The Things They Carried” The novel, “The Things They Carried,” is about the experiences of Tim O'Brian and his platoon mates during the their time fighting in the Vietnam War. They face many adversities that can only be encountered in the horrors of fighting a war. The men experience the death of friends, civilians, enemies and, in some places, the loss of their logic. In turn, soldiers use a wide range of methods to cope with the hardships of war, dark humor, daydreams and violent actions all allow an escape from the horrors of Vietnam they experience almost every day. When O'Brien first arrives in Vietnam, the men in the platoon show him how the pain of war can be masked by humor. While the men were patrolling near a village off the South China Sea, they suddenly began encountering sniper fire. The firefight lasted only a few minutes but Lieutenant Cross still decided to order an air attack on the village. After the strike ended, the platoon headed towards the burning village and found nothing but “…an old man lying face up near a pigsty in the center of the village. His right arm was missing. There were already many flies and midges on his face.”(). For many, this image of a destroyed village and mutilated old man would cause horror and suffering. Instead of that normal reaction, “Dave Jensen walked over and shook the old man's hand. “How-dee-doo,” he said.”(). The other men of the platoon also approached the dead man's body and shook his hand adding a comment. This disturbing response that the men have towards the dead old man is not a lack of respect, it's their coping mechanism to realize what they just did. Since O'Brien was new to Vietnam, he still didn't understand why all the men were doing such a thing. . half of the paper... or” (79). The men knew that Rat needed to kill the animal to cope with the loss of his friend ) and not of sanity, what Rat was trying to figure out Everyone has a breaking point about how much they can handle Rat the way to deal with his problems was in the killing of the Buffalo, for others it was humor and daydreaming. In conclusion the soldiers use dark humor, daydreaming and violent actions that allow an escape from the horrors they have experienced. pass to Vietnam. These coping mechanisms allowed men to continue fighting and survive the war. They would not have been able to move forward if it were not for the outlets these methods provided. Without humor, daydreams and violent actions, the war would have been unbearable for men and harmful to their future lives..