The End

   After reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, I came to see that this book was not about a war story; its a book about storytelling.  Rather than being engulfed in a plot of twists and turns the reader seems to be whirled throughout O'Brien's brain as he copes through storytelling.  I feel that his mention of Lind, his childhood love, helps the reader to understand that although death didn't come through grenades and bombs, it came and with it came the need to cope.  O'Brien explains that he could make Linda come to life again in his dreams and in the stories he created.  This method of facing the truth seems to aid him tremendously after the war after the loss of so many friends.  I've concluded that the reader of The Things They Carried is more than a witness to a story, but a witness to a soldier coping with the horrifying story and happening truths of the Vietnam War.

Brothers

   I believe this image of a man at the Vietnam War memorial speaks volumes as to the intense connection between the soldiers. As in "The Ghost Soldiers", this image relays a deep, unexplainable connection between soldiers.  Tim O'Brien seems to explain his feelings of betrayal by the new medic Jorgenson.  He explains his overwhelming hatred for the man and his desire for revenge.  When it comes down to the bare emotions of the situation, O'Brien still shares an undeniable connection with Jorgenson simply in being soldiers.  The connections between a group of men who fight together and who's lives depend on one another are so strong that betrayal. separation, and even death cannot tear them apart.  Although the soldiers from Vietnam are bound by the horrible events of war, they share each other's pain and are brothers in experience.  No outsider will ever understand the connection between them or the brotherly love that never leaves them.  

It's A Mystery

    When a soldier returns home from war, life is never the same.  Every day is haunted by memories and even guilt at times.  Although many soldiers learn to cope and live life happily some need more closure and assurance.  Tim O'Brien speaks in "Field Trip" of his own return to Vietnam in search on closure and relief.  When O'Brien returns to Vietnam, his main goal is to "make peace" with himslef over Kiowa's death. He symbolically places Kiowa's moccasins in the place of his death hoping for some sort of relief and closure.  It seems as though he realizes there will never be closure because he was part of  a mystery, The Vietnam War.  Even today the complete reasoning behind the war is unknown and soldiers still suffer the memories from a brutal, purposeless war.  Some like O'Brien tell their horror stories as a sort of coping method and others tend to push the memories away.  My Uncle served in Vietnam and he never speaks of what happened.  The only mention I have ever heard of him making a connection to the war, was his visit to the Vietnam War Memorial, where even then silence was his method of coping. I find it said that like O'Brien and my Uncle, many soldiers grieve and suffer indefinitely from a war with so reasoning, providing no sense of closure.

Truth

   As O'Brien explains in this section, "Good Form", the happening truth doesn't always reflect the entire truth, so in order to relay the happening in its entirety; one must listen to the "story truth".  Although O'Brien admits that many parts of his novel are not completely happening truth as in they did not actually occur, they do attest to the true feelings the soldiers, specifically O'Brien, experienced.  Many times when people tell stories they exaggerate or tweak what actually happened to better relay how they felt. What actually happened may not seem as severe or emotionally charged as when the story-teller experienced it.  In The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien alters the true events to relay the immense guilt and pain he felt from events that never actually happened.  This emotion, completely unsupported by the actual happenings shows how deeply soldiers were affected by the war and how responsible they felt for their comrades. 

"So what about Billie?"

   As I read this portion of The Things They Carried, I was particularly moved by the description of the young soldier hopelessly searching for his picture of his "girl".  I feel that this description really highlights the innocence and youth the boy still has and the effects the war has had on him.  I thought this description of the boy repeatedly reaching down in the muck for his picture amplifies the sense of absolute hopelessness the Vietnam War brought about.  This also made me think of my own friend only 19 years old, who served in Afghanistan.  Although he has returned home, I wonder if he developed a sense of hopelessness in his time across the Atlantic.  Even though the boy in the story was looking for one "silly" picture, I completely understand how important that small connection to normal life can be.  Before my friend left for Afghanistian I made him a scrapbook filled with pictures of him and his friends, myself included, from childhood until present days.  He has told me numerous times how much he appreciates having the pictures with him to remind him what he's returning to.  Although the conditions for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today are nowhere near as terrible as the ones in Vietnam, I feel that a huge amount of emotional damage and strain is given to young soldiers who aren't even sure what their life will become, yet they spend years at a time risking losing it. 

Revision

    Tim O'Brien speaks on his own experience in writing "Speaking of Courage" and also his interpretation of Norman Bowker's death.  I feel that O'Brien was attempting to express the process of writing a post-war story through an extremely emotionally charged scenario. I found it completely understandable for O'Brien to revise his story so many times because when writing about such a sensitive and personal subject every emotion and experience must be accounted for.  It makes sense that he would want to leave out some events and blur the truth in certain areas because although he had a smooth transition back to normal life, reliving certain experiences never gets easier.  I think that it's important in this section that Tim O'Brien expresses that the battle continues for many soldiers even after their return home.  He takes caution in relaying the story of a distraught soldier in the same way that one should cautiously inquire of a soldier details upon his or her return.

I would've said...

   In "Speaking of Courage" from The Things They Carried the very emotional description of Norman Bowker's experience after returning home is given.  I found this depiction to be extremely sad and disturbing.  After serving in the treacherous environment and conditions of Vietnam, Bowker returns to his quaint American town to find that his story will go unheard.  I feel that many soldiers are forgotten once they return.  We sympathize with them while their miles away fighting, however when they return everyday citizens seem to disregard the battle the soldiers are still facing.  This was true for Norman Bowker.  He seemed to want to tell his story and express the guilt he felt for not having enough "courage".  He explains what he "would've said" or "would've done" if he had told his story however this reflecting tense suggests that it is too late.  I feel that one can learn from this section that when a soldier feels ready to talk about his or her experiences we must all be ready and willing to listen.  Something as simple as listening to a soldier ramble about the jokes they made during the war can help them to feel cared for and appreciated.  This appreciation can help soldiers cope with the grief, guilt, distress, and pain that follow them home from war.  In Bowker's case it seems that his story was never told because he was pushed to the point of taking his own life.  This cannot happen.  Soldiers risk their lives every day to protect us citizens, I feel the least we can do is listen to their stories and take a few minutes out of our hectic lives to appreciate the work they do and the emotional and physical sacrifices they make.