Blog#3: The Things They Carried

In The Things They Carried, the author Tim O'Brien writes a series of stories regarding the Vietnam War that offer considerable insight into the burdens carried by the average soldier. These burdens strain a man physically and emotionally to the point of near exhaustion. In the words of O'Brien, "they carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die" (20). Each soldier experiences his own unique set of burdens that tell complex stories of their own, but the author assures the reader that every one of them "carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing" (20).

O'Brien uses the phrase "fear of blushing" to refer to the obligation felt by every man to maintain his reputation. On the Rainy River, he attributes his own inability to be courageous and dodge the draft to his desire to maintain his good name. The author writes, "I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was too embarrassed not to" (57). O'Brien equates fighting in the Vietnam War to cowardice; a comparison that is utterly paradoxical in today's society of patriotism. Rather than thinking he is brave for fighting for his country, he views his silent compliance with his country's will as weakness. Before going to Vietnam, O'Brien notes that he thought he was a man of courage, dignity, and heroism. In retrospect, he writes, "I was a coward. I went to the war" (58).

A central theme in The Things They Carried is the emotional and intellectual disconnect between those who fought in the Vietnam War and those who did not. O'Brien describes some of this difference in understanding through his story about Norman Bowker's return to his hometown in the Midwest, "Speaking of Courage." When commenting on some ways Bowker might have begun a conversation with an old high school friend, the author writes, "'How'd you like to hear about the war?' he might have asked, but the place could only blink and shrug. It had no memory, therefore no guilt" (137). The citizens of this small town on the prairie could not possibly relate to Bowker's experience in Vietnam; it was something far too distant and intangible to them. Bowker knew the feeling of killing a man, watching a friend die, and staring for hours into a black Vietnamese jungle. Regardless of what he said to the people of his home, it was impossible for them to feel what he felt and understand his perspective. In the words of the author, Norman Bowker "knew shit" and his town "did not know shit about shit, and did not care to know" (137).

In order for others to be able to relate to his perspective, the author tells and writes war stories in The Things They Carried. O'Brien considers these stories to be fictional because their content does not accurately replicate the events that actually took place. Many of these stories are embellished and are, therefore, not factually correct. O'Brien chooses to tell his stories in the manner that he does because he wants to solicit a deep emotional reaction from his audience. He states, "I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening truth" (171). In the opinion of the author, truth deals with what a person is able to feel and experience; "a true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe" (74). O'Brien's considers story-truth to be what constitutes truth because a story has the ability to evoke the same feelings in an audience that the storyteller once felt. Happening-truth based solely on facts cannot possibly produce this same response and, thus, cannot allow an audience to understand a storyteller's perspective completely.

Through the telling of the narrator's experience on the rainy river, O'Brien establishes his idea of what comprises a hero. When the narrator leaves his hometown for the Canadian border, he stops at an run-down motel owned by an old man named Elroy Berdahl. Berdahl senses that the young boy is in trouble and is looking for answers, and he gives him space and time to think and reflect. Contrary to the actions of the narrator's family and community, the old man does not put any pressure on O'Brien or encourage him to make any particular decision about his participation. Berdahl is viewed as heroic by O'Brien because he lets the narrator make defining decisions about his life for himself; he is one of the only people in the narrator's life that does not try to control him in any way. Through his actions, Berdahl shows his appreciation for the narrator's ideals as an individual.

In the same way that O'Brien's war stories allow his audiences to feel what he felt when he was in Vietnam, his story about his childhood sweetheart allows him to feel what he originally felt in his youth with his girlfriend. He uses stories to immortalize this girl and the feelings they shared in their youth. O'Brien tells stories about Kiowa, Ted Lavender, and Curt Lemon for the same reason; he is able to regain the friends he once lost. The stories that the author tells bring back his loved ones and of the times they spent together so they are never forgotten.