War is a brutal conflict that humans have participated in since the beginning of time. The United States of America has been involved in many wars since its birth in 1776. Many wars involving the United States to this day have been and are currently being analyzed to determine the causes and results from such wars. This is no different than the Vietnam War which was fought between The United States, and communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during the early 1960s to the mid 1970s. People (typically those who are born after the date of conflict) will analyze wars to try to relate and understand the circumstances during that time period. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a firsthand account by an actual Vietnam veteran, about what life was like as an American Soldier during the Vietnam War. Personal accounts that are similar to O’Brien’s book often give readers who want more insight into the war, a more realistic view of what the fighting in the Vietnam War was like. Many students today often wonder what it was like for American Soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War, and as a result of this, reading narratives written by soldier-writers are far more effective for students who want to get actual insight on the war itself, and can often use the text to relate themselves into what stories and what the author is telling the reader. Tim O’Brien uses a different method in The Things They Carried which is emotion, to make the reader understand exactly what he was going through during the Vietnam War. 

Most American Wars, including the Vietnam War, are often reviewed in most basic U.S. History classes in high school from learning specific dates, different battles, and why Lyndon B. Johnson increased the number of soldiers in the Vietnam War. But many students often wonder what it was like for a teenager, many as young as 17 years old, to go fight in a war. What would life be like if they were to be drafted in a war that they did not want to be a part of.  Renate Prescott explains how many students often read war books written by actual Vietnam veterans, so that they can feel what it would be like to be in a soldier’s place during that war. 

To teach the Vietnam War one should certainly include various claims to authority; 

however, students are most receptive to the narratives of the soldier-writers who bear direct witness to their experience through oral history, autobiography, and imaginative work. (Prescott 48)

Students today are often receptive to these narratives from soldier writers for obvious reasons. These stories written by actual veterans are mostly true events. These events shape out the bloodiness and horror that is warfare. Students tend to not listen to professors or authors who are not even related to said event. Students want to read a source that can be accurate and have the emotional effect as if they were actually there. An example of this would be if you wanted to see what it was like to be an American soldier during Valley Forge, you would possibly read a diary from a soldier that was actually in Valley Forge during that brutal winter, rather than reading a book that was published by a historian many years after. The reader can say while reading the diary, “This is exactly what this person felt at this moment, and this is someone who was actually there.” This is common with many novels written by veterans and this can provide the reader insight to what actually went on during the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien is a great example of this, but he does this in an unusual way. In a book review of The Things They Carried, Don Lee discusses how Tim O’Brien does this:

As a narrator, he vows that certain stories are true, then repudiates or contradicts them later. He explains how several characters urged him to write their stories, then elsewhere challenges the characters' testimonials or admits that he made it all up. (Lee 14) 

Why would O’Brien write about the Vietnam War that he fought in as a work of fiction? Wouldn’t this confuse the reader, and would often make the reader have a lack of trust for O’Brien? No. O’Brien is using a different method to make the reader experience the Vietnam War that he experienced. Instead of using actual accounts that he faced while in Vietnam, he uses fictional stories to make the reader experience emotion - the same emotion that he went through during the war. 

O’Brien writes about the deaths of Ted Lavender and how Lieutenant Cross felt guilty about his death. He writes about how Cross would constantly think about a girl named Martha back home, instead of focusing on the war.  O’Brien writes about the superstition that was a daily part in a soldier’s life in the Vietnam War. Most importantly he writes about normal activities that many would expect from a soldier such as marching, what were the things the soldiers carried, and how much they weighed. This is somewhat boring to the reader. The Things They Carried is not the average war book that talks about a soldier who saved a man’s life and received the Medal of Honor. Instead, Tim O’Brien focuses on small events and experiences, rather than glory. This excerpt talks about a man who carried a small bible, and a Lieutenant that kept a pebble in his mouth as a reminder of a girl who he loved back home. Out of nowhere, O’Brien writes about Ted Lavender’s death and goes into full detail about how it happened. O’Brien even describes what Ted Lavender’s body was like when he died. He also writes about an average day of marching through Vietnam and then writes about slaughtering animals in a village, and trashing its well, and then eventually burning the village down. 

But why would O’Brien almost “waste” this space writing about such boring topics, and then randomly express such horrific events? This is his writing scheme. O’Brien wants to express this shock to the readers of The Things They Carried. O’Brien wants to show the reader that emotionally, you may never know if you are ready for a death in your platoon, or you are ready to burn down a village that humans live in. This is O’Brien’s message about Vietnam. He expresses that in the Vietnam War you would never expect what would happen next. His writing style allows the reader to get caught off-guard by relaxing the reader from boring, normal commentary and then have a traumatic event happen. By doing this, O’Brien shows the reader through emotions, what the Vietnam War was like for him. One minute you might be having a laugh with your buddies, but while you have a brief moment of relief, your other buddy dies from a sniper. In The Things They Carried, O’Brien describes a scene similar to this. 

“A few moments later Lee Strunk came out of the tunnel. He came up grinning, filthy but alive… The men laughed. They all felt great relief… When Strunk made that high moaning sound, when he went Ahhooooo, right then Ted Lavender was shot in the head on his way back from peeing. He lay with his mouth open. His teeth were broken. There was a swollen black bruise under his left eye.” (O’Brien 334) 

The message that O’Brien is trying to convey is clear, That the Vietnam War was full of surprises and it would wreak havoc on someone’s emotions. These surprises are what would lead to the PTSD that many soldiers would often experience. The message that O’Brien is trying to express shows that war is not a game, it is a harsh reality.

Students today often wonder what it was like for American Soldiers that were close to their age to fight in a war. Many historians do not provide the human relevance that many readers today seek when researching about the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried is a unique text for students to experience the Vietnam War through a soldier-writer’s eyes. It is often hard for many veterans to write about their past experiences in different conflicts in American History. People like Tim O’Brien wrote The Things They Carried in a way that students can experience the Vietnam War through emotion, and not just on events that took place. It is important that we understand and experience this emotion, so that we can help those veterans who still cannot deal with the stress that they experienced defending our country. 
