Vivid Imagery In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

For Tim O'Brien, it is no secret that at the time of the draft, he hated the war in Vietnam. In fact, throughout the novel, he describes himself as a “liberal.” Liberals, by default, were dead set against the War in Vietnam in favor of peace. In his novel, The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien uses vivid imagery, varying syntax and diction, as well as some allusion to develop the overlying theme of the ambiguity and contradictory nature of truth, as well as to accurately describe the horrors of war.
In the first paragraph of passage 1, O'Brien ties together various contradicting words and phrases by using the word “and,” as well as semicolons in order to illustrate the overall weakness of truth. O'Brien describes war as a “Mystery... and

discovery... and terror... and courage.” He also explains that while war is, “at its core just another name for death,” however that “proximity to death brings with it a corresponding proximity to life.” Each of these words, life and death, discovery and mystery, and so on are similar to one another because of the fact that they have opposite definitions-- they cannot be used interchangeably, however, they may be used in conjunction in order to negate/contradict each other and form a paradox. This description further ingrains O'Brien’s perception that truth, like war, is an enigmatic concept.
Paradoxes are also created through the author’s use of imagery; one would believe war to be a beautiful, glorious endeavor upon examining the descriptions O'Brien uses to explain certain aspects of war. He describes the “purply orange glow of napalm... any battle or bombing raid or artillery barrage” as having the “aesthetic purity of absolute moral indifference--- a powerful, implacable beauty...” O'Brien claims that all true war stories will tell the truth about this, but will also share the “ugly truth.” War, while its visual beauty pleases the eye, disturbs the mind.
Just as a reader might have trouble discerning the meaning of the truth throughout the novel, they might also perceive no obvious tone, because the tone in which this particular passage is written in and of itself is a paradox. The tone switches, almost word by word, from dreamy to nightmarish. In the opening paragraph, for example, war is characterized as being “holiness and pity and despair... nasty... [and] fun.” Here, it is difficult to truly grasp what O'Brien’s true feelings are on the War in Vietnam, because he clearly still questions that himself.
No doubt, O'Brien neither criticizes nor endorses the War in Vietnam-- His opinion of it is as obscure as the concept of truth; in fact, The Things They Carried is only loosely based on O’Brien’s experiences as he narrates and modifies the experiences of others to fit a semi-accurate storyline. As such, O’Brien’s goal is simply to tell a “true” war story, stitching together events that either really happened to him or are likely to have happened to someone else to shock civilians who may not appreciate the sacrifices that the armed services make for their country, even if their cause abroad is in question; the War in Vietnam was widely criticized on the homefront as it was happening, and the soldiers, by and large, were blamed for the atrocities that occurred there. Even though they were only following orders, such as in the instance of the My Lai Massacre, which greatly intensified anti war sentiments. The novel is not meant to criticize any particular social construct, but is intended to draw attention to the struggles of the American soldier, and to instill in the American people or the general reader gratitude and respect for the sacrifice of their country’s armed forces.