The Role of Women in the Things They Carried

The book is by O’Brien Tim and is an illumination of people who get involved in war and how they suffer its effects. Like any other war, it is mostly women who are largely affected considering the fact that they are left with the responsibility of taking care of children at home as their counterparts struggle in the fight. Some of them as they try to flee from the effects of war they lose they beloved ones. And sometimes when the war is very fierce, they keep encouraging their men. A case in example is when a lady writes to Jimmy informing him to take care, but she is too cautious to mention about the war (Hanna 78). This is a clear illustration of major role women play. They learn to live with their grief and even when sometimes in life things don’t seem to be okay; they are always there to protect and support their loved ones.
No one can ever understand the pains that other people go through unless they are subjected to the same experiences (Conan 67). Some of these people are driven by the idea of curiosity and get involved in events which they would otherwise have escaped or avoided. Mary Ann is a good example of this. She was brought to the town as an innocent girl but later failed to maintain her image and got swayed away by the town activities. (O’Brien 89). Being in her teenage years, she had strong feelings for Fossie; little did she know her love would lead her into tragedies that would never be explained. However, she is a representative of women left back at home with their husbands as they go to fight.

These women have no idea of the difficulties they go through. It is only by experience, Marry Ann gets to learn some of the troubles. Through her, the story protects men against women grievances.
The fact that not everything with a good beginning will have a good ending has been highly elevated in this book. Kathleen is an example of this (–O’Brien 99). Even though she appears in the last chapters of the book, she demonstrates the fact that people should learn to accept and understand their course of nature and deal with human cruelties in a more creative manner. She even wonders why her father doesn’t write love stories which would encourage and strengthen people in love.
Ideally, when people are in love more crazy things are bound to happen in their mind. Some of these things send people into imaginations of things which may or may not happen. Cross has the responsibility of ensuring his soldiers are safe (Herzog 112). However, his concentration is diverted by the thought of a girl, Martha; whom he thinks the constant letters he gets from her imply more than just friendship. He even fantasizes the best moments with her while in the white sand. Due to the lack of his concentration, one of his soldiers, Ted Lavender is shot, and he eventually blames himself for his carelessness. This indicates a supporting role that women play even though it is not seen it is felt in the minds of men.
Apparently, women usually believe they can do anything any man can do. This is where they lose direction because the moment they engage in activities men do very few emerge out successfully. It is important to understand that different roles are assigned to different people with the specifications which match the assigned roles. We all agree that taking risks in life can be a channel to an opportunity in life, but people must consider the intense of the risks they take so that they don’t end up like Marry Ann.
Works Cited
Hanna, Julia. The Things He Carries. Kennedy School Bulletin, 2013.
Conan, Neal. The Things They Caries, 20 Years On. Chelsea House, 2010.
Herzog, Toby C. Tim O’Brien.Twayne Publishers, 1997
O’Brien, Tim. A Storyteller for The War That Won’t End. The New York Times, 1990.
O’Brien, Tim. The Vietnam in Me. The New York Times, 1994.