The Things He Carries

"For me, it was not a matter of live or die. There was no real peril. Almost certainly the young man would have passed me by. And it will always be that way." (O'Brien Part 4) This is and was the case for many of the Vietnam Veterans on both sides. This war changed everyone's view on life, on people. Not many people could understand why they were thrown against their will into someone else's fight and taught to hate good people that they just didn't understand. They knew it was their duty to kill, but they couldn't understand why, and after the act was finished, they felt terribly guilty and hated themselves more than they ever hated their enemies. "In the presence of his father and uncles, he pretended to look forward to doing his patriotic duty, which was also a privilege, but at night he prayed with his mother that the war might end soon." (O'Brien 127) It's so sad to read this, because it shows how much they looked up to their elders and felt pride that it was impossible for them to refuse to walk blindly to their graves... or worse. It was almost a bigger honor to die for your country at that point then to kill and be scarred so severely that your everyday life becomes one repeating nightmare with the faces of those you've ever harmed, killed, or even saw killed. Your life ends and you become an empty body... with nothing to live or die for. If you lived, this is what you must carry and what he (O'Brien) carries.