Outline
I. Introduction
a. Explain what the paper is about
b. Thesis Statement
II. First theme of book: war
a. weapons
b. stories
c. friends
d. foes
III. Second theme of book: memories
a. before the war
b. during the war
c. after the war
d. memorabilia
e. objects
IV. Third theme of book: life and death
a. courage
b. killing
c. fights
d. battles
V. Criticism of book’s style
a. writing style
b. composition
VI. Criticism of the book being a fictional novel
a. why it was written as a fiction
b. did the author have background in war?
VII. Closing thoughts, findings, and arguments
VIII. Conclusion
a. Thesis statement
b. closing the paper
Matthew Smith
Mr. Kramer.
AP English
What Did They Really Carry?
During the course of one’s lifetime, a man is certain to encounter work, money, food, and companions. One thing that most do not and most do not want to come in contact with is war. Why? Because to many it is bloody and violent and has no clear cause or reason. But to Tim O’Brien it has a purpose and has an effect. It alters lives that come interlaced with it. It brings out the good, the bad, and all of the other characteristics in a human being. War defines who a person is, and most importantly, what they believe and what they are willing to fight for and give their lives for. For some it is just knowing that they are dying for their loved ones safety, even if it doesn’t last forever. For others it was for the well being and safety of anyone else. The Vietnam War was a war fought by foreigners (Americans) to better the lives of millions of others in a country on the other side of the world. In the piece of literature The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, the author shows through his writing what he felt and how he still feels through the stories that he brought back with him after the war was over.
The fact the war was not for the well-being of
The standard weapons for soldiers in the Vietnam War were the M-60, the M-16, and the M-79. The M-60 was a machine gun, and the men who carried these were usually on the large side. An M-60 weighed around twenty three pounds without the ammunition. Most soldiers carried around ten to fifteen pounds of ammunition. The M-16 was the standard weapon given to all common soldiers. It weighed seven and a half pounds unloaded and eight pounds with a full magazine in it. The M-79 was a grenade launcher carried by a few men in the war. The grenade launcher weighed in at almost six pounds (O’Brien 7-9)
All of these weapons made up the soldiers lives. Without a weapon, survival would have been an uncommon situation. With the weapons came a sense of security and pride. Since the men had nothing else to care for, no objects of desire, the gun became his best friend. In other words, “the gun had his back.” A weapon is usually seen as an instrument used to bring harm to one, to kill a person in an attack. But this is not always the truth.
A weapon can save a life. It can provide a better life for thousands even millions of people. It can bring freedom and liberate and bring life to a new generation of free people. Unfortunately, the first thought is also true; a weapon can be used to kill, maim, and tear down. War is a great example of both of the opposite ends of the spectrum. A weapon is used to kill the enemy, and win the war, but with the win comes either good or bad. Freedom and liberty for all is the good, but oppression for all if the weapon is used in the wrong cause in the war.
In addition to the rifles and grenade launchers, a foot soldier would carry anything from Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolvers to captured AK-47’s. One soldier carried what he called a weapon of last resort, a slingshot. Others carried brass knuckles, explosives, or anti-personnel mines and other devices (O’Brien 9).
What they carried depended on the terrain and the mission they were conducting. If they were in the mountains or in swampy terrain, they would carry mosquito netting, bug repellent, and machetes. If the soldiers were in land known to be strewn heavily with mines, they would carry a mine detector (O’Brien 9). The book is clear to point out that the detector was usually useless because of the amount of shrapnel in the earth. Still, the men carried it to bring them the illusion of safety, and the feeling of somewhat security.
The men in this book, The Things They Carried, are portrayed as brave and courageous yet many are dull to the fact that they could die around the next corner. They have become used to the fact that life is a commodity in war times. They would use rather trivial methods of choosing who got their life threatened next. An example is when they would draw straws to decide who went into an enemy tunnel to check for hidden soldiers before the tunnels were blown by explosives. All of the soldiers agreed it was a stupid act to go down the tunnels, but they followed commands from higher places.
The soldiers often used what they called “spin” on the war they were encountering. They would crack jokes, play games, and mess around with each other. Things like this brought a sense of home to the men. They were brothers through the blood each of them would shed in the war.
One analogy that shows the power that the war had on the soldiers is in the playing of a checkers game. The game is played on a set grid; there are no jungles and no hidden tunnels. A powerful statement comes in the form of, “There is a winner and a loser; there were rules.” This shows how unfair war is and how they, the soldiers, felt about it (O’Brien 37). They knew that there were no rules to protect them and that there was no slack given by the enemy or their fellow soldiers for that matter. A soldier had to be tough mentally and physically but mentally more than anything.
War became monotonous to the soldiers. They knew that if they weren’t moving and fighting, they would be digging foxholes, swatting at bugs, and trying to withstand the heat. There was no time to rest other than a small amount at night, which did not come everyday. This was the same thing everyday, just different terrain and a different battle. They were at war with the terrain and the enemy. It was no easy task and many perished because of the strains on the body every waking second.
The book continues on to state that not all stories told were about battles and blood. Many were about peace and funny, amusing tales heard in the breaks in combat from others who were either there when it happened, or who heard it from someone else. Many men would go AWOL and run to a Red Cross station to hide out in (O’Brien 35). Many stories were heard of the men going back into combat because peace felt so good, they had to “hurt it back.” These stories encouraged the others to fight on and make the war end in the favor of the oppressed and make it a free country.
Enemies, the book is quick to point out, are not just the Viet Cong. Enemies could be the terrain, the weather, the memories of home, and even a fellow soldier. In times of desperation and war, many things can get on a person’s nerves that would not be on them usually. Stupid fights can break out over stupid things, like with the missing jack knife. This is a prime example of the things that happen when war overruns a person’s life. The men in O’Brien’s patrol would sometimes get into fist fights over petty things that were rather stupid to fight about or over nothing at all. The author included that fact that just because an individual is fighting a person doesn’t mean they are an enemy. Just as in the American Civil War, where brothers would fight against each other. They fought for what they believed was right, not because they hated one another and were looking to kill family. They had enlisted or were drafted to fight for the cause that made sense to the majority. A thing that should be remembered is that soldiers are not politicians but men and women who, except for in some past wars, sign up to fight for our country. They do not make the decisions to start the war or end the war, just to protect each other and themselves. This is the most common misconception about soldiers of any time. While we are at home complaining about small things and whining about being involved in foreign wars, we still need to support out troops. They are dying for our freedom and for what our country was based on.
This book is the prime example that good things come with the bad things of life in the and through the course of war. It can destroy and tear down, but it can also build up and renew life to a new level that was never thought possible before. This is the part of the war that not many people hear about. It is the war that the media does not portray or even want to bring to the public. The public does not hear of the heroes that are made in the war, only certain people who play a huge part in the war effort. All soldiers are heroes in my eyes. None will be forgotten and none should go without a thank you and some form of recognition for what they do for us and our country, by putting their lives on the line for us. Life is seen as just normalcy to us, but to a soldier in any war, it is seen as a commodity and a blessing, as it could be gone in a matter of seconds. As a fact, a weapon protects and preserves, but a soldier is a continued memory in the hearts of many.
Some things that all soldiers carried with them were memories and fear. They shared memories of losing friends and fellow soldiers, memories of home, memories of killing. The fear shaped how they fought and how they lived their lives during the war. The fear let them be alert and on their feet at all times. It became almost numbing to them as the war progressed. These two things they took home with them and shaped how the rest of their lives would take course. The horrific memories of war followed them throughout the rest of their lives and often ruined many soldier’s lives, if they did not lose their life fighting for the freedom of others.
The most important thing that the soldiers of the Vietnam War carried were letters from home and pictures of loved ones or desired people, even products. A soldier carried these things to remind him of home, of a better place where he could be. Many men carried pictures of girlfriends, wives, mothers, even girls they had no relationship with. They carried these pictures to take them to a “happy place” in such a horrific scene as the Vietnam War (Fleming 3).
Memories played a large part in the soldier’s lives, and kept many alive through the hardships they encountered. Memories from before the war started would be the things that kept them looking ahead to when they got the chance to go home. They would reflect on these things day and night, before and after the fights (O’Brien 1). The men carried good luck pebbles that maybe a child or wife or other family member gave them. They carried scarves or other clothing items that had been sent to them (O’Brien 13). These items allowed the soldiers to have a sense of home with them. It also gave them a sense of security and safety, even if it was false. The way that the men guarded those items made them seem like priceless antiques or relics. Yet, in a way, they were priceless. They kept individual morale and hope elevated. It allowed the men to be independent, yet brought together by the items they held so preciously.
All of those things meant the world to the soldiers. They were home. They were life (Fleming 12). They kept the things that were being imprinted on their minds on a daily basis relatively unknown. The things like death, killing, violence. Those are the memories that were made during the war. After a while, those images of war became mind-numbing in sorts.
The soldiers would remember for the rest of their life the turmoil and pain they saw everyday while in that foreign land (O’Brien 21). The way that a soldier dealt with these horrific scenes of life and death can be seen through O’Brien’s writing techniques and his experience as a soldier in the Vietnam War.
After the war, the men would go home, but to what? They were scarred for life. They took with them the memories of their friends dying, the memories of the killing, the pain, and the hurt that they inflicted and that they put upon others. The way that a soldier dealt with this was not the same for everyone. Some would become recluses of sorts when they returned home. Some would act like nothing ever happened. And yet some would be scarred enormously by the war, not just on the outside but on the inside as well (O’Brien 124).
Objects that men took home often were not only significant to their time there but had a special meaning. Objects were not the only things that they took home to remind them of where they had been. They took home stories. Not just horrific war stories, but good and happy stories too. They would think about the times that there was no fighting and the times that there was no bloodshed. The times that men would play games with comrades and native villagers in the area (O’Brien 35). All of those things shaped the rest of their lives in the way that they lived after the fighting was through.
The courage these men showed can be the one testament to the things they encountered. They would go into places extremely dangerous and terrifying and not think much of it at all. Probably the most feared would be the underground tunnels that the men had to go explore searching for hidden enemies and weapon caches (O’Brien 12). These tunnels claimed numerous lives and were often rigged with booby traps or filled with enemy soldiers. The tunnels served as hideouts, kitchens, hospitals, supply lines, and even command centers (VC Tunnels 1).
The
killing that took place in
During
the Vietnam War, the major offensive that claimed the more lives than any other
battle was the Tet Offensive (Casualties 1). This push by the Viet Cong was
defeated by the forces of the
Tim
O’Brien wrote this book as a work of fiction, but it was mainly composed of
true stories written in autobiographical form (Plausibility of Denial 1). This
meant that the stories he told are true, but some of the characters are not. He
based his books on his personal experiences that happened before the war, during
the draft, and eventually during the war when he was present in
The style that O’Brien wrote in was most definitely first person, as he recounts his actions and stories to the reader just as if he was sitting there at story time. O’Brien often says that he feels guilty for all of the things that he had done in the events leading up to, during, and after the war. He is remorseful and deep in his apologies, often which apologize for his dwelling upon the war and his memories during it. He believes that what his daughter says, which is to write about little girls and ponies, is almost correct (O’Brien 34).
O’Brien
seems to use repetition to give his book a certain effect or importance or make
it somewhat dramatic. It gives the reader a certain feeling that draws the
attention to the writing and blocks out all else. This is precisely what gives
his work that extra special feeling and importance. His work exemplifies that
way that the average soldier survived during
The
betrayal stems from his belief that the Vietnam War and wars in general are
wrong and a part of human nature that should not be. He believed that morally he
should have fled the draft and the war and gone to
When
the
The real question is, why do people go against what they so strongly believe and so strongly base their life on? Why do they constantly contradict their beliefs and ideals? In my eyes this is the question of the ages and the answer defines a person’s character and the sets of morals they come to follow, simply because it is human nature to change your mind and form different opinions as you move along through your life and experience new things.
A moral is seen as a principle of right conduct. If O’Brien had skipped the draft, he would not have established his morals. It is therefore improbable that he would have contributed to society as greatly as he did by fighting for the freedom of others and by writing the works of a literary genius. He saw true that only cowardice prevented the moral choice of running away rather than killing. This shows that he did have a solid belief in the moral thing being to run away from war; to run away from what he truly believed deep down; to run away from fear. Through his experiences in battle, he shaped the way he would write later on in his life through the stories he heard and would later tell and the characters he encountered. Because of the tragedy he saw daily, he was compelled to get it out somehow and let the world know about the good and bad of war, and he did this through the writing of his books. But his contribution to the literature of the war has been exceptional, partly because his own experience has led to an almost unbearable share of that American guilt and shame and anguish (Plausibility of Denial 1).
Because
the author had background in the Vietnam War, the way he wrote this book
displays his true feelings on the matter. He shows that not all things in the
war are bad and negative. He shows that people can bond and that most soldiers
are fighting for what they believe is right, whether it truly is right or wrong
is something that only God can judge. The fight that people will stand up for
shows them the things they truly believe in and truly base their life on. This
author, Tim O’Brien, shows that deep inside of him he supports the war,
despite his most desperate attempts and feelings to avoid it (Plausibility of
Denial 2). He felt that he betrayed himself because he went to fight in a war
that he did not believe in. This exemplifies the idea that man does not know
what his real feelings, ideas, and character is until his life is over. This
rings true because how can you make a set of steadfast beliefs on life if you
have not experienced it all yet? The answer is that you can not make grounded
opinions on things you have yet to come in contact with. That is just a fact of
life. O’Brien does however possess a greater knowledge that allows him to
bring his point of view into the picture when talking about the issues of war,
drafts, and life after the ravages of battle. He obtained these smarts by
experiencing them and shaping his views after what he had come to see and know
as everyday life for that period of time he spent in
O’Brien
was drafted into the United States Army in 1968 and fought in the Vietnam War as
an infantryman from 1969 to 1970. During that time, he was taken all over
The fact that he majored in political science makes it easier to understand his view on the war and its effects. Although he rarely eluded to any political bias as far as the was effort went then or as it goes on now in the book, you can see his background shine through in many places such as in the chapter titled “Spin.”
Spin
is not only one of the chapters in the book, but also a political tool used to
make bad things look good or vice versa. It has been used by many campaigners to
transform a mistake they made to make it look like the other man did it or it
was actually a good thing. The way that O’Brien included this shows is prowess
in the political world as well as in the journal and literary world. He learned
how to put these tools effectively into words while he studied at
O’Brien composed a masterpiece of a book while still giving it an underlying theme as to what he believed and thought he would follow. If he did not believe in the war, then he would have fled the draft. Even though he went back against his gut feeling to be drafted, he still came out better than he was before. Sure, he had the opportunity to be killed or seriously injured, but the experience he got from the war and the things that came back with him altered his life to such an extent that he wrote many books about it and brought wars real face to the public. He showed that war is not always bad but sometimes good (Plausibility of Denial 1). That one man can not overcome tragedy alone, but that they need a way out of it. His way was through writing and the public is better informed now that he has shown them the true face or war. All in all, his place in the war allowed him to become the writer he is today, yet it does not explain why he wrote in partial fiction. That can possibly be explained that he did not wish to dishonor his fallen comrades or anything of that sort. That part of the equation, I am afraid to say, can only be answered by Tim O’Brien himself.
If
O’Brien could exemplify one main point that was not included it would have to
be why he wrote as a fiction. He did not clearly show through the writing if it
was a fiction or not. The only hint is the statement in the book, that says,
“A work of fiction by Tim O’Brien.” This is clear to the reader but the
process of finding evidence in the work itself that it is a fiction is hard to
come by. There is no certain story that cannot be true. They are all believable
and are said to be based on O’Brien’s true story and stay as a soldier in
All in all, this book shows the true face of the Vietnam War unlike anything else. It comes from a veteran yet it still feels modern and relevant to our times, although the war is in our past. The fact of the matter is, O’Brien made his works reflect what he felt. He made them show what he was feeling then and what he feels about them now. The only way to disprove any of his stories was to have been there. Although the same is true to prove his stories. These kind or contradictories are all over the book, which makes it so pleasant yet challenging to read. He described himself and his fellow foot soldiers as “legs” or “grunts.” This shows that the soldiers carried the weight of the equipment, the memories, and the guilt of lost lives. To me, that spells out the title of the book perfectly, and is what this book is all about. It glorified the common foot soldier and made known to the world the hardships they encountered but the resilience they showed to fight for our freedom.
Bibliography
1. An
Introduction to His Writing: Tim O’Brien. January 1997.
2.
Fleming, Shauna. A Million Thanks.
3.
Kacey Kowar’s Show. September 2003.
4.O’Brien,
Tim. The Things They Carried.
5. Plausibility of Denial.
December 1994.
6. Yahoo
Encyclopedia. June 2006. Yahoo.
7. Wikipedia: Tim O'Brien.