The Fear of Shame and Societal Standards in The Things They Carried

This essay delves into the theme of fear of shame and societal standards within Tim O'Brien's novel, 'The Things They Carried.' The analysis focuses on a character's actions and motivations, illustrating how the fear of societal judgment drives their behavior, particularly in the context of war. The essay explores how the character's desire to avoid being perceived as a coward influences their decisions, even when they conflict with their personal beliefs. The essay examines the pressures of societal expectations and their impact on the character's relationships and mental state. The author argues that the character's actions are a direct response to the high expectations of society, leading to dangerous and often absurd actions. The essay references specific instances from the novel and provides a critical perspective on the misguided standards that can place individuals under immense pressure. The conclusion highlights the devastating consequences of these societal expectations on the character's life and the lives of other soldiers, emphasizing the importance of understanding the pressures that individuals face in conforming to societal norms.

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Fear of shame standards of the society
“The Things They Carried” novel by Tim O’Brien represents the fear of shame standards
in society. Fear of shame society standards is well illustrated by actions of one of the main
characters in the novel called O’Brien. He is the character who shows that one of the greatest
motivations of the soldiers in the society is the fear of shame. In the issues concerning the war,
the factor which gears out those who in the war in the society is the fear of shame mentality
standards of the society (O'brien 171). This is well illustrated by the action taken by this
character to make sure he does not incur any shame of losing the battle in society. He does not
want to fight in the war but deep in his heart he does not want the society to see him as a coward
soldier. He is pushed by the set standards of the society that does not value cowards and defeat.
He thinks the war is unjust but he has no other alternatives because he does not want to fail the
society. It is not being patriotic or dedicated to his country that he flees to Canada but he is
forced by the fact he does not want to be considered as coward soldier in the war. This is one of
the standards happening in the society he exists that pushes this character to a dangerous war. He
can not imagine how his family and society will consider him as a failure or inferior if at all he is
defeated in the war. The misguided high expectation of the society on O’Brien has affected and
led to his uncertainty concerning the proper action taken of the war (Kaplan 43). It is always

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important to understand that never fight a losing battle but the community standards do not allow
the O’Brien to believe or follow this.
O’Brien is highly affected by standards of his society as they expect a win of the war
regardless of what happens to him. This has led him to trigger conflict and this has ruined his
entire life in the war. This society's standards affected the relationship of the O’Brien with other
soldiers while in Vietnam. Specifically, the community standards and unacceptance to be
defeated have made O’Brien undergo a lot of war stress. He has engaged in very dangerous and
absurd actions aiming to win in the war and achieve the high expectations of his society. O’Brien
responds to high expectations of the society and fear of defeat by setting his life and life of other
soldiers at high risk. The character understands the war is unjust and it is uncalled but by the
pressure of the society, he has no other alternative but to fight (Blyn 191). This character has
been used in the novel so show some of the misguided society standards that might put their
people under high pressure in life or under life threat in normal life. O’Brien is a good example
to represent some of the characters gaining motivation and doing the terrible things to make sure
that they meet the expectations of their society standards. This has finally put the life of the
O’Brien and other soldiers into a dangerous situation as they aim to meet the battle-winning
expectations of their society.

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Works cited
Blyn, Robin. "O'Brien's the Things they Carried." The Explicator 61.3 (2017): 189-191.
Kaplan, Steven. "The undying uncertainty of the narrator in Tim O'Brien's The Things They
Carried." Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 35.1 (2015): 43-52.
O'brien, Tim. The things they carried. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.171-188.