Irony In The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien was a memoir recollection of various stories about those in the Vietnam War during the Cold War. O’Brien highlights many things in this novel from how to tell a war story to personal experiences and feelings in one. Norman Bowker is a soldier from this novel that embodies feelings of a war veteran. He is isolated and unable to remove the guilt of his friend Kiowa's death from his memory because he feels responsible. O’Brien uses him to tackle the experience of a veteran in a non-judgmental tone. In the novel, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Norman Bowker plays the role of an isolated soldier. O'Brien uses Norman's role to highlight the theme of memory and guilt by showing how a burden of guilt

Diaries are a way people keep records of events or their experiences (OED). This is a symbol the author uses for Norman's reflectiveness in the novel. Repetition emphasizes a point for reflection as reflection often repeats key words and situations. O'Brien uses repetition of the scene in "Speaking of Courage," noting the number of revolutions Norman makes as he drives along a lake, "It was his eighth revolution around the lake," to show Norman Bowker's constant thought over Kiowa's death with each revolution Norman continues to replay the memory. In "In The Field," Kiowa's death is repeated again with its focus on detail rather than reflection, emphasizing the memories. These repeated thoughts and actions that O'Brien has Norman Bowker do gives insight into Norman Bowker's constant reflection for memories. And how memory is often very reflective and carrying of guilt as Norman carries these memories which hold his guilt for Kiowa’s

“There was nothing to say. He could not talk about it and never would” (O’Brien 147). O’Brien shows the pain and trauma that Norman felt whilst he could not seem to tell anyone though he yearned to (Speaking of Courage, Notes). This gives basis to his isolated soldier role which O’Brien uses to highlight the surviving guilt for Norman’s regret of cowardice. In the chapter "Notes," O'Brien's method of reaction retelling gives a basis on how O'Brien revised the scene in "Speaking of Courage" to be more meaningful with greater detail and focus on Kiowa’s demise and Norman’s stagnation on the scene. O’Brien used these memory flashbacks to show how Norman Bowker’s experiences in the war have affected him and his struggle to cope with his inability to adjust back to civilian life is a lasting regret. Regret is "a feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done" (OED). Regret is the burden of guilt that is retained by the memories Bowker holds. O’Brien’s choice of diction saying what Norman Bowker or his dad would have said is not just planned conversations but regret for imagined conversations that never came to