베트남 전쟁과 잃어버린 남성성

The Vietnam War Trauma and Missing Masculinity : in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien’s female characters are a reflection of the Vietnam War era. These figures serve to expose the trauma of soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. The author represents his own experiences in his work. In this way, personal traumas are extended to the experience and wounds of all the soldiers. The author shows that women are artfully and closely connected to the War. He associates Martha, Linda, Curt Lemon’ sister and Kathleen with the traumas of the soldiers and he shows that men are not understood by women. And also through Mary Anne Bell’s story, he shows that women cannot enter the male domain. These stories reveal that O’Brien separates the men and women and demeans women. The missing masculinity of the soldiers in Vietnam War is wounded or restored by women who cannot understand war.