Final Essay TTTC

During times of war, man is exposed to the most gruesome aspects of life such as death, starvation, and imprisonment. In some cases, the aftermath is even more disastrous, causing posttraumatic stress disorder, constant guilt, as well as physical and mental scarring, but these struggles are not the only things that humans can take away from the experience. War can bring out the appreciation of the little things in life, such as the safety people take for granted, the beauty of nature, and the kindness of others. These universal consequences of fighting all contribute to what war is really capable of doing, sometimes bringing out the best and worst in people, and constantly shaping society. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien goes through this himself when he writes about setting up base camp in the Vietnamese pagoda, the return to site of Kiowa’s death, the story about the old poppa-san guide, and Mitchell Sanders’ “moment of peace”. When O’Brien includes these stories, it is not to insert joy into a tragedy, but rather to create a more wholesome and authentic feel into a tough, realistic war story. O’Brien’s’ “sweet” stories are there to show the hope he had during war, and also serve as a universal example that even in the darkest tunnels, it is always possible to find rays of light.

Setting up base camp in the church is included in O’Brien’s memoir to serve as a reminder of the calm and human kindness that is found during war. Staying in the peaceful church provided the platoon an opportunity to see a unique and personal side of Vietnam, one where the people “...brought us buckets of water. (O’Brien, 119)” and “... were very kind to all of us... (O’Brien, 120)”. This story brings out some of the less definitive qualities ...

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...r own “sweet” part in the most bitter of times by writing about the his personal experiences of discovering human kindness during the Vietnam War. The deepest moral of the novel is hope. He tries to send out a message that people will be able to endure anything if they can find hope. When the shock of Kiowa’s death shocked O’Brien, he found hope that things would get better and recovered to later honor his friend through writing and freeing his spirit. When Mitchell Sanders was stuck in living hell, he takes a second to notice how perfect nature was, despite the ongoing war, and understands that nature and life shall never cease existence and uses it to motivate himself. This revelation and positivity of all the joyous moments that are possible during war make this story easily relatable to any person of the “real world” that has had to endure anguish and suffering.