"The Things They Carried"

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is, to me, an example of good writing. I read this book during high school my senior year and the messages and ideas in it have stayed with me until this day. This book centers on a company in the Vietnam War and describes various events in their experience that taught them various truths. O’Brien is very vivid, and sometimes very graphic, in his description of the environment, both physical and emotional. The book talks about the things that the soldiers carried, from everyday equipment to emotional scars and baggage that influence the way that they view the war, the world, and each other. One of the things that helped me understand this book more came after a very graphic description of the war. At the end, O’Brien casually states that the story never happened, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t true. As I read that I realized that this book was really trying to teach a lesson and show how individuals cope with trying circumstances. I feel that this is a good book because it does try to teach, it allows the reader to connect with the characters and most importantly because it forces you to think inwardly and discover what you are carrying and what it does to you.

“They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.”