In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, guilt and blame are important themes. Guilt is portrayed as an emotional burden caused by the war and it haunts almost every character. Whenever a soldier feels guilty, he either blames himself or something else. It can be seen when Jimmy Cross blames himself for his soldier’s deaths and so does Azir after Kiowa’s death. O’Brien says it himself that whenever a person dies, there has to be blame. Guilt is always followed by blame, and therefore those two feelings are interconnected.
To begin with, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross feels guilty about Ted Lavender’s death. “He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry
To begin with, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross feels guilty about Ted Lavender’s death. “He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry