The Things They Carried

   On page 21 of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brian, there are two lines that stood out to me : "it was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards." I found this concept fascinating, because in the face of death, with a good potential of dying every second, social restraints were still too strong. As strong as the fear was, shame was worse. The thoughts of peace were nice, but returning home with the sign of shame would be worse : "They died so as not to die of embarrassment" (O'Brian 20). Somehow, they brought social expectations with them where there were completely different social expectations. They carried them, and wore them as a mask; the new social expectations hidden underneath. They talk harshly of those who have forgotten the old social expectations, but imagine and want what those who have forgotten have. "It was fierce mocking talk, with only a trace of envy or awe, but even so the image played itself out behind their eyes." They mock not just out of envy, but to shame the person that so easily gave put the mask of the old social expectations. To them, this war is a temporary experience and either you make it back or you don't. The old social restraints will return when you do, and life will return to what it was before.