How To Tell a True War Story

Written by Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried attempts to convey an authentic war story as opposed to a true one. The novel is composed of a multitude of interrelated short stories. Each story contributes to the complete understanding of war by those who did not experience it in the flesh. “The Things They Carried” first addresses the physical and emotional items carried by soldiers into the battlefield. These items come to define the men and cover their human individuality. When Lavender is killed, other members of his squad focus more on his drug use than the death of an individual. “Love” skips to many years after the war and conveys the challenges of a returning veteran as he begins to deal with the guilt of war. “Spin” then beings the plot back into the war and illustrates the day to day life of soldiers as opposed to dramatized media coverage. The killing of the dog (by Azar) also reminds us of the personal conflicts soldiers have to deal with in addition to the battlefield; Azar’s being immaturity. “On The Rainy River” addresses the pivotal conflict between the individual and society as Tim struggles to decide whether it is preferable to fight a war he does not understand, or to escape to Canada and face shame. The next three stories (“Friends,” “Enemies,” and “How to Tell a True War Story”) all primarily deal with the distortion of traditional values in war. “Enemies” and “Friends” work in tandem to provide insight in the distortion of moral codes and values as conflict settlements drastically change and soldiers prefer death to suffering. “How to Tell a True War Story” illustrates the shift in perception as the beauty of the explosion becomes paramount in contrast to Lemmons’s body being blown into a tree. “Sweetheart of Son Tra Bong” demonstrates the impact that the environment has upon the individual as Mary falls victim to her surroundings and begins to embrace the violence of the war. “The Man I Killed” placed an emphasis on the difficulties soldiers have in rationalizing death. O’Brien copes with his action by creating a identity for the man and making him “real.”  “Ambush,” which describes the death from the previous story, aims at conveying the everlasting aspect of war. Years later, O’Brien still sees the Vietnamese soldier coming towards the fog. “Speaking of Courage,” “Notes,” and “In the Field” each address the death of Kiowa from different perspective. The purpose behind this is to show the many ways men rationalized the death of a friend or comrade. Bowker is grief struck, O’Brien deals through storytelling, and Azar attempts to distance himself through humor. “Good Form” and “Field Trip” worked together to give the audience awareness of the accuracy of O’Brien’s war story, despite its historical inaccuracies. We find ourselves able to connect to the war better than Kathleen, who physically visited the site of the war. The last few stories lightly retouch the different points made in all the stories prior. The novel concludes with the rationalization that the dead are never truly dead as they live forever in stories and memories.