Norman Bowker's The Things They Carried

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Soldiers are trained in many different life saving, as well as life threatening techniques. The most important thing is to take action first, think later. Selflessness is a key quality any soldier needs. Most people who have not served do not understand why anyone would give something as valuable as one’s own life to somebody or something other than yourself.

Norman Bowker from the novel “The Things They Carried” is a very true to life character. Many soldiers when they come home are eager to share their experiences, while others find this to be difficult. While Norman may not have sacrificed his life, he along with many other soldiers sacrificed very valuable things, such as years of their lives, limbs, and other important parts of being human: Hopes, plans, …show more content…
How are they trained for these situations? I would like to argue that a soldier is not born with these traits, but rather, is a trained lifestyle that you must be willing to absolutely commit to. As for Norman, Vietnam isolates him from the rest of society, and nobody will be able to fully understand the toll that this war has taken on Norman’s mental state. It is well known that post Vietnam, there was very little support for these soldiers to re-engage with society when they returned home. It is a long process to help veterans heal from PTSD, and much of this trauma comes from the Survivor’s guilt of not being able to save their fellow soldiers, or complete their mission. So even if these soldiers who fought years ago, they still feel these effects. This is what happens to Norman Bowker in the chapter “In The Field” when Viet Cong kills Kiowa. Bowker blames himself for Kiowa’s death when the Viet Cong were likely trailing the team regardless, meaning his death was inevidible. The United States Army has a very specific definition for self-sacrifice. Soldiers must follow “Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own. Selfless service is larger than just one person. In
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