Summary Of The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

The Things They Carried details a young naive man’s life that changes after being drafted into the Vietnam War. The author Tim O’Brien shares with us the many tragedies that are engraved in his memory. Throughout the book he tells stories about the lives(right) of the dead. As he writes the stories, he dreams about the dead, so in his mind they are alive and have returned back into the world. The reader can feel the struggle that Tim has in relieving the pain of losing these people. The title The Things They Carried refers to the things soldiers mentally carry. They have to carry for the rest of their lives feelings of guilt, shame, responsibility, regret, grief, and fear. They also carry images of horror, death, and tragedy. Tim shares

He took his ten year old daughter, Kathleen with him. They visited the site of Kiowa’s death. Tim O’Brien stated that he looked for signs of forgiveness or personal grace or what ever the land might offer (173). “The field was still there though not as I remembered it” (O’Brien 173). This time when Tim was there everything was dried out. When Kiowa lost his life the field was a wet mess from a flood. The war doesn’t only change people it also changes the land. What once was a war zone was now a peaceful farmers field. “This field had embodied all the waste that was Vietnam, all the vulgarity and horror. Now, it was just flat and dreary and unremarkable” (O’Brien

His choice to not run to Canada and to stay and fight for his country was the right choice. He would have never been able to live with himself had he dodged the draft. By going to the war it changed him into a better man. He can be proud that he lived up to the challenge and served his country. He can also be proud that through him and his stories that the lives of the fallen soldiers will never be forgotten. Their sacrifice to this country should never be forgotten. John F. Kennedy said it best when he said, “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” Tim O’Brien and all the Vietnam Veterans should never be forgotten and deserve honor. War doesn’t only change people it can also change a