The Source of Responsibility In life, we are presented with difficult circumstances which can have a tremendous emotional effect on the individual. While some people choose to proceed with life there are others who hold on to this burden. Holding onto these emotional burdens can cause people to act very dramatically and find any sort of way to release these feelings onto the source that his causing them. In order diminish these feelings we take on the responsibility to complete the tasks that are necessary to relieve us of this emotional burden. Responsibility involves completing the tasks that we are given which can result from dramatic obstacles that we face in life. In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, Lieutenant Cross feels tremendous guilt when one of his soldiers, Ted Lavender, is shot down. Cross feels that Lavender is killed because he was too busy thinking about Martha, the woman he loves, and wasn’t paying attention. The story states that Cross “pictured Martha’s smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” (pg. 542). The position of being a Lieutenant gives Cross the natural feeling of having to guard his soldiers and to try to ensure that as many as them remain alive. Since he has failed, Cross takes on the responsibility of finishing his mission and along with his soldiers, burns down the villages that they come across. In one of the villages, Cross and his soldiers shoot down a small boy who Cross believes is the one who has killed Lavender. The emotional trauma of losing one of his soldiers causes Cross to do anything to relieve his guilt. While most lieutenants wouldn’t go out of their way to kill this boy, Cross’ failure as a lieutenant caused him to act out to help get rid of his guilt for Lavender. In “He Becomes Deeply and Famously Drunk” by Brady Udall, the short story tells the tale about Archie, who works on a ranch with Jesus. Throughout the story we are given flashbacks into the past that tells us how Archie has a deep vengeance for Calfred Pulsipher, who had murdered Archie’s father when he was young. Because Pulsipher murdered his father, Archie feels this responsibility to seek revenge which Archie admits is due to what he watched and was surrounded by when he was a child. Archie talks about how when he was growing up that he “used to read a lot, mostly Zane Grey and Louis L’ Amour, and in those books if someone killed a member of your family or even a friend, it was pretty much your duty to pay the son of a bitch back. It’s what anyone who had any sense of courage or sense of justice did; it’s what cowboys did. It’s what my father would have done” (pg. 558). The traumas of losing his father when he was young cause Archie to build this deep, emotional vengeance towards Pulsipher. He eventually locates Pulsipher and intends to kill him, but he sees how Pulsipher is now a critically unhealthy man. Archie cannot bring himself to kill him and begins to cry and throw up. Although Archie did not proceed with his revenge, his emotional burden brought about a desire to hurt and kill the person who caused it even if it may have been irrational and sudden. In “Spanish Roulette” by Ed Vega, Sixto is placed in a similar position that Archie is in. When his fifteen year old sister is raped, Sxito feels that he must take care of the guy that did it to her. Sixto’s friend Willie warns him against it because he fears that it may get Sixto into some serious trouble. Sixto struggles to decide what he must do. He feels that he must take on the responsibility of avenging his sister but he is worried about what the consequences may be. The thought of what happened to his sister tears him apart and “he thought again of the crushed innocence on his sister’s face and his blood felt like sand as it ran in his veins” (pg. 571). The position that he is placed in is a terrible one and he feels the need to avenge his sister in order to relieve him of this guilt even if it may result in unfortunate consequences towards him. The obligation towards his sister causes him to eventually go through with the revenge. The crucial position that Sixto is placed in has him emotionally unstable which influences his decision on what he must do to help him and his family feel stable again. In “Of Revenge” by Francis Bacon, discusses the topic of revenge and whether or not it is justifiable under certain circumstances. Taking on huge responsibilities if often the product of revenge. Lieutenant Cross, Archie, and Sixto, due to the tragic circumstances they were placed in, feel this burden to avenge the people who were hurt and to make sure that the people who caused it never do it to anyone else ever again. Bacon states that “there is no man doth a wrong for the wrong’s sake, but thereby to purchase himself profit, or pleasure or honor, or the like. Therefore why should I be angry with a man for loving himself better than me?” (pg. 597). Often time’s revenge has nothing to do with the person intentionally trying to be mean or hurt someone, but instead to seek vengeance and relieve the burdens that were placed on them. Being placed in certain positions or circumstances can lead the person to taking on overwhelming responsibilities or tasks. Cross felt tremendous guilt over the death of one of his soldiers due to being in the position of being a lieutenant. His positions required him to try to keep his soldiers alive which he failed at doing which causes him to kill a small child. Archie decided to seek vengeance for his father that was the result of what he viewed as a child. These thoughts carried on into adulthood and gave him this burden that he must act upon to feel at peace. Sixto felt the need to avenge his sister even if it might result in terrible consequences towards him. Although he struggles to decide whether or not to go through with his revenge, he ultimately decides that he must because of the guilt he feels. Bacon describes how at times intense responsibilities are the result of seeking revenge. We put this burden on ourselves because we feel the need to get back at the person who hurt us or the people who are close to us. Responsibility involves completing the tasks that we are given which can result from dramatic obstacles that we face in life.