"Problem of Society"

A Remarkable Man
“It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do. He almost nodded at her (his love), but didn’t. Instead, he went back to his maps. He was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence…from that point on, he would comport himself as a soldier. On the march, he would impose strict field discipline. He would accept the blame from what had happened to Ted Lavender. He would be a man about it.”
- Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”

The first time I read The Things They Carried by Timothy O’Brien, I immediately identified with the work. It seemed that O’Brien had a very individualistic way of looking at horrid events and experiences in a light that I emulated. The Things They Carried is O’Brien’s recap of his occurrence and involvement in the Vietnam War, a war that, for some reason, interests and affects me. This quotation is one of a many that I distinct...