The Things They Carried by Tim O`Brien

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Tim O 'Brien 's Things They Carried

They Carried the Truth

Tim O 'Brien uses a unique narrative style as he , the narrator , details the lives of the men from his platoon in the Things They Carried . It is more about the men (and what happens to their minds ) who fought the Vietnam war than the war itself , and even though O 'Brien admits that the stories are not true , they certainly could be

The novel is about the lives of the men in Jimmy Cross ' platoon during

br the Vietnam war , as narrated by O 'Brien . Each man has his own things to carry in his rucksack , both physical items for war , safety , and food and , in the same token , mental anxieties and deep , mostly unexpressed fears as well . The novel unfolds as the men deal with the war a few die , one brings his girlfriend (a pampered thing in a pink sweater ) out for a visit , and some , including Cross , seek revenge on their own men in moments of weakness . That 's what war can do to a man

In chapter one , a reader learns that by daylight they took sniper fire , at night they were mortared , but it was not battle , it was just the endless march , village to village , without purpose , nothing won or lost ' This is perhaps the most pivotal statement in the novel because at once it details the pointless aspect of the war , while at the same time demonstrating the bravery and sheer doggedness of the men who fight it - even if the war seems to have no purpose other than killing Each chapter reveals a bit more about the men of the platoon in the form of a longish anecdote while the reader is acclimated , nearly as quickly as the men , to the horrors and difficulty of being a soldier

Now , O 'Brien 's novel is unique for two reasons . First , he inserts himself in as the narrator , and second , he admits that this is a work of fiction (even though he did fight in the Vietnam war , but also concludes that his tales could quite possibly be true - because all things have an ounce of truth when it comes to war . Like the narrator O 'Brien also went to war because he was scared not to (even though he was against what it stood for , which lends an interesting double-life to the narrator as his tales become even more authoritative and honest than he realizes . While this may be a work of fiction ' because the spine says so , the fact that O 'Brien lived it makes every event and character more vivid and realistic because of the inherent truth driving them

Moreover , there are three main themes , among others , that run throughout the novel : bravery , how war effects a soldier both physically and mentally , and , as O 'Brien admits in the first chapter , a reader 's understanding of the truth he weaves with fiction , because , only stories that reveal...