Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

The Vietnam War was one of the most deadliest wars in America, many were killed and even more injured. The war began because of America’s efforts to stop the spread of communism. The Vietcong may of won the war but America showed that we will not let communism spread, the domino theory come into effect, and America’s faults in our war program and way to attack the Vietcong. The war was lost but from a overview of the war America learned from their lose.

The distractions of war, misinterpretation of reality and limited control of fate as a result of the human condition appear throughout the Vietnam War at all times. Tim O’Brien, as a narrator describes the struggles of storytelling during and after the war. The constant struggle to determine reality versus personal perception arises in many aspects of his memory. Some factors of recalling events are uncontrollable such as interference of imagination and uncertainty as a result of the human condition. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the telling of story-truth, rather than happening-truth, is necessary, as no replica can be as genuine as the original.

Howard Zinn says it best when he writes that “from 1964 to 1972, the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world made a maximum military effort, with everything short of atomic bombs, to defeat a nationalist revolutionary movement in a tiny peasant country – and failed” (Zinn, 460). Zinn does not mince words when expressing his thoughts about the Vietnam War, because as Zinn says, Vietnam was basically a modern portrayal of David vs. Goliath. One could even go as far as to say that Vietnam was in essence a case of mass genocide in Vietnam. Thousands and thousands of Vietnamese and America soldiers were killed along with thousands upon thousands of innocent, Vietnamese citizens. War is an infectious disease and the Vietnam War is a perfect example of how deadly of a disease war can be. Everybody involved in the Vietnam War was affected, whether it was Vietnamese citizens, Vietnamese soldiers, American soldiers, or even American citizens back home. The disease that was the Vietnam War infected the hearts and minds of two countries half way across the world from each other.

The Vietnam War was the longest war in U.S history and the most unpopular American war, which resulted in about 60,000 American soldiers losing their lives. As public became more aware of the war realities, a large section of public felt that there was no need for this war and America is not going gain anything. However, despite the growing protests and self- realization none of the three Presidents under whom this war took place showed the courage to declare the war close.

The Vietnam War, unofficially beginning on November 1st, 1955 and ending April 30th, 1975, was a key part of US history due to the countless United States soldiers that served in the war over the 8 years and 37 days that the US was involved. For the United States, the Vietnam War had over 58,000 casualties and over 300,000 wounded soldiers. Starting on March 8, 1965, the United States was tied into the losing fight overseas. These numbers are only estimates. Far more people were affected by the war, even after it ended. Hundreds of thousands of veterans committed suicide after the war due to PTSD and other impacts that the war had on them.

At some time in life, a person will experience the death of a relative or lose something that was very important to him or her. After that traumatic event, will that person confront his or her pain, or will that person bury it deep within them? Both ways are possible, however, only one is effective in the long term. According to Tim O'Brien, the most effective way to heal after a traumatic experience is to share stories. In Tim’s book, The things they carried, he used the motifs of loneliness, life, and the mood of nostalgia to illustrate the importance of sharing stories during a healing process.

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change” (Mary Shelley, Frankenstein). War can be a drastic change for the life of a person as war can ultimately morph them into a slave of the battlefield. In the book The Things They Carried, Tim O’ Brien describes the experiences of people in the Vietnam War and how they have become changed individuals from their past lives before combat. War pummels you with things that transcend your typical escapades and the more you try to understand them, the more you get sucked into the void of combat. The increased time the characters are in the battlefield, the more they have to think about it, thus shaping who they are. Only time can determine how much war can affect you.

Vietnam, the heart and soul of teenage rebellion to the government for creating a draft that sent over the creative and intelligent youth, was a war that was deemed to get rid of the political idea, communism, which spread as quick as the napalm that blazed over the serene green landscapes. The narrator to the story, Tim O’Brien, repeatedly recounts memories of the war, each with an added detail or an object that carried a significant amount of weight that makes the story seem more factual than what it seems. The soldiers carried loneliness, uncertainty of the truth of war, and the heavy burden of physical and emotion weight; Tim O'Brien uses war related imagery to symbolize the vim of storytelling in his book “The Things They Carried”.

The Vietnam War was immensely controversial, and had a great deal of effects in the United States, Vietnam and throughout the entire world. The war had lasting impacts that helped to shape the United States and create what the country is today. Michael H. Hunt’s The Wages of War, published in 1996 and Arnold R. Isaacs’ Competing Memories, published in 1997, both primary sources discussed the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Competing Memories is the more valuable primary source because it does a better job of providing multiperspectivity, provided information on why the Vietnam War made such a large impact, and discussed why the war started. On the other hand, The Wages of War only talked about the effects on Vietnam and Asia.

The Vietnam War allowed American soldiers to experience many emotions and beliefs ranging from joyful and prosperous to even sorrowful and terrifying. During this war time, the soldiers go through many obstacles and situations where they may feel overwhelmed with feelings but they cannot fall short of being tough and to ignore their feelings because in the end they still are fighting a war. The war itself contributes to the way the soldiers express certain emotions or set their beliefs. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the audience discovers what it means to be a soldier in the Vietnam War through certain events and stories that contain themes of guilt and fear.

In the world of Tim O’Brien story there are many individuals who come from different walks of life. Many affected by their culture, geography, surroundings, and circumstances they have each been exposed too. In “The Things They Carried,” the characters demonstrate the challenges and struggles they face and how they attempt to conceal it inside them. In today’s world this short story can be related to the responsibilities, challenges, and struggles individuals face internally from one day to the next.

In the book, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, he explores the fine line between reality and fiction. Reality is what really happened. Fiction is fabrication of the situation. Reality is distorted when a situation is serious, emotional, and traumatic. In O'Brien experience, when telling a story from the observer's point of view, the observer unnecessarily adds details to make it more dramatic and animated. Which in turn,the incident changes the story from reality to fiction. The story teller wants the audience to experience what he felt when he experience the event. When the observer highjacks the reality of the story, the audience may not know the facts from the fiction.

Vietnam during the 1950s through the 1970s was a horrifically dangerous war zone that one would not even wish involvement upon their worst enemy. The Vietnam War was not like any other war that the United States had been a part of in the past. It was horrendous and unsafe for anyone involved, whether it be troops of either side, or innocent children who could not help but be caught in the middle of a war zone. For the United States, Vietnam was an expensive involvement, but not only solely for monetary reasons. Many lives were lost on all sides, combative and noncombative, young and old. As the war progressed, a strong anti-war, anti-violence attitude began to formulate and grow in the United States. Groups like the VVAW, the Vietnam

For more than 30 years America had been involved with Vietnam, but in those 30 years they turned to suffering for both the Vietnamese and Americans and many more countries. The fighting lasted for 8 years and mainly only happened in Vietnam where land, air, and water battles took place. Bombings, chemicals, and killing turned into a game for many soldiers which led to lasting suffering even after the war ended. Once the war was over, America had just finished their most unsuccessful war to date. That time gave America important lessons to be learned from the many erroneous things that had been done. Learning from the mistakes made are crucial for America if the country wants to win another war in the future. Many lessons were learned

Many more veterans took their own lives, were treated as social outcasts or ended up on America’s streets among the homeless. The Vietnam conflict was a war whose origins many did not understand and that left a nation questioning the policies of a government they’d always trusted.