Shame and Embarrassment in The Things They Carried

A common theme of the short stories in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brian is shame and embarrassment. In “On The Rainy River” O’Brian talks about when he was drafted into the Vietnam War. He explains that he thought it was a mistake-he was “too good” to go off and fight. He was desperate to get out of it, ultimately deciding he would flee the country. After a soul-searching trip to the northern tip of America, just a boat ride away from the Canadian border, he decides to go to the war. He explains in the story, “I would go to the war-I would kill and maybe die-because I was embarrassed not to”. O’Brian was so close to abandoning his country and fleeing, but he was scared of the repercussions. He did not want to be viewed as a traitor. His embarrassment from the possibility of him being mocked was his sole motivation for joining the army. Another example of embarrassment and shame in The Things They Carried can be seen in “The Dentist”. Curt Lemon is described as someone who contains a false tough-guy appearance and will do crazy stunts just to look macho. After fainting when a dentist comes to visit the soldiers, Lemon has trouble dealing with looking weak. O’Brian writes, “The embarrassment must have turned a screw in his head”. Lemon decides to cope with his shame by making up a story about a toothache, and insisting that the dentist remove a perfectly good tooth. However, this eases Lemon’s anxiety about his image. The idea of looking inadequate served as motivation for the character. As humans, we are constantly making decisions in order to preserve our confidence and self-image. We would rather endure pain or discomfort in order to avoid embarrassment, ultimately caring too much about what others think. This can sometimes lead us into dangerous situations, but as long as it will protect our image to the people around us, we convince ourselves that our actions are worth it.