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The Things They Carried Bravery Character Analysis

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Characters in The Things They Carried all earn respect from their bravery throughout the Vietnam War, but bravery is not something easy to have. Soldiers took a lot of sacrifices to be able to be considered brave. Tim O’Brien proves that life as a soldier is extremely difficult. Characters in The Things They Carried endured harsh conditions and required a long effort to be attributed as “brave”. Curt Lemon, Ted Lavender, Norman Bowker, and Kiowa each had great patriotism to sacrifice their own life in order to save another, which is true bravery. Soldiers that lose their life in war deserve the utmost respect. Their precious life was lost so ours can go on. Ultimately, actions like those define bravery. Tim O’Brien seemed to truthfully respect his fellow soldiers and demonstrated bravery in his book. In Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, bravery can be defined by soldier’s decisions, comfort, and sacrifice during the …show more content…
Rat Kiley carried comic books, which kept him entertained during the war. Ted Lavender comforted himself with an orphan puppy, but also drugs. Lavender’s pain killers only attempted to comfort his experience in Vietnam. Seeing innocent people and friends die in the war changed every soldier’s life, but something needed to comfort them. Comfort is a way people can become brave as it encourages survival. For example, O’Brien mentioned, “Lee Strunk carried a slingshot; a weapon of last resort, he called it” (7). Soldiers needed something to be comforted by to realize that they have a chance surviving a deadly war. Without something from home, how could a person be comfortable with their surroundings? Soldiers were able to stay comfortable with their belongings brought from home. Characters in The Things They Carried had the will to live, which proves they were courageous during the Vietnam

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