“The Man I Killed” -Chapter Analysis From The Things They Carried

In this chapter, O’brien shows his guilty feelings related to the man he killed through a fantasy he makes up in an attempt to face his regret on the subject. He specifically imagines a fictional life for his victim and a life that he could have had, had he not killed him. For example, O’brien states that “He liked books. He wanted to be a teacher of mathematics” when referring to the man he killed. Of course there is no way he could have ever known what kind of life this man had, let alone profession. Although this is a totally fictional life story that is being told, by pretending to know this mans back story, O’brien attempts to empathize with his victim and fully realize what he has done and face the situation head on.

Some people, when faced with guilt and regret, attempt to push these thoughts and feelings into the back of their mind so that they can avoid them altogether as a coping mechanism. However, O’brien takes the exact opposite route and in his own way deals with what life has dealt him. O’brien also brings up how those who knew the man he killed will be affected by his death. He plays with the notion that this man had a parents and a wife and children of his own. He elaborates and talks about how he would have lived with them and loved them. This shows that O’brien is not only blaming himself for the death of the man, but also the suffering and loss felt by all those who knew him.