Courage In The Things They Carried

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Courage, as defined by Merriam-Webster, means mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. The soldier is held within our society as the epitome of this virtue. Rushing towards the enemy front, bullets screaming past, bombs pounding the ground, is seen as the ultimate display of courage. Fighting in a war, however, is not always courageous. In many cases, it is the cowardly route, because courage is also defined by the difficulty, both morally and mentally, of an action. Fighting for a cause that one disagrees with is not courageous, and doing so because fighting is easier than resisting is simply cowardly. This is the case in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. O’Brien is the main character
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