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Megan ODonnell English 12 Gillett

1/18/13 Essay Topic 1

The principle of courage cannot be distinguished from cowardice. No one is a total coward or a total hero. There is no such truth about courage for the ideal of courage is based on social construction. In The Things They Carried, Tim OBrien recognized this. His characters were courageous with fear. The discussion of what it means to be courageous begins with fear. The characters ability to be strong or weak during each situation demonstrates that there is no one absolute definition of what it means to be courageous. Each engaged in both cowardly and courageous acts. The primary characters behaviors cannot truly be described as cowardice even though their flaws were mentioned throughout the book. There were moments of failure and insecurity. No one person is one thing and can be changed. Someone being just one is solely a myth. An honest act of courage is the invisible and unnoticed one. To find the absolute meaning about courage is not only impossible, it is unjustified. Courage is something we make up; therefore, the definition of it is uncertain. OBriens Vietnam War setting brings about the question of morality. It challenges the traditional social expectation for a man to go to war. The underlying truth of each moral subject is not possible to define. It is nothing to be courageous without a purpose. They were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it. (OBrien 19). In reality, we based our standards based on cultural and societal ideas. It is excluding any real notion of established codes; thereby, people often expect others to present a concrete form that establishes some moral base. OBrien blurred lines between reality and fiction, right and wrong, in an effort to emphasize the lack of firm moral ground. He used his characters in a senseless war to test their true morality. Courage cannot be without fear and humanity. The subject of courage has to be

view with its context. The definition of courage is not static for the reason that intentions are constantly changing. OBrien provided his readers with different characters that, in different situations, to be constantly changing their moral attitudes and perspectives. The war environment brought out the truth about how there is no absolute truth in reality. This is an unwelcome realization of the worlds potential for cruelty. All we can do is try to make sense of what we have seen. The moral complexity of reality cannot be defined. He blurred the distinctions in his stories to present truths in memory and imagination to emphasize that there is no absolute term. This book not only captures the moral uncertainty by men at war, but also displays the effect of culturally expected gender roles, especially as courage is usually associated with manliness. The representations of masculinity and femininity by OBrien are clear. It exposed the exaggerated and aggressiveness of its gendered roles and gestures. The construction of gender in our culture can be seen as they go to war. The principal traditional manifestation of courage is effective in that it controls our behaviors. To show courage, or at least what people admiringly call courage, is not solidify. Courage must be defined by reference to fear. Courage is the overcoming of fear. Courage is itself fear; the fear nurtured by society. Fear may be associated with shame. Courage can be seen in battlefield, but can also be deconstructed by the reality of war. Why do we need courage? Courage is not a practical necessity.

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