In Tim O’brien’s book, The Things They Carried, we see the detrimental causes and effects of the enforced stereotype of male masculinity. Tim uses many factors including the setting, characters, symbolism and other components like these to conveys his feelings and emotions. Many of those feelings and emotions derive from his personal experience in the war. The Things They Carried accurately shows what it is to struggle with the stereotypical image of a man in how it presents itself in everyday life along with its adverse and restricting effects. According to History.com, the beginnings of the Vietnam War began during World War II. During the world war the Japanese had invaded Vietnam, and to resist this action the French Colonial Administration, led by Ho Chi Minh, formed the league for the independence of Vietnam. After the allies defeat in 1945, Japan retreated and gave up its control in Vietnam. Ho saw this as an opportunity and seized control of Hanoi and then declared a democratic republic of Vietnam, naming himself president. Emperor Bao saw this as an attack and then sought other ways to try and regain control of that region. The Vietnam war officially began in 1954. After the battle at Dien Bien Phu, there was a treaty signed, “ the 17th parallel’, that assigned the south to Bao and the north to Ho. in 1963 Diem and his brother were killed. Lynson saw this vulnerability and decided to increase their involvement. As American casualties began to