The Things They Carried(1990), Tim OBriens acclaimed composite novel about storytelling and the Vietnam War, contains countless insights on the heavy burden of traditional masculinity. In the novels first chapter, for instance, the narrator writes that Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to (20). Your task is to choose and discuss three characters from the novel, explaining how their actions, attitudes, and beliefs reflect either the above insight or another of your own choosing. What argument about masculinity might the author ultimately be making?
