Vietnam War On The Soldiers: The Effect Of Vietnam War On Soldiers

The Effect of Vietnam War on the Soldiers

The Vietnam War was the longest and the most unpopular American war of the twentieth century. The United States was involve in the Vietnam from 1944 to 1973, but it was only during the last years that the U.S deployed ground troops (Lawrence 1). For the first time the United states was the aggressor. Vietnam is situated thousands of miles from the United States, so Vietnam was not a direct threat to the U.S safety. The Vietnam leader Ho Chi Minh seem to look up to the United States, their declaration of independence is prove of that. The United States involvement was so controversial because to some people the U.S was trying to stop heroic Vietnamese national liberation movement. Tim O’Brian was a university graduate when he got drafted to go to war, he wrote several short story about the Vietnam War. His writing serve to clarified the suffering that soldiers when through in Vietnam. He intentionally blurs the line between reality and fiction to make the reader feel as if his story where true.

Every war has their own profound effect on the soldiers. The psychological impact of wars on soldiers has always been present, but the Vietnam War was different from previous war. In his short story “The Things They Carried” O’Brian uses symbolism and imagery to show the reader the physical and mental burdens soldiers in the Vietnam War had to carry. O’Brian effectively juxtapose the physical and the metaphysical burdens to show the reader how this apparently different burdens are similar. His short story O’Brian give a deeper understanding to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The United State had always fought conventional wars, were as Josh Hochgesang states, armies meet on a battlefiel...

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...ic's discontent.

Tim O’Brian wrote several novels and short story about the Vietnam War which include Going After Cacciato, If I Die in a Combat Zone. His writing give an insight of the Vietnam War and all the suffering soldiers when through in Vietnam. In his short story “The Thing They Carried” O’Brian list everything that soldiers carried to battle by the soldier in the short story , items like jungle boots personal letters and feelings like, fear and shame. Tim O’Brian effectively puts a face to the burdens, regrets, and fears soldier carried through the war in the Vietnam. He uses imagery, symbolism and he effectively juxtapose the physical and the metaphysical burdens to show the reader how this apparently different burdens a similar.

O’Brian uses vivid imagery to add credibility to his writing, he intentionally blurs the line between reality and fiction.