Q2 Benchmark: Self and the Changing World

Analytical Essay:

Many people believe that change is something that you can avoid. They believe that if they try hard enough they can go their whole lives and not make any significant changes to the way that they deal with life. However, there are some situations where this is not the case. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a perfect example of this. O’Brien’s book is about war and includes himself as a character going through changes in that type of an environment. It teaches a lot about what war is like and how there is no way to avoid it. People tend to avoid change when they can, however, there are some environments that people cannot escape in life, it is in these environments that these people cannot help but change. The change could be physical, but it could also be mental.

The beginning of Tim O’Brien’s story in The Things They Carried starts when he is alerted through the mail that he has to join the army and go to war. The feeling O’Brien describes is one of the least desirable most painstaking feelings one can have. The feeling of shock, surprise, and hopelessness combined. O’Brien knew that his life was about to change is a monumental way, he was scared for his life. He even thought about fleeing the country to get away from this change. At one point he even says, “I felt something break open in my chest. I don’t know what it was. I’ll never know. But it was real, I know that much, it was a physical rupture-a cracking-leaking-popping feeling…..I remember packing a suitcase and carrying it out to the kitchen, standing very still for a few minutes, looking carefully at the familiar objects all around me” (Page 46). At this point, O’Brien’s shock and fear has turned to determination, he says that if his life is going to change it is going to be on his own terms and he flees to Canada. However, the fear of disappointment and shame from his parents and all those that know him is enough to overpower this fear of change and war that he is hiding from. He is eventually willing to come back to the United States and fight in the war. O’Brien was trying to get away from a change that could ruin his life. A war is an inescapable environment in which change is not only common, but even expected.

Later in O’Brien’s story he starts to reflect on how his life had changed from the war. At this point O’Brien had been in the war for quite some time and was starting to notice some changes in himself. Upon discovering these changes O’Brien was disappointed that he let the war change him this way. He explains, “I’d come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person, a college grad….all the credentials, but after seven months in the bush I realized that those high, civilized trappings had somehow been crushed under the weight of the simple daily realities. I’d turned mean inside” (Page 200). At this point of the book the character Tim O’Brien was trying to get revenge against another character named Bobby Jorgenson. After a while he realizes that he acting rashly and not quite like himself. He concedes that the war is changing him, and he does not like what he is becoming. Change is scary for O’Brien along with most people, but sometimes you can’t help but change. The change that O’Brien is describing undergoing is a completely mental change. His body isn’t just changing, and neither is just is situation. The war changed the way O’Brien thought and felt and made him into a person he didn’t want to be. This is why people are scared of change, especially in such drastic situations like war, they do not want to become something that they are not. It is hard to overcome a situation like this, because first you would have to leave the environment you are in. If the environment is not escapable, like war, than you might have to embrace the changes.

Certain changes can come about when an environment takes a mental or physical toll on a person. War is a perfect example of such an environment because one is not able to escape war, and it takes a heavy mental and physical toll on those involved. Tim O’Brien the author recalls such times when war was a hard place. “’Well, yes, I dedicated the book to my characters,’ Mr. O'Brien said. ‘After all, I lived with them for five years while I was writing. In Vietnam people were being rotated constantly, so men you served with you would know six or eight months. These characters are the people I know best’”. O’Brien dedicating his book to the characters within it, or the people he knew is heart warming, but also understandable. The reason that this quote is so important is that it shows another element of change in war. The people that you are with and have your back at all times continuously are changed. This had to be tough on a soldier and even depressing at times. These soldiers do not want this change, most likely if it were up to them they would get to stay with the same soldiers throughout the war so that they know who they are working with and who they can trust. However, it is not their decision war brings on changes that are unavoidable and can be challenging to overcome.

Change can be one of the hardest most emotionally tolling things a person can go through, and while many people attempt to avoid change in their lives there are some environments that people cannot escape and some changes that they cannot avoid. There are various reasons for not being able to escape. Sometimes there is a pressure on a person that is too great that they can’t help but break. Sometimes, as in The Things They Carried there are certain expectations placed on a person that they want to live up to. Some changes affect one in a physical manner, while others can affect them in a mental way. War is one of the rare and scary example of place that can change both your mental and physical state which is why it is so undesirable.

Works Cited:

Bruckner, D.J.R. "A Storyteller For the War That Won't End." The New York Times. N.p., 3 Apr. 1990. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/20/specials/obrien-storyteller.html>.

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. New York: Broadway, 1998. Print.

Narrative Essay:

Change is one of the hardest things in life. That being said there are many hard things that can occur in one’s life, the thing that makes change so unique is how unavoidable it is. I personally have dealt with change many times in my life, and while there are times that enjoy the adversity and the benefits that can come with change, there are others where the change is just completely undesirable. Sometimes I find that the change can be hard, but the result can be great. Many times change is unavoidable due to the situation that you are in, but you just have roll with the punches.

There was a time in my life when I was much younger that I liked to keep to myself. Even in elementary school my focus was to get good grades. Because of this, I was left out of much of the social experiences that come with being a fun loving, outgoing child. I was always happy with my life and my small core group of friends, but never truly satisfied. I didn’t expect my personality to change as I got older, I even feared the possibility of a change because of the effect it might have on my accomplishments in the classroom. However, that didn’t stop me.

By middle school the time came where I started to notice how much of the world I was missing by keeping to myself. I tried to put myself out there, but it was hard when your knowledge of what is “cool” is limited, and I faced a large amount of rejection early. I started playing team sports which helped a lot, not so much because I wanted to, but almost because I felt as though I needed to. It wasn’t until later that I felt something break in my head. Not in a negative way, it was almost as if my confidence was trapped in a cage, only pouring out slowly and then all of sudden it rushed out. My inhibitions were gone, I became a much more outgoing person. I still felt that same type of fear that I had know all of my earlier life, but I was able to ignore it and do what I please. I was scared of change, but it happened anyway and I couldn’t be more thankful.

Another example of a change happened to my friend Rob. Rob and I were best friends and we would hang out on quite a frequent basis when we were very young. However, Rob had a very unique situation when it came to the careers of his parents. Rob’s mother worked for the mayor and she was continuously changing locations of the office she was working at. On top of this there were some other unforeseen circumstances that made Rob’s life hard. When Rob and I first met we lived ten minutes away from each other. Out of nowhere, disaster struck for Rob and his family when his house burned down for an unknown reason. Rob lost all of his possessions, clothes, and memories.

“Mom, what happened to my toys?” Rob would inquire.

“They are gone honey, a fire came and ate them up, but don’t worry we will get you new ones”, his mother would often reply.

The change was very hard for Rob, he had to leave his home and move in with his grandmother. He couldn’t help the change, it just came out of nowhere and his life took a hit.

Later his parents found a new place to live, it was an apartment in the city. Rob’s mom needed to be closer to a different office, so she moved to the city and again Rob’s life changed. City life was very different for him, we now lived at least forty five minutes away from each other and began to see each other less and less. On top of that he went to a whole new school and had a much smaller place to live than he was used to. Rob eventually got used to his new life, but it wasn’t long before change struck again.

Rob’s mother was offered a higher paying job for the mayor, the catch is that she had to move again. This time it was way out to Oxford, PA. Now Rob lived two hours away, and we were lucky if we got to hang out two or three times a year.

“Where are we going mom, we’ve been driving forever all I see is trees!” Rob exclaimed on his journey.

“We are almost there, our new house is a little bit out of the way, but trust me it’s worth the drive”. His mom would answer.

The good news for Rob is that his home was enormous. It had four floors including a basement that was all completely Rob’s room. The bad news for Rob is that he lived in the middle of nowhere, he had to commute an hour to get to school, and he didn’t get to see his friends as much. It was hard for Rob to adjust to this new lifestyle, especially after finally getting used to being in the city, but after a while he finally did, but then things changed again, and it was the biggest change yet.

Rob’s mom got a call that a high paying job was available and she was first on the list for possible candidates. She was very excited, but there was a catch, and not a small one at that. The job was all the way in Memphis, Tennessee. After ironing out a lot of details, fighting with her family and watching her son shed many tears, she convinced her family that this was for the best and that they wouldn’t have to move anymore once she took the job. So, Rob moved all the way to Memphis. This was four years ago and I have seen him twice since then. I have kept in touch and I was there for him throughout the process of his move. He had a hard time with such a drastic change in his life, and I’m sure if it were up to him he never would have left Philadelphia. That being said he couldn’t stop this change from happening, he was simply in an environment where changes like this were unavoidable.