Truth In The Things They Carried Essay

The word “truth” can be interpreted numerous ways regarding different situations and also the person that is telling the story. In the book, “ The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien wrote about his experience in the Vietnam War and how the war had impacted him and his fellow soldiers. Throughout the story, O’Brien begins to doubt himself and the accuracy of the story that he was telling. “ And then afterward, when you go to tell about it, there is always that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed” (O’Brien 54). Knowing that everything might not be what it seemed, O’Brien began to realize that “fact” and “truth” are two different items. “Facts” are considered to be like reality. It is not always beautiful, but it is what actually happened.

Although it can be confusing at times, the author made it clear that what he is writing may or may not be facts but it is what he believe is that truth. In spite the fact that this book is interesting to me, the writing style decrease my understanding to the book. While reading this book, I notice that I was starting to doubt the author and his story due to how he had mentioned that his story may or may not be true. Regardless of how confusing the book prove to be the case, it is his life story and it is fair for him to blurs the line between fiction and fact in these story. In fact, the way this book is presented help represent the war completely. During the time of the war, countless soldiers were going mad. In my opinion, this book help describe the war perfectly with all the confusion and the perspectives from war veterans. In the book, “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien gave readers example of how the war like. In spite the fact that the stories in the book may or may not be facts, it is what O’Brien believe to be the truth.