The Things I Carried

When I read this book, I carried a pen, a highlighter, and an analytical brain. I carried the soldier's fear and anxiety. I carried their pain and sorrow. I carried their jokes and laughter. I carried their friendship. I really enjoyed reading the book. I was so enthralled with the settings and the characters. I know I have said this a lot but it felt real. I normally do not read books about modern wars. I thought this book was going to be boring and I was going to hate it because of all the homework that went with it. I loved the book and I would definitely recommend the book for anyone who can appreciate good writing and a good story. I have never been in a war but "story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth", so I guess I can say I have been in a war.

Wounded in War

When Tim O'Brien gets shot the first time, Rat Kiley was there to take care of him. He gets better and there were no complications caused by the bullet. Rat Kiley shoots himself in the foot and is shipped off so Bobby Jorgenson takes over as medic. O'Brien gets shot the second time but is not treated soon enough. There were complications because he almost died from shock. He has to put a special cream on his butt because the wound was infected. He hated Jorgenson because of it. Jorgenson should have been there to help him after he was shot. It was what a medic is supposed to do. O'Brien plans his revenge and he does get Jorgenson back. I do not really think he hated Joregenson though. He was the blame for being shot. O'Brien was mad that it happened to him and he almost died because of it. When bad things happen, many people need something or someone to blame. It helps them feel grounded because they normally blame the cause of the event. People also do not like to blame themselves or admit to any faults so they blame someone else. O'Brien did not want to be in the war let alone be wounded because of it and this fuels his anger. Because of his previous speedy recovery, O'Brien compares Rat and Bobby even though Rat had been there longer and Bobby was new. People always seem to ask "why me?" when bad things happen to them.

Bored out of my skull

"If you weren't humping, you were waiting. I remember the monotony. Digging foxholes. Slapping mosquitoes. The sun and the heat and the endless paddies. Even in the deep bush, where you could die any number of ways, the war was nakedly and aggressively boring" (page 34). This reminded me that soldiers were not always going out and killing all the time. Reading this part made me think of Hawkeye Pierce from the t.v. show, MASH. Hawkeye was a surgeon and was drafted into the Korean War. He hates the war and all of the people who created the war and those who are supposed to end the war. He constantly says he is 'bored out of his skull.' While the 4077th waits for causalities, there is not much to do. He drinks, pulls pranks, and talks to nurses. Hawkeye's friend, B.J., says that war is an unorganized bore. It is true because the soldiers are limited to what they can do as they wait. They do not have televisions or phones in the bush.

Not in the plan

"In June of 1968, a month after graduating from Macalester College, I was drafted to fight a war I hated" (page 40). I often like to imagine what my future life will be like. Becoming a Senior is exciting and I keep thinking that this will be my last year in high school. I will go to college and declare a major. Once I finish college, I will get a job. Then maybe I will get married and raise a family. This was probably the thought process of most people before they were drafted in the war. Some people may not have planned on going to college but once they were out of high school, they would have a job. A war was not in the plan. They had to postpone their hopes and dreams to fight a war they may not have believed in. I cannot imagine going to college, graduating, and then going to war.

Fact or Fiction?

I knew before I started reading the book that it was a work of fiction. As I was reading the book, it felt real. It is not until page 179 that the reader is informed that none of it is real except that Tim O'Brien is a writer and he was a foot soldier. O'Brien makes it confusing for the reader by creating a character with his real name. He further confuses the reader by making the character O'Brien write the same books that the author wrote in real life. It made me think everything was true. "I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer than happening-truth" (page 179). Those two lines tell why O'Brien made a character with his name. I had never read a story about the Vietnam War. I really enjoyed reading the book and it was easy to read. I would read page after page before realizing I forgot to underline and highlight key points. It helped me understand about the life in a war zone. The characters were so realistic and had such complex personalities. The characters in the story are unforgettable.

Transition

Reading about Norman Bowker reminded me of how the soldiers are expected to carry on with their lives after the war is over. They cannot go on with how they were living before because of the traumatic events that happened in the war. It reminded me of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. He leaves his home, the Shire, to destroy the Ring. When he finally does, he returns home but cannot adjust to his old life so he leaves Middle-Earth. Norman felt guilty for letting go of his friend, Kiowa. He said, ..."there's no place to go. Not just in this lousy little town. In general. My life, I mean. It's almost like I got killed over in Nam... Hard to describe. That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him... Feels like I'm still in deep shit" (page 156). He could not go on with his life. He still couldn't get over his guilt and he was left grieving for his friend. Many soldiers come back from war with drug addictions or alcohol addictions. It is not surprising because the soldiers have to deal with so much. Many couldn't handle. Norman Bowker later hangs himself. It was sad to know that he couldn't deal with it anymore. He could have had a long and happy life it not for the war.

Dead Man

When I read the part where Tim O'Brien kills for the first time, I thought I kept reading the same line over and over. Many lines were repeated but on different pages and I finally realized why. The description of the dead body was repeated over and over because the character kept staring at it. It reminded me of when I see a dead animal on the road and I really do not want to look but I find myself staring at it anyway. Tim O'Brien killed the man and he cannot get over the fact that the man was dead because of him. "The left cheek was peeled back in three ragged strips" (page 124 and 128). "His one eye was shut and the other was a star-shaped hole" (page 126). "The star-shaped hole was red and yellow" (page 126). "One eye was shut. The other was a star-shaped hole" (page 130). I felt like I was accidentally reading the same part over and over because the lines were repeated so often. It felt like I was there, staring at the dead body with 'one eye shut and the other a star-shaped hole.' I could feel O'Brien's guilt and shock after killing the man. His conscience tortures him further by thinking about the man's life. He imagines why the man was there and who he was. He made the man seem like the good guy and he was the bad guy. He really knew nothing about the man but he felt terrible for killing him.