How Does O Brien Use Literary Techniques In The Things They Carried

English students and avid readers alike often wonder why an author employs a seemingly random plot twist or what reaction he or she is trying to evoke in the reader. Luckily, in The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien follows the chapter “Speaking of Courage” with a second chapter, “Notes,” to explain his reasoning in the creation of the prior section. Of course, O’Brien’s explanation doesn’t explicitly state everything. Instead, he employs strategic choices of diction, style, and literary devices to convey how and why he altered the ‘happening-truth’ to better reflect what he deems ‘story-truth.’ “Notes” begins with a one-sentence description of the origin of the preceding chapter. It is blunt, explaining that the man responsible for the story

This sentence fragment emphasizes O’Brien’s propensity for making up details or changing the story entirely to convey his point. Another prime example would be the chapter entitled “Field Trip” in which O’Brien tells of a trip to the presumed site of Kiowa’s death with his daughter, Kathleen. As previously mentioned, there is no real Kathleen. Her inclusion highlights the divide between veteran and civilian in a way mere statement could not. In contrast to the creation of a fictitious daughter, O’Brien’s original changes to Norman Bowker’s story result in a loss of “metaphoric unity” and the “terrible killing power” of Bowker's experience in Vietnam (153). O’Brien concludes “Notes” by hoping it is now “a better story” (154). The reader still does not know exactly what is happening-truth and what is story-truth. However, the point of the chapter, and indeed of the entire book, is that it shouldn’t matter. There is no mere story-truth. In the end, the emotions and significance of an experience may require another manner of telling, another way of phrasing, another story to create not resolution, but appreciation for what the storyteller originally went