The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: Chapter Analysis

“War is hell, but that’s not the half of it...” (76), states Tim O’Brien in the novel The Things They Carried. The short stories throughout the novel describe and express how the soldiers are fighting not only a war in Vietnam but are also battling with their own self-conscience. Since the men arrive home, they bask in the times spent in Vietnam, bringing back the past and refusing to forget the horrific memories and the guilt that will forever be in their minds. The Things They Carried contains symbols and oppositions that justify how the physical and emotional burdens each soldier carries are too big to satisfy the stereotypes of American society. The first chapter is entitled “The Things They Carried”, which is seen as one of the most

Throughout all of the short stories, facts are stated, but they are suddenly taken back making it difficult for the reader to interpret whether what is stated is fact or fiction. He has the same idea when conveying a soldier’s sense of what happened and calls them facts, but they are later put into question. As described by O’Brien, “In any war story...it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way” (67-68). As a result, the angles of vision are skewed, pictures get jumbled, and tons of crucial facts are missed. This makes it difficult for the soldiers involved to determine whether certain events are a fantasy or reality, which plays a huge role when they are later recited to others. The purpose of O’Brien’s strange storytelling strategy is to take these unspeakable, indescribable, uncertain, almost fantasy-like experiences and turn them into a reality for a single moment so the reader will believe in them. He wants his readers “to step outside their everyday reality and participate in the events he is portraying” (Kaplan). He wants them to believe in his stories to a point where they are virtually in them so that they gain a more thorough understanding of

A majority of the population saw veterans as psychopaths “a crazed psychopathic killer with no morals or control over your aggression” (Hochgesang). In addition, support groups are not available, therefore, the soldiers feel even more isolated and unappreciated for serving their country. The media also did not assist in making the transition home any easier. Vietnam is the first major war to be documented and reported in detail by the media, historians, and scientists. Every day, the people of the United States are informed via television and newspapers causing many American beliefs to be influenced and shaped by how the media views the war. “Whatever the media portrayed was what the public believed, but this didn’t necessarily agree with what the soldier actually experienced” (Hochgesang). In reality, no one knows the experiences of the soldiers, how they live and are able to cope with war. While the men are away in Vietnam, the media slowly built up a stereotype of a soldier’s life. As the men return home, they grow increasingly more confused and frustrated to see that all of their family and friends have absolutely no understanding of what they experienced and how they