Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” is a novel dedicated to recounting the lives and existence of the soldiers during the Vietnam War. The author writes his novel in the form of a personal narrative written from the point of view of an infantryman during the war, with the purpose of relaying emotional and long-term impact both the tangible and intangible things had on the soldiers. By appealing to the reader’s emotions through the use of narrative, O’Brien is able to convey his purpose. In “The Things They Carried” Tim O’Brien utilizes multiple perspectives and events during the Vietnam War to illustrate the permanence of memories and emotional baggage the soldiers had to and still do carry with them. O’Brien uses personal anecdotes in his narrative to illustrate the significant impact of remembrance and memories on a person's life. O’Brien stated “I feel guilty sometimes. Forty-three years old and I’m still writing war stories.” His admission of guilt and reference to the passage of time illustrates that the memories that he still carries in his …show more content…
O’Brien compares the memories that one holds in their head to an expressway stating that it “feeds into a rotary up on your head, where it goes in circles for a while, then pretty soon imagination flows in and the traffic merges and shoots off down thousand different streets.” This comparison creates the image of the memories being a roadway, and you, as the carrier of these memories, get to choose which street you want to take. Although you don’t get to choose the memories you have, you get to choose the meaning, emotion, and classifications behind each one may hold. Because although a story to the average person may be sick and cruel, the different spins you choose to make on a memory could completely change its