Final post for the book

There are still many aspects of this book I have yet to even touch upon. there are so many different layers in this novel. But to round it all up, I decided to do my personal reaction to the book itself. As I mentioned in my first post, being called to war is my biggest fear. Up until this book, I had only a generic run of the mill idea of what war was. This book clarified some of these speculations, but for many of them it gave them a whole new twist.

"Your out of touch man... he is with us now." (O'Brien 188). O'Brien clearly says that there is no way to describe something to someone unless they were there. Army buddies are stereotypically men that sit around, share stories, and remember the days of their service. They discuss topics normal men can not comprehend, but the retired men try to explain it anyway. They are trying to warn about the terror they witnessed. It does not matter if what they say is true or not, or exaggerated a little here and there. What is important is that the lessons they learned, the knowledge they gained, is passed down. My speculation that many stories are changed a bit has stayed in tact, but the reason for the change has been given a whole new light to shine in.

Hidden, but not gone

God has an interesting way of popping in at the most random of times it seems. But after closer inspection, we find that He showed up exactly when He needed to. God is present even in an atrocity such as war. The monks were so generous and caring, even though their families had all likely been killed by the men. They help to show that God is universal. No matter where you are, no matter how desperate and helpless you seem, God is there, you just have to know how to look. "It wasn't the religious stuff that interested me. It was just being nice to people." (O'Brien 115).

Many people, myself included, believe that although there are many different religions in the world, and they have similar core values, they all worship the same God, the same entity. It is the one that is inside all of us. The goodness that is half of our conscience. Yes i believe there is a higher power some where in existence, but i believe it works through all of us, each and everyday.

It is simple, but so true

He is right. He is absolutely correct about our loved ones. We keep them alive with our remembrance of them. We should not focus on grief, but rejoice in the lives they lead and the impact they had on our lives. "Once you are alive... you can't ever be dead." (O'Brien 231). This book is a tribute to those that Tim O'Brien has loved and lost. It is a template of how we should let our loved ones live in peace, yet never forget them. Yes it hurts and stabs at the heart to lose a loved one. Yes depression seems so easy to slip into. But what Timmy and Linda are telling us is to move on, yet do not leave the dead behind. Bring them with you to help guide you on life's journey.

What matters?

O'Brien has developed a curious way of delivering his work, which I find intoxicating. He, just like myself, seems scatter-brained and self contradictory. He is trying to tell a story, so it seems, but he keeps pausing and stopping and correcting himself. He even tells us later on some of his stories were not completely true.

"Almost everything else is made up." (O'Brien 171). I still have to reread every sentence in that chapter. Because in truth, it makes sense. But it goes against everything I have ever learned about... to be honest I do not even know. Life? Story telling? Or having others believe what you tell them? O'Brien has shown us this world of heart break and torment, and then told us its partly true, but not completely. It feels like someone pulling a rug out from under one of foot, but leaving the other standing. Do you fall down, or do you stay standing up? But O'Brien does present a valid point: "Absolute occurrence is irrelevant." (O'Brien 80). The story is all that matters. It does NOT matter who the story happened to, or all the fine little details. All that truly matters is what is presented to the reader.

Pride over life

I have discussed earlier my fear for being called to war. I still, especially after reading this book, hold that fear deep in my heart. So when O'Brien throws away his chance at an escape, I was forced to stop reading for a while. The decision he made was both the opposite, and very similar to hat i think i would have done in his place. He had freedom, he had life, he had no attachments back home; so why could he not have done it? Why could he not have jumped and lived?

"Embarrassment. That's all it was." (O'Brien 57). He could not live because he was scared of what people thought of him. His life flashed before his eyes, and all he could see what had been, not what could be. He could in fact had had a life in Canada, he just would not be able to look at himself ever again in a mirror. Personally, I do not believe I could have done what he did. Besides my girlfriend and my friends, I have no attachments here. I could make a life for me on the other side of the border. I know my friends would understand, and my girlfriend would too. So for me the choice is easy... jump. Swimming is very easy for me, and this would be no exception I believe. But until I stand where he stood, I can not guarantee my answer.

April fool's day came early

Holding a grudge can be a risky business. Especially when tensions are as high as a war situation. Everyone can say they have been afraid of the dark at one point of another in their life. I never was... that is, until I saw Paranormal Activity. Now I can barely go in my basement without looking over my shoulder at night. The dark is mysterious, it is potentially dangerous. Human beings, the majority anyway, are terrified of what they do not know or understand.

O'Brien feels betrayed and he seeks to find some self justice by attacking Jorgenson where it will hurt him the most... by playing with his darkest fears. "I've pulled enough night guard to know how the fear factor gets multiplied as you sit there hour after hour." (O'Brien 195). I feel that personally this would be horrible revenge, and of course it backfires in the end. Jorgenson is not terrorized, and O'Brien has a panic attack halfway through the plan. If someone truly wishes revenge, they need to give the other person a taste of their own medicine. But, because I have not been to war, I have not experienced Vietnam, I can not say if for the people that have been there, this is a reliable sense of revenge.

Just listen

When O'Brien is relating how he tried to escape to Canada early on in the book, he comes across a loner in the woods operating some dilapidated cabins. And just like in the book Siddhartha, the elderly gentleman living by the stream helps the one that seeks knowledge and solace. "the man's self control was amazing. He never pried" (O'Brien 49). Many people feel they can not possibly solve their problems by themselves. They crave the advice of others on how to live their own lives. Most people, if not all, however, are fully capable of figuring out the answers they need on their own. All they need is to get away from everything, and focus on other hobbies or odd jobs until they can clear their head, and face their demons head-on. Elroy did not ask O'Brien of his troubles, mainly because he knew it would do more harm than good. he simply gave O'Brien the tools to fix his own issues, and left it at that.

One brave little buffalo

War is a hell hole. War brings out the best in people when bravery is shown, but for the most part it brings out the worst in people as well. It causes people to cope, and some people just can not cope in normal ways. "Garden of Evil. Over here, every sin is fresh and original" (O'Brien 76). What causes a man to slower torture and slaughter a buffalo calf?

He lost his best friend, he lost his brother, he lost the man he had grown to love. Something as vile and as purely evil as war could only be created by man. It rots the brain, it hardens the heart, it drains the life from the soldiers brought back in bags or own their legs. The buffalo, in a way, represents one man's attempt to stand against the monster. No matter how long you stand, no matter your courage, if one single man tries to stand against the devilish hellfire of war that others have created, the single man will be crushed in it's wake.

Peace?

Where in the story does O'Brien find peace? To be honest it depends on what you consider the "story". Tim O'Brien the character finds peace when he revisits Kiowa's death site. He delivers the shows and immerses himself in the water that plagued him that fateful night some twenty years prior. "And now after two decades I'd mostly worked myself out." (O'Brien 178). By climbing out of the mud he has been able to climb out of his chaotic thoughts and breath in fresh air of peace. he is never able to get rid of his past, as it sticks to him like the much, but he is able to move past it all.

Tim O'Brien the narrator/ author finds peace in the last few pages of the book. He finds his resolution when he tells the reader how he keeps Linda, Kiowa, and the rest alive in his dreams and stories. He has always been plagued by their loss from his life, but through his mind and his book they live on.

So where do you stand?

Tim O'Brien is, obviously, the author of the book, and around chapter three the reader finds out he is the narrator. His point of view for the novel is the reminiscing narrator. All of the stories and flashbacks are from O'Brien's head, his experience. They are his way with dealing with his ghosts, and with relating them to people who were not in Vietnam.

Instead of just presenting the novel and letting the reader judge the war on their own reactions, O'Brien engages the reader in his memories and in his own chaotic sorrowful feelings and thoughts. "All i could do was cry. It seemed that all around me a crushing weight was pressing on me." (O'Brien 54). O'Brien spends an entire chapter telling of his inner storm, his chaotic, twisting thoughts swirling inside him as he tries to escape his fate. He is not just making these feelings up or retelling them from someone else. They are his and his alone.

Wait... What?!

Personally my favorite literary technique is situational irony. It combines suspense and foreshadowing, but in a convoluted way. Situational irony is when the reader suspensefully awaits to see if their foreshadowing is correct of not, and it is always wrong. If my foreshadowing is correct, i tend to think 'well if i could come up with that, why did i buy this book instead of writing it?'

Readers like to be surprised. They like to be blown away with an outcome. That is one of the many reasons Shakespeare is still revered to this day. "Man you must be deaf. She is already gone" (O'Brien 107). When I came to this part of the story, I thought for sure the girl was going to end up dead in the end. I never for a second thought she would join the green berets and then run away into the wilderness. Personally, I loved the surprise when it came. Having your own conclusion gives one a little self confidence, but being proven wrong keeps one interested.

Saw it coming

Most people when asked would more than likely say that the army is very boring for people who like to chose their own path, and perfect for people who are good at taking orders. O'Brien shows us a side of the army that most people could not dream of in their wildest of dreams. Men high-fiving corpses (214), cruelty to a baby buffalo (75), and men bringing their girlfriends over (89) are all examples of the choices these men had. O'Brien makes it very difficult to foreshadow anything in this book because it makes us believe it is true, and even thought it is true, it is so far fetched no Hollywood writer could ever dream it up.

"'I guess this was your first look at a real body?' I shook my head. All day long i had been picturing Linda's face" (O'Brien 215). This is one of the few, if only, parts of the book where one can guess what comes next. O'Brien has not yet introduced a character called Linda, and we can infer she died. But when he talks of his first love, a little girl, he creates a scenario where the reader forgets that she is going to die. Even when he hands us the answer, O'Brien is a master at drawing the reader's attention else where, only to whip it back to the ending.

I remember when...

In a way all the stories in this book are flashbacks, because the character telling the story was present when it occurred. They are reliving what transpired, and retelling the events to the listener or the reader. A normal novel would be interrupted by a flashback primarily to fill the reader in on an important detail. The difference with these flashbacks are that the are the story. Personally, I believe the purpose of this book is to allow the characters to be remembered as long as this is in print. O'Brien tells us that as long as the dead are remembered, they are not really dead. "To listen to the story, you'd never know Curt Lemon was dead" (O'Brien 227). So by writing this book and by telling us these happenings in Vietnam and the post-war, the characters never die, but are remembered by many. We the readers may not be able to know exactly what the characters looked or sounded like, or even their true names, but their essence can be relived and remembered through O'Brien's novel. O'Brien is not trying to grieve in the losses of his life, he is attempting to move past them and find solace by telling us his loses.

"The man i killed" (O'Brien 118)

O'Brien does a tremendous job through out the book of giving a laundry list of visual effects that helps the reader with imagery. O'Brien normally tells inner thoughts while narrating his memories and stories, but in this chapter he is silent. All he relates to the reader is the look of the man he killed. He drives the image home by repeating the image over and over again, utilizing well implemented repetition, along with simple yet powerful imagery.

His delivery of this deceased man is a perfect way of showing the simple thoughts in his mind, yet the chaotic storm racing through his head at the same time. He can not express himself, so his mind goes blank. He never says this, but he shows it by saying nothing. "His jaw in his throat, his eye a star-shaped hole. His right cheek sooth and unblemished." (O'Brien 118). These are very simple words, very simple imagery, but because O'Brien uses repetition so well, the repetition really makes this man come alive to someone's mental eye.

"It's against the rules"(O'Brien 107)

Many movies, games, and books rely upon suspense to keep their audience entertained and interested. O'Brien has done an outstanding job of luring the reader into a frame story, and right towards the end, stops. This is a mood killer if you were hearing the story from someone in person, but for a reader, it only increases their will to read on and discover what happens next. It keeps not only the reader entertained, but it also brings out emotion from the characters.

O'Brien the entire book has told us very little of the platoon except the equipment and several names of the men in it. He does, however, develop the men in their own short stories. In this story we see Mitchell Sanders' passion for storytelling. The purpose of this is to make the characters come alive, and when tragedy strikes, we as bystanders can feel sorrow for a loss of the platoon. If O'Brien had just told the characters natures at the beginning, it would have been too much too soon, and the reader would not appreciate the loss of the men as dearly as they do when the learn of the men's nature through out the book.

Who is the villain?

Well, to answer my own rhetorical question, in this novel of confession, loss, and a search for redemption, the villain is war and no one else. The antagonist of the story is Tim O'Brien. His memories are the main character in a sense, with him bouncing from one to the next. O'Brien is the antagonist because, up until he revisits Kiowa's place of death, he can not find peace. And the peace he finds there is short lived, due to the fact that he then remembers losing his boyhood sweetheart. the only true peace he discovers is in finishing this novel.

He feels such lose from the war and his life, and he misses his loved ones so dearly. "Right now I'm not dead. But when I am... it's like being a book that no one has read in a long, long time" (O'Brien 232). The people we love and care for are never dead as long as we remember them in a happy way. If we remember them in a sorrowful way and forget to live while we are remembering them, then they are like Linda was whenever Timmy was asking her how death was. She was bored and dying to be alive again. When we cherish our dears ones, and never forget them, then they are never truly dead.

What does chocolate taste like?

As page 108 states, describing war to someone who has never been is like trying to describe chocolate to someone who has never tried it (O'Brien 108). As O'Brien says again and again, telling a good war story is extremely difficult, if not impossible. The reason being that no one is ever going to fully understand what you are telling them, and that sometimes the truth appears to be false as the lie seems to be true. In a way, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is an allegory. The entire novel is trying to relate one man's experiences in Vietnam to "civilians" who have never experienced anything such as war.

Through Hollywood, media, and video games, the generation of today thinks they know what war is. With the help of O'Brien's award winning novel, the generation of today is shown that in fact, war is a vary far truth from what we are told to believe. This book stands for, what i believe from my life experience, to be the greatest example of true war life from the eyes of one man's life.