is similar to the process described in The Journey of leaving “the voices” behind, and saving “the only life you could save” (Oliver 92). Jimmy is, quite literally, forced to turn away from his past life, and focus on his current reality in order to protect himself and his men.

More broadly, The Things They Carried also discusses the attitudes and feelings of the soldiers towards the war that they were fighting. They tried diligently to suppress their fear by means of humor, zeal and bravado. In this regard, rather than listening to their true inner-voice and questioning what they were fighting for, the soldiers were motivated by outside influences. “Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment” (O’Brian 338). Many of the soldiers who fought in Vietnam did so without a strong conviction for the cause. A veteran of the war, Tex Howard, spoke of his changing views towards the war many years after his service: “I started to get the idea that maybe that wasn’t the real reason why we were over there, maybe it was a political war, maybe it was a chance for the higher-ups or the rich folks so to speak to make more riches — to get more money. That’s what I started to believe. It wasn’t about Communist aggression at all. It was more or less about greed for certain individuals” (Howard). 

America entered the Vietnam War during a period of great tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. The stated reason for the war was to prevent the spread of communism to the West (Spector). In contrast with the conclusion reached in The Journey, “to save the only life you [can] save”, America chose to intervene in the political fate of Vietnam. After the deaths of over 58,000 American soldiers, and some two-million Vietnamese civilians, the U.S. finally left Vietnam in 1973 (Spector).
