Throughout the novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, imagination is explored as a complex concept. It is talked about immensely particularly with the character Jorgensen. O'Brien remembers how the younger version of himself and Azar torment Jorgensen by making sounds that they know will scare him and awaken his imagination. Imagination becomes a killer to Jorgensen both physically and emotionally; it causes him to physically put his body through certain movements that are abnormal, and it ignites a fear within him that makes him lose hope for survival and makes him think that he is about to die. First, Jorgensen is affected by imagination being a killer in a physical way. When O'Brien and Azar are creating sounds that stir up thoughts
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The novel states, "I could read his mind. I was there with him. Together we understood what terror was"(135). This is mentioned right after Tim and Azar begin terrorizing Jorgensen. They are hiding in the bushes and creating sounds which they know will awaken Jorgensen's imagination. Imagination has the power to ignite a fear so deep within a person that they give up all hope for survival. Tim understands the concept of imagination being the real killer in a war. Because he understands this, he cunningly uses it to his advantage. Tim knows that the real killer is simply one's imagination, so all he has to do when seeking revenge is use one's imagination against himself. The novel states,"You know you're about to die. And it's not a movie and you aren't a hero and all you can do is whimper and wait"(135). It's a morbid and extremely terrifying idea that one of the scariest things to a soldier in a war is a non-tangible fabrication of something that one creates within his own mind. Obrian states,"you're not human anymore. You're a shadow. You slip out of your own skin, like molting, shedding your own history and your own future, leaving behind everything you ever were or wanted or believed in."(135). Imagination has the upper hand because it has the ability to cause fear that will injure you psychologically. Although this injury is not physical it often leaves a scar much more relevant then that of physical
The novel states, "I could read his mind. I was there with him. Together we understood what terror was"(135). This is mentioned right after Tim and Azar begin terrorizing Jorgensen. They are hiding in the bushes and creating sounds which they know will awaken Jorgensen's imagination. Imagination has the power to ignite a fear so deep within a person that they give up all hope for survival. Tim understands the concept of imagination being the real killer in a war. Because he understands this, he cunningly uses it to his advantage. Tim knows that the real killer is simply one's imagination, so all he has to do when seeking revenge is use one's imagination against himself. The novel states,"You know you're about to die. And it's not a movie and you aren't a hero and all you can do is whimper and wait"(135). It's a morbid and extremely terrifying idea that one of the scariest things to a soldier in a war is a non-tangible fabrication of something that one creates within his own mind. Obrian states,"you're not human anymore. You're a shadow. You slip out of your own skin, like molting, shedding your own history and your own future, leaving behind everything you ever were or wanted or believed in."(135). Imagination has the upper hand because it has the ability to cause fear that will injure you psychologically. Although this injury is not physical it often leaves a scar much more relevant then that of physical