Shame and guilt are universally present in Tim O’ Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” Firstly, it is made apparent that all the soldiers feel obligated to go to war for fear of embarrassing themselves, their families, and their towns if they flee. O’Brien outlines this fear when he recounts his time spent near the Canadian border (O’Brien 37). This embarrassment is bolstered by the guilt of not being “masculine” enough—not being brave, heroic, and patriotic enough (O’Brien 38). O’Brien reflects on how he thinks he has a secret reserve of bravery and heroism stored away, where it waits for the moment when he is called to war—if that day ever comes—and how in reality no such reserve exists(O’Brien 38). For his taking solace in being a “repetitive coward,” O’Brien shames himself throughout the novel and exemplifies the shame and guilt present in the days leading up to war.
The feelings of shame and guilt follow the soldiers into the war as well, and in many cases, those who are suffering act in irrational ways. Curt Lemon faints when an army dentist treats him, much to his own shame (O’Brien 82). To prove to the men as well as to himself that he is “man enough” and brave enough to see the dentist (and, by extension, fight in the war) he goes to the dentist’s tent in the middle of the night and demands that he pull out some of Lemon’s perfectly healthy teeth (O’Brien 83). This is a perfect example of what shame and guilt do to people of otherwise fortuitous stature. It is given that all men make mistakes, but in the tide of war, mistakes can cost lives. As such, mistakes are regarded as vile acts of emasculation that result in the shaming of the perpetrator. Thus, O’Brien articulates how wartime brings out the powerful effects of shame and guilt on the human psyche.
Survivor’s guilt haunts many of O’Brien’s friends, as well as O’Brien himself. Norman Bowker cannot relieve himself of the shame of not winning The Silver Star of Valor because he thinks that he would have won it if he had not failed to save Kiowa (O’Brien 161). Shame and guilt follow Bowker with such intensity that he eventually hangs himself. It is later revealed that O’Brien is shaken by a similar shame and guilt over Kiowa, believing that he is the one that was actually responsible for Kiowa’s death. Meanwhile, the other soldiers in the company blame Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in for stationing them in such a vulnerable position. Even Cross wavers between blaming himself and blaming the cruelty of war. Cross, O’Brien, and Bowker are all afflicted with shame guilt; each believes he is responsible for the death of Kiowa. By highlighting the inevitability of death in war, O’Brien also highlights the inevitability of shame and guilt, indicating why they are universal themes throughout the novel.
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