What does O'Brien conclude about war?

As I turned to the last page of this novel, I anticipated some kind of conclusion about war. Did O'Brien outright conclude something? Not really. But he did make a lot of points about war throughout the stories he folded together.

War is violent; war is emotional; no-one really wins in a war. When you fight in a war, things start blending together. It is hard to know what is real, and what the voices in your head repeat over and over again so stridently that you believe it to be true. Memories of war are constantly changing as time goes on.

War is suffering; war is death, but war is also life. War makes you value your purpose when you make it out alive despite having been shot twice- when you defeat the odds that are against you.

War makes you lose your identity. Sometimes, it makes you wish you were dead. Sometimes, you wish you were dead for long enough that you hang yourself in the middle of a YMCA locker room.

Happening Truth vs. Story Truth

“'Daddy, tell the truth, did you ever kill anybody?' And I can say, honestly, ‘Of course not.’ Or I can say, honestly, ‘Yes’” (172).

Multiple times throughout the novel O'Brien lead me to question which stories were real, and which ones were made up. Writing half truthful and half fictional stories would normally be frustrating to me, but in this context it is intriguing. Not only does it bring up a good point about war, but it also brings up a good point about life. Humans encounter a lot of experiences throughout their lifespan, but very few actually stick with us. So, who's to say what is real or not?

Are they really cleansed?

In the story "Church", Henry Dobbins and Kiowa discuss how they felt it was wrong to stay in the church, imposing on the monks' privacy. In a bigger sense, they felt it was wrong to be in Vietnam, fighting a war they didn't believe in. After the monks clean their guns, "Henry Dobbins made the washing motion with his hands. 'You're right,' he said. 'All you can do is be nice. Treat them decent, you know?" (117).

This washing motif was also replicated in the story "Speaking of Courage". It told of a man named Norman Bowker, who killed himself after the war when he failed to find his purpose. After he drives around his town in loops, he "walked down to the beach, and waded into the lake without undressing. The water felt warm against his skin. He put his head under. He opened his lips, very slightly, for the taste. then he stood up and folded his arms and watched the fireworks" (148).

A more literal version of this need to be cleansed was found in the story, "In the Field". It explains Kiowa's death, and how he drowned in a field of waste. The men went to look for him the next day so that they could salvage his body from the mud, and in turn salvage his spirit from the indelible guilt and violence that this war has caused. The men "were tired and miserable; all they wanted now was to get it finished. Kiowa was gone. He was under the mud and water, folded in with the war, and their only thought was to find him and dig him out and then move on to someplace dry and warm" (155).

What does this book have to do with America?

The things they carried is about the war between America and Vietnam. This has to do with the U.S. because American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam.

Tim O'briens mental state

Tim O'brien was on a mission when he saw a Vietnamese man walking with a weapon, he perceived the man as a threat so out of instinct he pulled the pin from his grenade and threw it at the man. The soldier exploded leaving a star shaped hole in his head and his body looked like ground oats. This event really messed Tim up mentally. Seeing the extremely graphic death of the man gave him really bad PTSD.

Character Spotlights

Character Pictures and Descriptions


Jimmy Cross
"They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack" (1).


Henry Dobbins (left)
"Henry Dobbins, who was a big man, carried extra rations..." (2).


Ted Lavender
"Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers until he was shot in the head..." (2).
"Until he was shot, Ted Lavender carried 6 or 7 ounces of premium dope, which for him was a necessity" (3).


Kiowa
"Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.... Kiowa also carried his grandmother's distrust of the white man..." (3).

Chapter Twelve: The Man I Killed

Chapter Twelve: The Man I Killed

This story describes a fairly intimate aspect of the deceased's life. Where do these details come from? How did Tim O'Brien know them? What happened here?
These details come from Tim's mind. He is creating the life that the person seems to have because he doesn't really understand what happened to him. In this way, Tim will feel more when he realizes the potential this person may have. For example, Tim mentioned various questions about the person and his decision, saying: "He thought, if he couldn't fight with the little boy, how could he be a soldier, using their planes, helicopters and bombs with the United States Fighting? Seems impossible "(O'Brien 121). This is related to Tim's life before the war, because he thought he was not suitable for war, and he did not want to fight for war, because he did not believe in war. This can also be compared to the life of the person before the battle.

Reflection:
The structure of the story no doubt adds to Tim's feelings after killing the man. In this chapter, Tim doesn't talk or respond to Kiowa because Kiowa asks if he is OK or if he wants to be the place of the person he killed. This shows that inner overwhelms any logical reasoning, especially the emotions that he or she may not feel after killing someone after he or she has "planned" to kill it. He had something to do with the person he killed and it didn't help Tim's situation. For example, Tim considers himself to be in this person because he assumes that he is brave when he grows up, and assumes the obligation to participate in war, even if they do not want to participate in the war at first. Although the person was dead, Tim's description of him made him look as if he had not completely died.