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. 

Have you ever killed anyone?

    As I read through these sections of The Things They Carried the most prevalent and emotionally charged part was the description of the man Tim O'Biren killed.  The young, Vietnamese man is described as a real being with parents, ambitions, and a war story of his own.  I feel that this view of any human as "human" can serve to solve many problems we face today.  In today's society I feel that lives are taken without regard for the owner.  People are people, each one has a family, was once a child, and may have experienced the same things as many others, but violence has become such a large part of society that these things are ignored.  People become targets on video games and lives lost leads to a victory, but how can anyone be victorious when life is lost.  I feel that as time goes on war becomes more and more political and citizens become less and less aware of the severity of it.  Taking a life is in essence taking a piece of the puzzle that is the world.  Each person is real and human, having emotion and feeling pain, connecting them in an unexplainable way to every individual.  I think that one can learn from Tim O'Brien's reaction to the death of this Vietnamese man and this section's description of the man whose life was lost; one can learn that every person is REAL.  Death is not a video game or political strategy it is force far more powerful than it has come to be preceived. 

No Going Back

    After reading this part of "The Things They Carried" I realized the true severity of the effects of the Vietnam War and the almost incredulous effects it had on human nature.   I don't believe the story told of her coming to Vietnam, however I found the telling of her story to be amazingly descriptive despite its legitimacy. The "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" arrives in Vietnam as a innocent school teacher, however she is entranced by the violence and entire idea of war.  I think this story contributes greatly the over all image of Vietnam that Tim O'Brien attempts to convey.  I've concluded so far that this image is intended to be one of a war against environment and against insanity rather than a war against any actual enemy. As Mary Anne slowly becomes one with the violence and triviality of the war, I noticed the true power of war.  It can change a person's outlook and it can forever imprint violence in a human.  I also feel that this makes a statement about women in the war.  The soldiers find the story of Mary Anne to be incredulous because she is a woman and they have trouble in accepting that she was flown over.  Also, when Mary Anne arrives she begins working as a nurse figure, but as time goes on she strays from her set feminine role and becomes a "soldier" to an extent.

A new kind of picture book.

   I found this video of Kseniya Simonova to be a completely amazing and artistic take on war.  Although this artist tells the story of a different war I feel that both this depiction and the one of the Vietnam War in this section can be related.  In The Things They Carried, the narrator expresses that a true war story hides nothing.  In both the gruesome story of the Vietnam War and the story of the disastrous effects of World War II in the Ukraine,  raw emotional seeps throughout.  I find the story told in The Things They Carried to be one of extreme importance. As Simonova reflects on the past of the Ukraine, I feel that it is necessary for Americans to remember the Vietnam War and understand the severity of it whether they were alive at the time or not.  Although the narrator explains that there is no moral to a good war story, I feel that a greater appreciatation can be gained through such reflections and new emotional understandings can be formulated.

Frienemies

    In these two very short sections a TON is revealed about the nature of the Vietnam War. The soldiers fought one another.  Whether out of frustration or anger, members of the same "team" were in disagreement.  I cannot help but assume that the ambiguity of their situation added tremendously to the stress and tension within the troops.  I noticed that the Vietnam War clearly led to a form of insanity.  Dave Jensen becomes cynical from his fight with his "friend".  It is completely understandable that in such unclear conditions and a routine of mindless killing, that the line between friends and enemies can become blurred. 
    Apart from the revealing the murky division between friend and enemy, these sections also reveal a more gruesome viewpoint.  The accident that leads to Lee Strunk's death is described graphically and puts the dangerous conditions into perspective. I would assume that this danger was amplified by the unorganized and trivial nature of the war. 

"I ain't got no quarrel with the Vietcong."- Muhammad Ali

     So far in my reading, I get a sense of resentment from Tim O' Brien towards the war.  He clearly expresses the ambiguous reasoning behind the war.  Young boys, some only 18, were asked to kill and possibly die in a country with its own problems.  I find it extremely disturbing that our country has been involved in such a serious conflict without any definite goal.  Sure, predicted theories like the "Domino Effect" allowed for slight reasoning, but most of the boys drafted either did not understand the reasoning behind the conflict, did not care, or were in opposition to the cause.  I feel that Tim O'Brien's story of fleeing from the draft raises questions pertaining to the fairness and legitimacy of the draft method.  I understand that in desperate situations a draft may be necessary, however I feel that because of the Vietnam War the system should be reviewed extensively.
    This chapter "On The Rainy River" also highlights the issue of nationalism and patriotism.  It made me question when does patriotism lose against personal beliefs?  As in Muhammad Ali's quote above, some of the soldiers who participated simply did not care for the cause.  I dont find this to be a selfish response, but one of question.  Why should the soldier's care?  They were given a "patriotic" death sentence for a cause never made lucid to them. 

Back when comfort was a pair of panty hose.

      In these two sections of The Things They Carried, an unidentified speaker, who was obviously in the same platoon as Jimmy Cross, tells of his remembrance of the war and describes the changes since then. I found that the speaker has an extremely vivid memory of all aspects of the Vietnam War.  I found this to be expected.  Even after many years, such a terror-filled experience is destined to leave its lasting marks.  I find it interesting that the speaker was aware of Jimmy Cross' "obsession" with Martha and that even after many years and growing in maturity Jimmy Cross, himself still proclaims his love for a woman who has clearly stated that she won't love him back. The speaker attempts to take a more positive approach in his recollection, however, the descriptions of things such as the smell of an "empty body bag" still flood the memories.  I felt as if the speaker laughs at the idea of writing happy stories.  Since stories are usually influenced by experience, the prevalent experience of the war overwhelms the stories of the speaker.  I am beginning to wonder what else happened in Vietnam and whether or not all of the men mentioned earlier survived.  I found the mention of age in the platoon to be enlightening as to how truly innocent and naive some of the soldiers must have been.  I found the connection between memories stories as a method of reminding one of where they started and how they got where they are to be extremely effect in uncovering the importance of remembering.

They carried "tons" of things.

When I first opened The Things They Carried, only the technicalties and excruciating detial of the Vietnam War were prevalent.  List after list of pieces of equipment, sentimental items, good luck charms, and explosives helped me to immediately relate the title to the information presented.  The soldiers literally carried pounds and pounds of things. I came to see, however, that more than the physical baggage, the soldiers "humped" extreme emotional baggage.  Although introduced in an odd way, Tim O'Brian presents the Vietnam War as an experience for a soldier that can never be matched.  I don't know much about the Vietnam War besides the history book facts, but just the first few pages of this novel have put the level of detriment and emotional distress the war brought to the soldiers into perspective.  As described in the book, the war was a different world for the soldiers completely isolated and exiled from all that was "normal".  Normal for the soldiers is constant, undeniable fear and also pride.  I feel that this novel is going to aim to uncover the reality of war that normals citizins are religiously shielded from.  It is the raw report.  It reallly helps me to take more interest in the condition of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq now.  I want to ensure that my friends over seas know that there is a world far different from the one their in now waiting for their return.  Tim O'Brian expresses in his first few pages that the things they carry, are far more incredulous than heavy weapons and ammunition.