The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien tells the story of a group of American soldiers and their experiences both during and after the Vietnam war. O'Brien starts the book with a chapter detailing all of the items carried by the soldiers. O'Brien begins in this way to illustrate the way that the war and their previous civilian lives are present in the form of physical items carried by the soldiers. What he does not describe are the emotional and mental burdens weighing on each soldier. They carry reminders of loves back home. They carry mementos of their family and its heritage. Many of them are motivated by the fear of shame. They are afraid of the war. All are afraid to die. The physical items they carry help them cope with these intangible burdens. These thoughts are always on their mind and they gain new ones as the war goes on. O'Brien begins the book with this to show how all of these soldiers were fighting two wars. The American war in Vietnam, and the mental and emotional war to stay connected with the life they left behind in the United States. The fact that none of them want to fight this war makes them heroes according to O'Brien. O'Brien says that courage is not fighting the war. Courage is fighting the war when one did not want to. This courage made them heroes. The courage needed to fight a war they did not support and put up with the daily grunt work gave these men the status of heroes in the author's mind. Coming from a veteran, this hero status does not come lightly.
O'Brien spent some time in the book talking about what constitutes truth in war stories. O'Brien argues that in war stories the material facts are unimportant. What matters is the effect it has on the person hearing the story. The gut wrenching feeling in the reader is what forms the truth. The truth in a war story makes the listener feel the same feelings as the soldier experiencing it. O'Brien summarizes it by saying "truth is what makes the stomach believe". He illustrates this by telling the gruesome stories of Kiowa's death in the muck, Lemon's demise and Rat Kiley torturing the buffalo before having a mental breakdown after Ted Lavender's death. The facts surrounding these stories are not what make it true. The feelings felt by the listener, and the closeness to those feelings felt by the soldier, are what make a war story true. This is why O'Brien calls this book fiction. The facts regarding the stories told may not be true. The feelings generated in the reader are what make it true. It does not matter if the stories are true or not. All that matters is that the reader feels a feeling inside that is close to what a soldier felt in Vietnam. The reader just needs to believe the story is true.
The Things They Carried consists of stories told by O'Brien about his past. O'Brien talks about how all of the soldiers tell the stories of their experiences in order to relieve the pain of the events of their life. O'Brien finishes the book by telling the story of his childhood love, Linda. He tells this story to relieve the pain he felt as a child after her death. Telling the story helps relieve his pain. The same is true for Bowker, telling the story of Kiowa, Cross, telling the events of Lavender's death, and Rat Kiley, telling the story of the death of his good friend Curt Lemon. These men remember their lost friends through stories. These stories bring them back to their past and help to alleviate the pain stemming from these incidents.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien tells the story of a group of American soldiers and their experiences both during and after the Vietnam war. O'Brien starts the book with a chapter detailing all of the items carried by the soldiers. O'Brien begins in this way to illustrate the way that the war and their previous civilian lives are present in the form of physical items carried by the soldiers. What he does not describe are the emotional and mental burdens weighing on each soldier. They carry reminders of loves back home. They carry mementos of their family and its heritage. Many of them are motivated by the fear of shame. They are afraid of the war. All are afraid to die. The physical items they carry help them cope with these intangible burdens. These thoughts are always on their mind and they gain new ones as the war goes on. O'Brien begins the book with this to show how all of these soldiers were fighting two wars. The American war in Vietnam, and the mental and emotional war to stay connected with the life they left behind in the United States. The fact that none of them want to fight this war makes them heroes according to O'Brien. O'Brien says that courage is not fighting the war. Courage is fighting the war when one did not want to. This courage made them heroes. The courage needed to fight a war they did not support and put up with the daily grunt work gave these men the status of heroes in the author's mind. Coming from a veteran, this hero status does not come lightly.
ReplyDeleteO'Brien spent some time in the book talking about what constitutes truth in war stories. O'Brien argues that in war stories the material facts are unimportant. What matters is the effect it has on the person hearing the story. The gut wrenching feeling in the reader is what forms the truth. The truth in a war story makes the listener feel the same feelings as the soldier experiencing it. O'Brien summarizes it by saying "truth is what makes the stomach believe". He illustrates this by telling the gruesome stories of Kiowa's death in the muck, Lemon's demise and Rat Kiley torturing the buffalo before having a mental breakdown over Ted Lavender's death. The facts surrounding these stories are not what make it true. The feelings felt by the listener, and the closeness to those feelings felt by the soldier, are what make a war story true. This is why O'Brien calls this book fiction. The facts regarding the stories told may not be true. The feelings generated in the reader are what make it true. It does not matter if the stories are true or not. All that matters is that the reader feels a feeling inside that is close to what a soldier felt in Vietnam. The reader just needs to believe the story for it to be true.
The Things They Carried consists of stories told by O'Brien about his past. O'Brien talks about how all of the soldiers tell the stories of their experiences in order to relieve the pain of the events of their life. O'Brien finishes the book by telling the story of his childhood love, Linda. He tells this story to relieve the pain he felt as a child after her death. Telling the story helps relieve his pain. The same is true for Bowker, telling the story of Kiowa, Cross, telling the events of Lavender's death, and Rat Kiley, telling the story of the death of his good friend Curt Lemon. These men remember their lost friends through stories. All of these men, including O’Brien, love those whom they constantly think about and recall stories of. This love between the men and between O’Brien and Linda make this not a war story, but a love story. The common thread seen throughout the entire story is one of love felt for others.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien tells the story of a group of American soldiers and their experiences both during and after the Vietnam War. O'Brien starts the book with a chapter detailing all of the items carried by the soldiers. O'Brien begins in this way to illustrate the way that the war and their previous civilian lives are present in the form of physical items carried by the soldiers. What he does not describe are the emotional and mental burdens weighing on each soldier. They carry reminders of loves back home. They carry mementos of their family and its heritage. Many of them are motivated by the fear of shame. They are afraid of the war. All are afraid to die. The physical items they carry help them cope with these intangible burdens. These thoughts are always on their mind and they gain new ones as the war goes on. O'Brien begins the book with this to show how all of these soldiers were fighting two wars. The American war in Vietnam, and the mental and emotional war to stay connected with the life they left behind in the United States. The fact that none of them want to fight this war makes them heroes according to O'Brien. O'Brien says that courage is not fighting the war. Courage is fighting the war when one did not want to. This courage made them heroes. The courage needed to fight a war they did not support and put up with the daily grunt work gave these men the status of heroes in the author's mind. Coming from a veteran, this hero status does not come lightly.
ReplyDeleteO'Brien spent some time in the book talking about what constitutes truth in war stories. O'Brien argues that in war stories the material facts are unimportant. What matters is the effect it has on the person hearing the story. The gut wrenching feeling in the reader is what forms the truth. The truth in a war story makes the listener feel the same feelings as the soldier experiencing it. O'Brien summarizes it by saying "truth is what makes the stomach believe". He illustrates this by telling the gruesome stories of Kiowa's death in the muck, Lemon's demise and Rat Kiley torturing the buffalo before having a mental breakdown over Ted Lavender's death. The facts surrounding these stories are not what make it true. The feelings felt by the listener, and the closeness to those feelings felt by the soldier, are what make a war story true. This is why O'Brien calls this book fiction. The facts regarding the stories told may not be true. The feelings generated in the reader are what make it true. It does not matter if the stories are true or not. All that matters is that the reader feels a feeling inside that is close to what a soldier felt in Vietnam. The reader just needs to believe the story for it to be true.
The Things They Carried consists of stories told by O'Brien about his past. O'Brien talks about how all of the soldiers tell the stories of their experiences in order to relieve the pain of the events of their life. O'Brien finishes the book by telling the story of his childhood love, Linda. He tells this story to relieve the pain he felt as a child after her death. Telling the story helps relieve his pain. The same is true for Bowker, telling the story of Kiowa, Cross, telling the events of Lavender's death, and Rat Kiley, telling the story of the death of his good friend Curt Lemon. These men remember their lost friends through stories. All of these men, including O’Brien, love those whom they constantly think about and recall stories of. This love between the men and between O’Brien and Linda make this not a war story, but a love story. The common thread seen throughout the entire story is one of love felt for others.