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Vietnam In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1878 Words8 Pages

Vietnam was a controversial War. People either agreed with it or opposed it. As tensions grew in the U.S, the American soldiers faced the horror of war. An experience filled with terror and suffering, but also filled with brotherhood. American literature has shown the struggles of the soldiers in the Vietnam War. Often times this literature pulls the reader in with stories to help them understand what life was like. Tim O’Brien is one of the most popular when it comes to this. In his novel, The Things They Carried, questioning morality, O’Brien gives first hand narrations of stories which show the impact of the Vietnam War on society.
Tim O’Brien’s life was filled with many wonders and success. O’Brien was born in Austin, Minnesota, on October …show more content…

His works before were somewhat popular and he won awards for some, such as In the Lake of the Woods and later with The Things They Carried that became popular and won the French award Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (“Going”). When writing this book O’Brien used a special kind of narration saying: “I blended my own personality with the stories, and I’m writing about the stories, and yet everything is made up, including the commentary” (Herzog 105). He went for this kind of narrative to help entice the reader and connect to them on a personal level. He provides this narrative to piece everything together (Silbergleid). O’Brien’s narration is meant to connect the readers . The Things They Carried is all about giving readers an understanding of Vietnam and the social issues. Events in Tim O’Brien’s life were impactful and helped shape his overall thinking and opinions. In O’Brien’s college days he attended political meetings (Herzog 5). He was educated when it came to politics. O’Brien even received his bachelor's degree in Political Science (Vietnam 22). With his knowledge of politics O’Brien knew he did not agree with the Vietnam War. O’Brien knew what he would be carrying and when he got there he live …show more content…

With his knowledge of what they would carry and how it was wrong O’Brien thought there needs to be a change so he chose to defect to Canada. When it came down to it though he did not. Even with the knowledge he possessed there were other events in his life that made him stay. O’Brien’s parents helped with WWII (“Going”). With the shame he would get from his parents for defecting, he felt it would be unbearable. O’Brien felt because of this there was a need to stay and fight. In making this choice he felt himself to be a coward (Herzog 1). O’Brien says “My conscience kept telling me not to go, but my whole upbringing told me I had to” (Vietnam 22). O’Briens life played such a major role on his decisions about Vietnam and every event helped shape him into who he is

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Love, regret, fear, and courage are all intertwined into Tim O’Brien's book, The Things They Carried. O'Brien uses his own experiences with the Vietnam war as well as stories told from his companions to create a book to show how the war affects people differently. By using his own story, he is able to have an honest outlook into the war that tells about the things that happened off of the footage that the nation could watch. The individual stories of the men are shown throughout this book to allow for a full circle story that captures most all aspects of the war, in essence, what happened other than the fighting. Instead of discussing the book as a whole, I am focusing on the main themes that are shown throughout the book.

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The book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien tells a thrilling stories of the vietnam war. The Things They Carried is a non linear book so it is a mix bag of stories at different times of O’brien’s life but they all relate back to the war in some way. O’ Brien used social obligation and shame and guilt to tell these stories.

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Like most Americans, O 'Brien didn't know what happened. And he was unable to identify what types of people or things. He wanted to escape, but he couldn’t forget her family. And he couldn’t claim the pretext of illness. In the college, his took a stand against the war.

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O'Brien wanted to stay out of the war by justifying his fear of going to war, through wanting those who support the war “to head for the front and hook up with an infantry unit and help spill the blood. And you have to bring along your wife, or your kids, or your lover. A law, I thought.”. O'Brien had occasions

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(CE) Before O'Brien heard about the war, he realized the war was something he did not want to participate in. (DE) He says to himself that [he] would not swim away from [his] hometown and [his] country and [his] life. [He] would not be brave” (O’Brien 55).

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“That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future ... Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (36). The Things They Carried is a captivating novel that gives an inside look at the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War through the personal stories of the author, Tim O’Brien . Having been in the middle of war, O’Brien has personal experiences to back up his opinion about the war.

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In the story he explains that he wants to go to Canada because he does not want to be killed in the war and Canada is the safe place. The author mentions how he thinks it is unfair that he has to go fight in a war that he disagrees with. The other option the author faces is to go fight the war in Vietnam. He is very afraid to disappoint his family and friends because it would be obvious if he ran away and he would never be able to go back. He saw himself as a coward because he was embarrassed.

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