Heroism In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

Hero, coward, two divergent expressions, each with its own separate connotation. Is going to war being a hero? Does fearing death make someone a coward? Or is it just being a Joseph? Is that what it means to do what is expected and not attempting to abandon one’s home country at the sight of a draft card? What is a hero, what is a coward, and what makes someone just a Joseph? As young adults, it proves difficult to acquire the ability to produce an accurate response to such inquiries. Without having lived long enough to experience true heroism, and cowardice. Heroism could be seen as the ability to do what is righteous without allowing for fear to stand in the way. Similar to life, death comes with much uncertainty, yet it is simpler to fear death. Losing loved ones at a young age, or simply not wanting to die can unlimitedly shape a young man’s fate. Raised with a fear of death and resurrected with their self pronounced cowardly character, John Wheelwright in A Prayer for Owen Meany, a novel written by John Irving, and Tim O’Brien in his novel The Things They Carried ultimately manifest the transforming perplexity of cowardice, heroism, and conformity that adolescents face on a …show more content…
Consequently, after receiving a notice from the draft board, failing to abandon his former life and move to Canada, Tim O’Brien proclaims himself as being a coward. Even though he knew that he feared death, and he was aware of the rising casualties in Vietnam, he would go to war. Tim reasoned this as him choosing to “kill and maybe die- because I was embarrassed not to.” (O’Brien 62) He feared the humiliation and the embarrassment that would come along with becoming a draft dodger. He was fearful of death and of pain he would cause his